An agent's Access Level determines which leveled items he or she can use, the capacity of his or her XM Tank, and the range at which an agent can remotely recharge a Portal.
Access Levels range from Level 1 to Level 16, with Level 1 to Level 8 being the primary levels that dictate item accessibility and Level 9 to Level 16 being the secondary "prestige" levels. A Level 8 agent can use every item in the game, but has less XM capacity, a shorter recharge range, and less community clout than a Level 16.
Primary Access Levels are obtained by obtaining specific quantities of Access Points, while secondary Access Levels require both Access Points and Medals.
Access Level Requirements
| Level | AP | Difference | Medals |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | 0 | N/A | |
| L2 | 2,500 | 2,500 | |
| L3 | 20,000 | 17,500 | |
| L4 | 70,000 | 50,000 | |
| L5 | 150,000 | 80,000 | |
| L6 | 300,000 | 150,000 | |
| L7 | 600,000 | 300,000 | |
| L8 | 1,200,000 | 600,000 | |
| L9 | 2,400,000 | 1,200,000 | 1 Gold + 4 Silver |
| L10 | 4,000,000 | 1,600,000 | 2 Gold + 5 Silver |
| L11 | 6,000,000 | 2,000,000 | 4 Gold + 6 Silver |
| L12 | 8,400,000 | 2,400,000 | 6 Gold + 7 Silver |
| L13 | 12,000,000 | 3,600,000 | 1 Platinum + 7 Gold |
| L14 | 17,000,000 | 5,000,000 | 2 Platinum |
| L15 | 24,000,000 | 7,000,000 | 3 Platinum |
| L16 | 40,000,000 | 16,000,000 | 2 Black + 4 Platinum |
A Gold, Silver, Platinum, or Black Medal also counts towards each rank requirement below it. For example, an agent with seven Gold Medals and no Silver Medals would be eligible for the 6 Gold + 7 Silver requirement of Level 12.
Item Accessibility
Agents may only use leveled items - that is, deploy Resonators, fire XMP Bursters and Ultra Strikes, and use Power Cubes - if the item's level is equal or less than his or her level. There is an exception on Power Cubes in that an agent can recycle a higher level cube and receive all its XM value.
When an agent hacks a Portal of higher level, the agent has a drastically reduced chance of receiving items that exceed his or her level.
Portal Mods, ADA Refactors, JARVIS Viruses, and Capsules have no level. Media are always Level 1. While Portal Keys display a level, the level refers to the Portal and not the Key. Each of these items can be used and hacked from Portals by agents of any level.
Note that although the ADA Refactors and JARVIS Viruses can be acquired and used by agents of any level, the proportional XM cost of these items prevents an agent from using them on portals of two or more levels higher.
XM Capacity and Recharge Range
| Level | XM Capacity | Recharge Range |
|---|---|---|
| L1 | 3,000 | 250km |
| L2 | 4,000 | 500km |
| L3 | 5,000 | 750km |
| L4 | 6,000 | 1,000km |
| L5 | 7,000 | 1,250km |
| L6 | 8,000 | 1,500km |
| L7 | 9,000 | 1,750km |
| L8 | 10,000 | 2,000km |
| L9 | 11,500 | 2,250km |
| L10 | 13,000 | 2,500km |
| L11 | 14,500 | 2,750km |
| L12 | 16,000 | 3,000km |
| L13 | 17,500 | 3,250km |
| L14 | 19,000 | 3,500km |
| L15 | 20,500 | 3,750km |
| L16 | 22,000 | 4,000km |
In addition to leveled item accessibility, an agent's level determines the capacity of an agent's XM tank and the range at which he or she can remotely recharge a Portal. Remote recharge efficiency scales proportionately between 50% at the range limit, to 100% within the 40m area of influence. The specific formula for calculating efficiency is:
Efficiency (%) = Floor[1000 – (distance in km)/(5 * Player Level)]/10
Other Perks
| Level | Perk |
|---|---|
| L7 | Agent can submit new Missions. |
| L8 | Agent can suggest Portal edits (name, description, add new photo). |
| L10 | Agent can submit new Portals.[1] |
| L12 | Agent can access Niantic Wayfarer to review Portal submission requests[2] and suggest Portal location changes. |
Leveling Up
Field kit received when reaching Level 16
When an agent reaches the appropriate criteria, they will immediately level up. They will be locked out of using the Scanner, an animation will play, the agent will be given a Field Kit of Portal Mods and level-appropriate items, and ADA will congratulate their accomplishment. The agent will earn the Field Kit even if they are at cap.
The table below shows what each level's Field Kit contains.
| Access Level | Items in Field Kit | |
| L1 |
|
|
| L2 |
|
|
| L3 |
|
|
| L4 |
|
|
| L5 |
|
|
| L6 |
|
|
| L7 |
|
|
| L8 |
|
|
| L9 |
|
|
| L10 |
|
|
| L11 |
|
|
| L12 |
|
|
| L13 |
|
|
| L14 |
|
|
| L15 |
|
|
| L16 |
|
|
If the agent receives their final Medal requirement while the scanner wasn't active, such as by earning Guardian or Recruiter, the agent's higher level will still be reflected on their profile. They will see the animation and receive the Level Pack upon opening the scanner.
If an agent reaches the criteria for two or more Access Levels simultaneously, such as by earning Gold Builder and Gold Liberator simultaneously while having 6,000,000 AP and three unrelated Silver Medals, they will gain the higher level immediately after closing the Level Pack popup of the previous level.
Strategy
Because agents below Level 8 must use weaker items and lower-level Resonators, an agent's primary objective is to reach Level 8 as rapidly as possible. Once an agent reaches Level 8, he or she can use the most powerful XMP Bursts and Ultra Strikes, the most efficient Power Cubes, and the most useful Resonators, which massively increases the value he or she contributes to the faction.
Below Level 6, agents will have difficulty attacking Portals. Lower-level agents will gain AP most efficiently by seeking out unclaimed and partially-filled Portals, deploying Resonators to fill every slot, and creating Links and Fields. For maximum AP gain, the agent can team up with a high-level agent who can clear out enemy Portals. The high-level agent will receive lots of AP for destruction and modding, the low-level agent will receive lots of AP for capturing, and both agents can help local agents by filling all four Mod slots.
Once an agent reaches Level 6, he or she can efficiently attack enemy Portals, assuming the Portals are minimally shielded. Seeking out areas dense with enemy links and fields, destroying them, and capturing the Portals will grant the agent a significant amount of AP in a short period of time.
Once an agent reaches Level 7, he or she can help create Level 7 Portals, which are a tremendous asset to his or her team. In fact, eight Level 7 agents can create Level 7 Portals without the aid of a high-level agent at all.
A Level 8 or higher agent gains the ability to deploy Level 8 Resonators, which allows him or her to help construct Portals of Level 7 and Level 8, tremendously improving local friendlies' access to high-level resources. If a neighborhood has three active friendly Level 8 agents and two or fewer opposing Level 8's, the friendly team will have a significant advantage. If the neighborhood has eight active friendly Level 8's and fewer opposing agents, the advantage is often overwhelming and the local opposition can be completely suppressed.
Misconceptions
An agent's level has no effect on his or her area of influence, which is fixed at 40m and cannot be affected in any way.
An agent's level has no effect on the strength or destructive radius of weapons he or she uses, which are intrinsic to the item. However, higher levels do enable the use of higher-level weapons.
While an agent's level affects the level of items he or she receives from hacking, it doesn't impact the quantity of items received. If a Level 1 agent perfectly Glyph Hacks a Level 8 Portal, he or she will receive significantly more items than if he or she glyphed a Level 1 Portal, although the items will be around Level 1. However, said agent may still receive Level 2 gear, as it is possible to obtain gear one level beyond your current by glyphing higher-leveled portals.