If you’re trying to win your Duolingo League, then you NEED to know about XP Boost. This little power-up won’t do much to help you learn a language, but it will help you earn a bucket load of XP!
So in this article, we’ll go through everything there is to know about XP Boost, including what it is, how you earn it, and the best way to use it.
Let’s dive in!
Stay in the loop
Never miss another article.
What is an XP Boost?
An XP Boost is a power-up that temporarily doubles the amount of XP you can earn. It lasts for 15 minutes and applies to the XP you earn in the standard lessons.
Usually with a Boost active the maximum amount of XP you can earn is 30 XP: 10 XP for completing the lesson, 5 XP for a full combo bonus, multiplied by 2.
However, if you complete the final lesson of a level while the Boost is active, it can be as much as 50 XP: 20 XP for completing the lesson, 5 XP for a full combo bonus, multiplied by 2.
The XP Boost only applies to the lessons you complete in your tree, so you won’t earn double XP for things like Stories, Audio Lessons or Ramp Up.
How do you get an XP Boost?
Currently, the only way to unlock an XP Boost is to complete a crown level. So when you earn a crown, you’ll usually bag yourself an XP Boost as well.
I say ‘usually’ as this only tends to apply to your first crown of the day. If you unlock another crown while your boost is active, you won’t unlock another boost. Once the boost expires, you should then be eligible to unlock another by earning another crown.
Keep in mind, however, that if you earn a crown by skipping a level you won’t unlock an XP Boost. The only way to unlock the boost is to complete the level fully.
When you unlock a boost, you’ll get a notification confirming that it’s active for the next 15 minutes. Unfortunately you can’t save it for later: you have to use it there and then, otherwise it goes to waste.
There are a few ways you can figure out if it’s active. The best way is to navigate to your Shop screen, where it will tell you how much time you have remaining.
Sometimes you’ll also get a little badge on the left-hand side of your main lesson tree telling you your Boost is equipped and how much time you have left on it.
Alternatively, you can just wait until the end of a lesson and look at the XP you’ve earned. You should be able to spot whether it’s doubled or not, but if you’re still not sure, then just look at the colour: if the XP Boost has been applied, your XP will be in purple!
Follow me on Duolingo!
Up for some friendly competition? Then be sure to follow me on Duolingo! My username is DCiiieee 🙂
How to use an XP Boost strategically
If you’re a regular reader then you’ll know I’m not the biggest fan of XP in its current form. It encourages bad habits and can distract you from your original goal of learning a language.
As such I’m not really bothered about the XP Boosts.
However, if you’re a big XP hunter then XP Boosts are something you’ll definitely want to factor into your accumulation strategy.
So here’s how to use your Boost effectively:
As I mentioned earlier, when you unlock an XP Boost, you have to use it there and then. This means that if you unlock one at the end of your Duolingo sesh, you’re not going to get anything out of it.
The goal, then, is to make sure you unlock your Boosts at the beginning of your daily Duolingo sessions.
To do this, you will need to ensure that your first lesson of the day is the final lesson of a skill level (i.e. the one that earns you a crown). You can do this by getting yourself to the very end of a skill level the day before, so you’re nicely set up at beginning of the next day.
Doing this will ensure that all of the XP you earn following your first lesson is doubled for 15 minutes.
What you’ll notice with this strategy is that you can do the same lessons and commit the same amount of time, but get a lot more XP for your efforts.
So if you’re desperate to win your Duolingo League, this is an approach you’ll definitely want to take advantage of!
What do you think of XP Boosts?
In the grand scheme of things I don’t think XP Boosts are particularly important. For me, learning a language comes first, and everything else — such as what league I’m in — comes second.
But what do you think about XP Boosts?
Do you factor them in to your daily Duolingo sessions?
Do you think they give some users an unfair advantage?
As always, let me know in the comments!
I think that it is worth mentioning that the xp boost doubles for the legendary levels as well so it can give you a bunch of xp doubling the 25 you get from those. another way to use them well is doubling the double xp challenges, or hard mode this way you can get 4x xp! thanks for the article i enjoyed the read!
Great shout, Alex! Both excellent ways to get more out of your XP Boosts!
I notice I get XP boosts when I use my Android phone, but not when I use my MacBook.
A hack that I use with the XP boost is using the boost on legendary challenges. That way you could possibly end up earning minimum 80XP and maximum 90XP. So if you’re trying to win a league that’s definitely a route to success.
That’s a really great shout!
I just started using Duolingo more seriously and I notice what you mean. it can seriously make someone forget about the main goal-which is learning the language- and getting anxious about winning a league! because to win lots of XP, you have to learn lots of lessons in a short amount of time and it lessens the quality of your learning(at least for me).
On the other hand, since only first 10 can advance to the next level, if the competition is intense, you don’t have any choice but to gain lots of XP in order progress in your learning journey! otherwise you stay in a league forever if you don’t care that much about XP.
So I guess the key is to find a middle way.
It doesn’t work off line! I got a boost just as I was taking off and had to switch to airplane mode. All the lessons I did in the air were normal XP, and when I landed it had expired. 🙁
It is good for those like me who has a goal of doing at least something every day. Getting a boost keeps me on Duolingo at least 15 minutes)) with the hopes I won’t fall out of the league on some other day. As I study multiple languages there, there is always some with a crown level approaching. Sometimes it even motivates me to take another 15 minutes. While on other days I can just do one lesson.