The Bazaar Level-Up Rewards Explained

Leveling up is a vital part of many successful runs in The Bazaar. In a game where items, shops, and events are all randomized, leveling up provides one form of consistency that players can rely on.

The Bazaar has had many structural changes to its level-up mechanics during its Closed Beta, each one having variable levels of randomness and consistency. The latest changes from Patch 0.1.4 brought forth a more preset experience, and finally struck a nice balance of reliable improvements without breaking the game.

In this quick guide we'll break down what you should expect during each level so that you can better plan your runs. Knowledge goes a long way to improving your results in The Bazaar, so we'll also include some tips on how to approach leveling.

As a quick disclaimer, some of the level-up rewards are variable based on the Hero you are playing. These are hard to account for, as there are plenty of random options and not all can be entirely confirmed.

For example, when playing Vanessa you may have the option to get a random Aquatic item, whereas Dooley may offer 2 gold for each Friend item that you own. There's a ton of variety, but each will be relative to the Hero in some way.

With that in mind, these are generally less important than the more structured preset rewards. So overall your focus will likely be on the levels that provide upgrades, skills, and enchantments.

Before we get into the details and tips, here's a quick breakdown by level.

Dooley Differences:

• At Level 3 Dooley has the choice between five Cores instead of the usual set of options.
• At Level 7 Dooley can choose to "Upgrade the Core", or take the Silver Skill.

Jules Differences:

• At Level 3 Jules unlocks a Cooler socket.
• At Level 9 Jules has an additional option that unlocks a Stove or Cooler socket (your choice).

Not every level-up reward is created equal. Some of these are essentially just filler, which makes sense for balancing reasons. On the other hand, many of these rewards can be a huge power spike, making XP extremely important.

Gaining an important upgrade, a vital skill, or a relevant enchant can often make or break a build. Knowing this, you can actually adapt and make certain decisions during your run to better align with the path of rewards. Let's take a closer look.

Level 2 - Small Enchanted Bronze Item / Bronze Skill

Bronze Skills offer a huge boost to the early game and can often be a deciding factor for winning the first PvP Encounter. For example, adding an extra +20 Damage to a Weapon with Multicast is a massive difference.

However, getting an enchanted item create an exciting start and potentially offer an even more powerful opener. It's probably the less consistent option, but the ceiling is definitely there for some wild combinations!

Level 4 - Upgrade Bronze Item / Silver Item

Knowing this is the only option, make sure you're always planning ahead so that you can get a worthwhile upgrade. Use it to get an early game power boost, or perhaps improve an Economy item to position yourself better for the future. However, if you don't have anything worth upgrading, you can at least grab a Silver item.

Level 5 / 7 - Silver Skill

Silver skills are often where you can start to better shape your build. Many highly synergistic skills begin at Silver tier, including ones that rely on time to scale.

The range of importance is a lot larger than the initial Bronze skill, as there are many more skills in the Silver pool. Sometimes you can get a build defining skill, other times you get junk. Though overall, you've got decent odds at finding at least something useful. It may not benefit you immediately, but it's a good way to pick up a synergy skill for later.

Level 8 - Orlin (Gold Skill) / Gold Tier Skill Vendor / Gold Tier Skill Vendor

Gold skills are a huge turning point for many builds. While this level-up also offers two random category-specific skill vendors, do note that many of those skills can appear at Bronze or Silver.

Orlin is your sure-fire way to acquire a Gold tier skill, but of course with a larger pool of options. Despite the wide variety, there are a ton of good ones, meaning after a reroll you're likely to find at least something you like.

Level 10 - Random Enchantment 1 / Random Enchantment 2

Hands down the most important level-up of all is at Level 10. Gaining access to your first enchantment can turn a good build into an insane build. It can also be a way to salvage a poor run, as certain item/enchant combinations can be game breaking.

Being able to have a strong start and continuously defeat the highest XP PvE Encounter gives you a chance to outpace your opponents' levels. This could mean the difference between you having an enchant in a PvP fight when your opponent doesn't yet have one. Keep a very close eye on XP when you are approaching Level 10.

Level 11 - Gold Tier Skill Vendor / Gold Tier Skill Vendor / Hero-Specific Skill Vendor

More skills are a welcome addition, and what makes this one special is having access to your Hero's exclusive skill vendor. Many of these are incredibly powerful, build-defining skills.

What you decide will ultimately depend on the type of skills you're after, as some of the Hero exclusive skills only fit into a specific archetype. Check out our Items | Skills page for more details.

Level 13 - Upgrade Any Item / Orlin (Gold Skill)

This level is where things really start to come together. While you have the freedom to upgrade any item, you'll often want to get your best Gold item to Diamond. Certain items can even be a night and day difference between those tiers, so it's important to ensure they're at their best.

From Level 10 onward you should have an item in mind worth upgrading. If you don't, you'll want to be on the constant search to find one. While a Gold skill is a solid alternative, this is the first reliable upgrade to Diamond. Plenty more skills will follow, so unless your board is already in fantastic shape, it'll be hard to pass this one up.

Level 14 - Adira (Diamond Skill) / Gold Tier Skill Vendor / Gold Tier Skill Vendor

While many rewards have filler levels between them, Levels 13-14 are both huge power spikes. This level offers a guaranteed Diamond tier skill, many of which are absurdly strong and even meta defining.

Unless you're in search of a very specific category of skill, it's impossible to recommend anything else. Diamond skills are insane, and if you don't see one you initially like, ALWAYS reroll for another!

Level 15+ (See Full List Above)

As for everything else, you can refer to the full list above. However, the one thing I want to note is the one difference between the "Gold Tier Skill Vendor" rewards.

Unlike Level 8, Level 11, and Level 14 that are partially predetermined (Orlin, Hero-Specific, Adira), the later rewards are more random. It could simply be three different "Gold Tier Skill Vendors", or alternatively one vendor is replaced by the "Hero-Specific Skill Vendor".

Regardless, plenty of great rewards live at Level 15 and beyond. So if you happen to keep progressing through a long run, there's plenty of stuff still in store!

• Since some of the "Variable Hero-Specific" rewards include getting gold based on owning X item type, it's often worth hoarding items in your stash until you actually need to sell them. This way you have the potential to earn more depending what shows up.
  
• Always be sure you have an item worth upgrading at every tier. Being offered an upgrade and not having something worth upgrading can be a big deficit, so be extra prepared for Level 4 and 13.
  
• Items you find from a different Hero pool (or Monster pool) can be very tough to upgrade as you won't naturally find them in shops. Your only chance without a direct upgrade is through PvE drops, specialty vendors/events, or randomly obtained items. Take advantage of guaranteed level-up upgrades to get these items to respectable tiers.
  
• In times where you're not strong enough to challenge the highest tier PvE Encounter for that day, it's worth picking up XP via events when the opportunity arises. The Mountain Pass event is a great choice for this.