Top Farming Spots and Tips for Efficient XP in RAID: Shadow Legends
If you’re looking to climb the ranks in RAID: Shadow Legends, mastering XP farming is an absolute must. Finding the right campaign stages and optimizing your approach will not only speed up your champion leveling but also leave you with extra resources for gear, silver, and potions. After hundreds of farming runs (and learning from a couple of painful mistakes myself), I’m here to walk you through the best places and strategies for XP farming, so you don’t have to waste precious energy or time.
Why XP Farming Matters
Efficient XP farming isn’t just about min-maxing numbers—it’s the core of building a stronger roster. Whether you’re prepping food champions for fusion, pushing champions to 6-star ascension, or just trying to get through content faster, focusing on the right locations and methods will accelerate your progress. Early on, I remember spending my entire day’s worth of energy on the wrong campaign stage and being puzzled why my food champions took forever to level up. Don’t be like me back then—let’s break down how to get it right!
The Best Campaign XP Farming Spots
There are a lot of campaign stages in RAID, but a few stand out as “must-farm” for core reasons. The key is balancing XP per energy, speed of clear, loot drops (like silver), and accessibility at your current account level.
- Stage 12-3 (Brimstone Path): Widely considered the best XP farm stage due to high XP yield, quick clearing, and lucrative Shield drops that sell for a premium.
- Stage 12-6 (Brimstone Path): Higher XP per run, but drops weapons (sell for less than shields). Still very good, especially if your team clears this more easily.
- Turn Normal and Hard modifiers to your advantage: If you’re not yet crushing Brutal, farming 12-3 or 12-6 on Hard—or even Normal—is a solid stepping stone.
When I finally managed a reliable farmer for Brutal 12-3, my account growth noticeably sped up. Before that, I spent a fair amount of time farming earlier stages—then realized how much XP (and silver) I’d left on the table! For reference, the team at HellHades breaks down why 12-3 is the sweet spot for nearly every stage of account progression. Shields sell for more than any other item you’ll get elsewhere, which means more silver for your upgrades, too.
How to Build an Efficient XP Farming Team
Success in campaign farming boils down to pairing a strong “farmer” with weaker champions you want to level up (often called “food”). Here’s the basic lineup:
- 1 Campaign Farmer: Fast, strong AoE nuker to clear all three waves solo.
- 3 Food Champions: The heroes (typically 2-star/3-star/4-star) getting XP to rank up or fuse later.
Your chosen campaign farmer is the engine of your XP runs. Popular choices include Kael (for early/midgame), Bellower, Galek, or any champion with a strong AoE and quick animations. I used Kael for ages—his Poison didn’t always clear everything super fast, but it got the job done until my roster improved.
- Focus gear on offense and speed stats so your farmer acts first and wipes each wave.
- If you notice your runs stalling (the farmer getting stunned or bogged down), rethink your masteries, upgrade gear, or drop to Hard mode until your build is stronger.
- Consider using Lifesteal gear earlier on to ensure your farmer stays healthy until you outgrow it.
One mistake newer players make is running teams with multiple “carries.” It’s tempting to bring extra power, but you sharply reduce your overall XP gains for food champions. Stick to one farmer and three food whenever you can clear 12-3 Brutal in under 30 seconds per run for maximum results.
XP Farming Table: Stages, Yields, and Rewards
| Stage | Difficulty | XP per Champion (No Double XP) | Key Drop | Recommended When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-3 | Brutal | 8,652 | Shield (sells high) | Best overall for most players |
| 12-6 | Brutal | ~9,000 | Weapon | If team clears this faster than 12-3 |
| 12-3 | Hard | 4,916 | Shield | For earlier accounts before Brutal |
| Any 6 | All difficulties | Varies | Random | If you can’t clear 12-3 consistently |
This table should give you a ballpark figure for what to expect at each stage. Double XP events and XP boosts from the Gem Shop will obviously double your results, so save your energy for those weekends if you can!
Advanced XP Farming Tips and Tricks
- Use XP Boosts: The shop sells 1-day and 3-day XP boosts. Stack these with double XP events for ridiculous growth rates, especially during fusion events or tournaments.
- Don’t Waste Energy: Remind yourself (and your clanmates) to spend energy efficiently. I still cringe thinking about the time I accidentally burned a full flask on stage 1 because I autopiloted the wrong button early in the morning!
- Level Up Food Champions Slowly: Rank up your 2-star/3-star champions only once they’re fully maxed at their level—the XP per energy is much higher this way, and you don’t burn through food needlessly.
- Watch Your Runs: Be sure your campaign farmer can clear 12-3 Brutal with no support—if not, it’s time to improve gear, adjust masteries, or consider a stronger nuker.
A trick some players use (and I picked up from friends in my guild) is to pre-level food—lift a few champions up to just before their max level, and then finish them off during a double XP or champion training event for even more efficient use of time and resources.
Common XP Farming Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
Not all XP farming is equal. I see a lot of people making these errors—many of which I committed myself when I was starting out:
- Farming the Wrong Stage: Earlier campaign levels or random spots for specific drop types will massively slow your progress. Stick to 12-3 on the hardest difficulty you can reliably clear.
- Leveling Food Without Maxing: Feeding unmaxed food to rank up new champions wastes precious energy. Always max their level before “feeding” for more efficient resource use.
- Not Using XP Boosts or Double XP Events: Burning energy outside these occasions is less efficient. Try to time your major XP pushes to coincide with boosts.
- Using Multiple Farmers: Remember, only one champion should carry—don’t dilute your XP gains just for a slightly faster clear unless that’s all your account can manage at the time.
My biggest “facepalm” moment? Auto-selecting champions to level and blowing through more than a day’s energy on campaign 6-3 for potion drops, thinking I was being efficient. The XP gain was dismal, and it took twice as long to rank up my food. Ever since, I double-check the stage before committing any big XP sessions.
Bonus: When to Move Beyond Campaign Farming
Eventually, you’ll want to branch out from campaign XP farming to tackle other challenges—like Faction Wars for juicy glyphs and shards, or Arena for medals and bragging rights. Campaign farming is your bread and butter early and midgame, but don’t neglect the other daily content. If you’re working on improving your Faction Wars progress to unlock those all-important rewards, check out our in-depth guide on RAID Faction Wars best champions and strategies as a next step.
Final Thoughts and Next Steps
Mastering XP farming is one of the most satisfying turning points in RAID: Shadow Legends. You’ll notice your account snowballing faster, your champion options opening up, and your progress through dungeons and other content getting easier. Always focus on the best campaign stages you can clear efficiently, maximize food champion XP by leveling them all the way, and don’t forget to take advantage of those sweet boosts and events. You’ll thank yourself in the long run.
And if you want to see what other players think about their XP farming routines or share your own story, check out this Reddit community XP farming poll for even more insights from experienced players.
Good luck, and may your campaign clears be swift and your champions forever hungry for XP!