The fastest way to level in Extinction is to chain mission objectives, rescue civilians, destroy Ravenii armor, and finish the stage without wasting lives. There is one important correction before you start farming: Iron Galaxy’s Extinction does not use a traditional gold wallet or an endless loot economy. Your real progression currency is the skill point, while medals, score, civilian rescues, side objectives, and mission rewards determine how efficiently you unlock Avil’s abilities. If you’re searching for “gold farming,” treat it as a score-and-skill-point farming route rather than hunting for a hidden gold pile.
That distinction matters because replaying giant kills alone is a poor investment. A clean run that saves civilians, completes optional objectives, and avoids deaths usually pays better in progression than a messy beheading followed by a restart. This guide focuses on the repeatable habits that make Avil stronger quickly, whether you’re working through the campaign or grinding challenges.
What actually counts as leveling in Extinction?
Extinction’s progression is tied to Avil’s skill tree, not conventional character levels filled by killing ordinary enemies. You earn skill points through mission performance and use them to unlock better movement, combat options, and Ravenii-killing tools. That means your route should prioritize activities that increase completion rewards and reduce failed attempts.
The game’s missions are built around several recurring objectives: protect or rescue civilians, reach marked locations, destroy enemy units, survive attacks, and eliminate one or more Ravenii. Some stages also add restrictions or bonus tasks. These objectives are your farming loop. Completing them consistently is more valuable than sprinting directly toward the nearest giant.
Gold medals and high scores are useful benchmarks, but they aren’t the same thing as spendable gold. A gold-rating attempt generally means you handled the mission efficiently: you preserved civilians, avoided unnecessary damage, and completed the important requirements quickly. If your goal is skill-point growth, replay stages where you can reliably achieve a high rating instead of forcing the hardest map available.
| Progression Target | How You Earn It | Best Farming Behavior | Common Mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skill points | Mission completion and performance rewards | Finish objectives and replay reliable stages | Assuming ordinary kills are the main source |
| High medals | Efficient objectives, rescues, and combat | Plan the route before engaging the Ravenii | Ignoring civilians to chase speed |
| Score | Combat actions and objective completion | Chain attacks without taking avoidable damage | Restarting after every imperfect combo |
| Combat power | Purchased Avil abilities | Prioritize mobility and execution tools | Spreading early points across everything |
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View on Steammoz Store →The fastest early-game skill order
Spend your first points on abilities that make every mission faster, not on niche upgrades that only shine in a perfect fight. Avil’s defining advantage is mobility: he can run across walls, grapple through the environment, and reach a Ravenii’s body quickly. Anything that improves access to weak points or makes a failed approach less punishing has immediate farming value.
1. Movement and traversal first
Movement upgrades should lead your opening purchases. Faster traversal means more time for rescues and optional objectives, while better aerial control helps you reach a giant’s shoulders, head, and armored limbs without taking a long detour. The exact cost and order can vary with your existing unlocks, so inspect the skill-tree descriptions rather than blindly buying every attack node.
2. Execution tools second
Next, improve the abilities that let you remove Ravenii armor and convert an opening into a beheading. A giant is not simply a large health bar. Armor pieces protect limbs and the head, and cutting the wrong section wastes time. Skills that improve your sword’s effectiveness, charge access, or execution reliability pay off on every giant encounter.
3. Crowd control after your core kit
Jackals can interrupt a route, damage civilians, and knock Avil out of a useful position. Take crowd-control upgrades once your movement and giant-execution fundamentals are stable. They’re especially valuable on challenge missions where groups of smaller enemies spawn while you’re trying to reach a Ravenii.
| Upgrade Priority | Why It Matters | Best Use | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traversal and aerial movement | Shortens travel and improves access to weak points | Rescues, beacons, and shoulder routes | S-Tier |
| Armor removal and execution | Turns a safe opening into a fast kill | Head and limb armor encounters | S-Tier |
| Jackal crowd control | Stops interruptions and protects civilians | Multi-wave objectives | A-Tier |
| Pure score-combo tools | Raises style potential but doesn’t fix slow routes | Later medal replays | B-Tier |
How to farm skill points without throwing runs away
Choose a mission you can complete repeatedly with a high rating. The best farm is rarely the mission with the biggest possible reward; it’s the mission where you can finish cleanly every time. Learn the spawn pattern, identify the nearest civilian clusters, and note which Ravenii armor pieces can be removed from a safe angle.
At the start, scan the arena instead of immediately attacking. Mark the closest civilian objectives and any obvious enemy groups threatening them. Rescue the civilians that are exposed first, then handle nearby Jackals. This creates a safer arena and prevents a late failure caused by an enemy you ignored while chasing the giant.
Once the area is stable, approach the Ravenii from the side or rear. Climbing directly into its attack range is slower and riskier than using wall-running and grappling to reach an elevated limb. Remove only the armor pieces blocking your route to the head. You don’t need to dismantle every armored section if the mission only requires an execution.
After the kill, don’t assume the stage is over. Check the objective tracker for rescue, beacon, survival, or destruction tasks. Many low-scoring runs happen because players behead the Ravenii and leave a reward-producing objective unfinished. Complete the remaining requirements, extract or finish the mission, and then decide whether the score is worth keeping.
Ravenii combat: the clean beheading route
Every giant encounter starts with observation. Watch the Ravenii’s limbs and weapon before committing. A heavy swing has a readable wind-up, and its impact zone is dangerous even when Avil appears to be near the edge. Grapple away rather than trying to tank the hit; losing health costs time, and a knockdown can destroy the rhythm of an otherwise excellent run.
Target armor according to access, not habit. If the head is exposed, go straight for the execution route. If the head is protected, remove the armor from the limb that gives you the safest climb. After an armor segment breaks, immediately reposition instead of continuing random attacks. The goal is a controlled path to the neck, not maximum damage on every visible piece.
Use Avil’s sword for precision and his mobility for defense. The sword is most effective when you attack a specific armored section, then disengage before the giant’s recovery animation ends. Jumping and grappling are not just traversal tricks; they are your dodge system. A short retreat followed by a new grapple is usually safer than rolling around the Ravenii’s feet.
| Ravenii Threat | Telegraph | Counter | Best Objective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy arm swing | Arm pulls back and body turns | Grapple to a side platform or retreat vertically | Keep distance, then climb |
| Foot stomp | Leg lifts and arena space tightens | Jump away and use a grapple immediately | Protect civilians first |
| Armored head | Head plating remains visibly intact | Attack the safest connected limb route | Open a neck approach |
| Jackal interruption | Small enemies converge during your climb | Drop, clear the group, and re-grapple | Prevent civilian losses |
The best repeatable farming route
Use this five-step loop whenever you replay a favorable mission:
- Survey the map. Identify the nearest civilians, enemy clusters, traversal routes, and the Ravenii’s starting position.
- Secure the vulnerable objective. Rescue exposed civilians or stop the closest threat before beginning the giant climb.
- Clear only what blocks the route. Don’t spend a minute fighting enemies that aren’t threatening an objective or your escape path.
- Open and execute. Break the armor that blocks the safest climb, reach the head, and finish the Ravenii quickly.
- Clean up and bank the reward. Complete remaining objectives, finish the mission, and repeat only if the run produced the rating you’re targeting.
This route also explains why restarting constantly is counterproductive. A run with one missed combo can still produce strong progression if civilians survive and the major objectives are complete. Restart when you’ve lost a key civilian, taken a death, or made the mission rating unattainable—not because a single sword strike looked untidy.
Settings and performance tips for faster runs
Extinction rewards responsive movement more than cinematic image quality. A stable frame rate makes grapple timing, wall-running, and attack avoidance easier, especially when a Ravenii, Jackals, civilians, and destruction effects fill the screen. Start by reducing shadows and effects quality if performance dips during giant encounters.
| Setting | Recommended Value | Performance Impact | Visual Trade-Off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | Native monitor resolution | High if lowered | Lower values look softer |
| Shadows | Medium | Medium to high | Less depth around buildings |
| Effects | Medium or High | High during destruction | Lower impact effects |
| Post-processing | Medium | Low to medium | Reduced bloom and atmosphere |
| Frame-rate cap | Stable target for your PC | Improves consistency | May limit peak FPS |
For hardware context, compare your system with Steam’s current official Extinction store page rather than trusting an old settings post. If you’re diagnosing an older PC, our Cossacks 3 PC specs guide and Deadfall Adventures performance guide offer useful baseline advice for aging hardware.
When to stop farming and return to the campaign
Farm until you have the movement and execution tools that remove friction from normal missions, then continue the campaign. Over-farming an early stage can make the process dull without giving you a meaningful advantage, particularly if your remaining problem is route knowledge rather than damage output.
Use challenge replays later for medal chasing. Once Avil can move confidently, you can optimize civilian order, enemy clears, and Ravenii routes for better scores. If you enjoy objective-heavy runs, the same mindset applies to our Chef Life fast-leveling guide: repeat a reliable loop, reduce wasted actions, and only chase perfection after the underlying route is consistent.
For official information, check the Iron Galaxy website, the Extinction Steam community hub, and the game’s community wiki. The short version is simple: rescue first, clear only necessary enemies, dismantle the armor blocking your route, execute cleanly, and replay missions you can finish without deaths. That’s the real Extinction fast-leveling and “gold farming” strategy.