Halloween: The Game XP and Perk Cards Explained

The one-minute version

This is the single easiest thing to get wrong: XP and Perk Points are not the same currency.

Four XP tracks record where you’re growing: Profile, Killer, Civilian and Weapon.

Perk Points are a separate resource. They draw, upgrade and manage Civilian Perk Cards and Perk Decks.

Mixing them up causes real problems. You watch a level climb without knowing which track your next match should feed, or you bank points without knowing which deck to spend them on.

Civilians also carry three separate attributes: Personality, Resourcefulness and Capability. Those aren’t XP tracks either. They describe what the character is naturally good at.

What each XP track earns

1. Profile XP comes from every match regardless of role. It’s the broadest track and the Prestige threshold, once every 100 levels.
2. Killer XP only moves when you play Michael. It unlocks Michael abilities and executions.
3. Civilian XP is per character. Leveling Laurie advances Laurie, not Rachel.
4. Weapon XP is per weapon. Whichever weapon lands the kill advances that weapon.

The developers also confirmed that normal leveling unlocks additional Civilian characters, new Michael abilities, Civilian starting items and cosmetics, plus higher tiers of challenges and executions.

In other words, leveling is the main unlock path. Perk Points only cover the deck side.

What 1.0.2 changed

This is the section most likely to date, so here’s only what the patch notes state outright. All three are live changes, not things under consideration.

• Michael’s base damage resistance went up. Damage resistance for Bloodthirst tiers 1 and 2 went up with it. The stated goal was to strengthen Michael’s early game.
• Lethal Pitch was weakened. Specifically, its effectiveness at tiers 2 through 5 was lowered. The developers say they’re watching that perk and others.
• Fewer escape items spawn. Pocket Knives, Icepicks and similar items were reduced across every map, because they can be equipped as Civilian starting items and the developers want them to stay rare clutch tools.

The developers haven’t published how much each number moved, and this page won’t guess.

The balance direction they’ve announced

The September 17 post also sketched where balance goes next. Treat these as plans, not shipped changes.

Weakening select over-strong perks — the post specifically calls out “Bob Squads”. Making Michael harder to stagger. Adjusting melee damage, Civilian stagger states and weapon combo speed. And continuing to tune the Grab and Struggle rhythm.

A sensible spending order

1. Pick a main direction first: Michael, a specific Civilian, or a weapon class. Pushing all four tracks at once leaves every one of them short.
2. Ignore Profile XP, it accrues naturally. Let Killer, Civilian and Weapon XP follow what you actually play, and don’t compare their levels to each other.
3. Spend early Perk Points on one working Civilian deck rather than chasing a rare card.
4. Commit Weapon XP and character levels only to what you genuinely keep using.
5. Consider Prestige after the loop feels familiar. Prestige pays out in cosmetics, not match power — see Prestige rewards.
6. If a track suddenly stops moving, restart the client and check whether it’s on the officially known-issues list before you regrind anything.

Limits and sources

The developers haven’t published the full perk list, drop rates, per-level thresholds, rarity tiers or numeric values, so third-party tier lists can’t be treated as confirmed data.

This page only covers what the official overview and patch posts state. Sources: official Progression & Customization overview, Patch Notes 1.0.2, official What’s Coming Next post.

Next: Prestige rewards, Characters and factions, Beginner guide.