Regions and unlocking
Every stage has a level, derived from the strength of the monsters living in it. Only one thing locks the map: the floor boss.
The floor gate
The floors of every biome always open in this order:
- Normal floors. The next floor only opens once you beat the current floor's boss. The last normal floor ends in the biome's Boss Room, opened by a key (in the Volcano, the Boss Room is Ho-oh).
- Kalos Wing (only in biomes that have one). It is an extra floor with the Kalos pokémon, right after the normal floors. It has no gate: it is open from the start. The Kalos Wing boss does not open any floor.
- Elite floor. Opens once you beat the biome's Boss Room at least once. It does not depend on the Kalos Wing.
- Mega Domain. Opens once you beat the Elite floor's boss.
Example, in the Volcano (a biome with a Kalos Wing):
| Floor | What it is | How it opens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Normal floor | Open from the start |
| 2 | Normal floor, ends in the Boss Room (Ho-oh) | Beat the floor 1 boss |
| 3 | Kalos Wing | Open from the start |
| 4 | Elite floor | Beat the Boss Room (Ho-oh) once |
| 5 | Mega Domain | Beat the Elite floor's boss |
In biomes without a Kalos Wing (Swamp and Sanctuary), the Elite floor comes right after the normal floors, and the Mega Domain right after the Elite floor. How many normal floors a biome has changes from biome to biome.
Past the Elite floor comes the Mega Domain: 5 stages from level 104 to 120, unlocked by beating the Elite floor's boss. Wild Mega forms show up in the hunt there — rare in the early stages, and owning the den in the last one. You can catch them, but they join your collection in the normal form (the Mega form itself is only born at the forge, from fragments). The loot on these floors is the strongest in the game. The floor closes with a duel against a level 126 Mega boss. The full stage list is in Endgame Regions.
Within a floor you have already opened, every stage is clickable, whatever its level. There is no level requirement to enter.
Why there is no level lock
Because combat already charges you. Walking into a stage far above your team isn't blocked — it's just bad:
| Where you hunt (level 60 team) | Kills per hour | Team knockdowns per hour |
|---|---|---|
| At your level (stage 60) | 1,466 | 0 |
| A bit above (stage 68) | 1,517 | 0 |
| Well above (stage 88) | 313 | 176 |
| Far above (stage 100) | 174 | 225 |
On a much stronger stage kills get rare, your team goes down constantly (and every knockdown costs experience and a Revive) and everything you earn — experience, gold, chests — collapses. The sweet spot is hunting at your level or slightly above: that's where the risk still pays.
What each stage pays
Experience per kill is linear in the stage level: about 0.56 × the level per kill, as long as the stage isn't easier than you. Hunting below your own level, XP drops 20% per level of advantage — farming easy stages pays less and less.
Gold and trainer experience point the same way: gold gets a premium from the stage level (level divided by 40, floor 0.7 and cap 2.5), and every kill grants the stage level in trainer experience. Stronger stage, fuller pockets and trainer — as long as you can actually kill.
See also
- Badge: the ruler that decides up to what level your Pokémon obey (it does not lock the map).
- Enemy threat and fainting: the risk model.
- Experience and levels