For Items and Gold, the drop penalty kicks in when you farm mobs that are 8 levels higher than you. If you farm mobs that are 40+ levels higher than you, you get no Items or Gold. Territe, Soulstones, and Specialties are the only exceptions, as you can farm these drops regularly at any level without any drop penalties.
EXP Drop Penalties
Here’s the list of drop penalties you receive for EXP drops: TIP: If you want to farm EXP more effectively, then you have to clear mobs that are at most 3 levels above or below you. The drop penalty you receive if you farm mobs 3 levels higher than you is negligible. Moreover, it’s generally the highest level gap where the amount of time your main character needs to clear a mob isn’t slowed down.
Item Drop Penalties
Here’s the list of drop penalties you receive for Item drops: TIP: The “within three levels” rule still applies when you’re farming items, since you get no drop penalties for items at all if you follow it. Although if you’re farming with alt characters and want specific drops, you can break this rule and farm mobs that are up to 7 levels higher than you — if you don’t mind the slight EXP loss. Alts are much stronger than your mains at the same level, which means you can clear mobs and farm items at a much faster rate.
Gold Drop Penalties
Here’s the list of drop penalties you receive for Gold drops: TIP: The penalty for Gold drops is much like the penalty for Item drops, so all you have to do is watch out for the same parameters. Following the “within three levels” rule is still a good guideline if you want to farm a good amount of Gold along with Items and EXP. Although if you want to farm more Gold, you can always farm mobs that are up to 7 levels above yours if you don’t mind the EXP loss. You’ll also be able to farm more Gold if you farm sellable items from mobs in the World Map (not the Chaos Fields), so make sure you do that often!
