Programming - Skill Progression Guide (post–December update)

[EllaEstella]

Programming Skill Guide (Level 0 → Level 10) (post–December update)

Settings: 96-minute day • Context: after the December update (much faster skill XP from activities)

Intro

In my rotational play I test money-making skills with Zois dedicated to one main skill. Below are my Programming observations after the December update, focusing on level-up speed, work completion time, and Level 10 benefits as they might be useful if you’re considering investing into this skill.

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Key takeaways

• Fastest XP: programming at the PC (books give very little progress in my run).

• Stable leveling: ~3 in-game hours per level-up from Level 1 to Level 9.

• Work-time breakpoints: changes at Level 3, Level 6, Level 9.

• Level 10 spike: hacking options + high-value quality outcomes.

One-liner: Work time changes at Level 3, Level 6, and Level 9; skill gain per level stays ~3h throughout Level 1–9.

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Project type unlocks (Programming)

• Level 0: Plugin, Game Mod

• Level 2: Utility App, Puzzle Game

• Level 4: Shopping App, Sandbox Game

• Level 6: Finance App, Antivirus Program

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Core progression table (overview)

Phase	Level-up time	Work time (App/Game/etc.)	Notes
Level 0 → Level 1	~3 min	—	Very fast initial level at the PC
Level 1 → Level 3	~3 h per level	~7.5 h	XP is much faster than finishing a full work
Level 3 → Level 6	~3 h per level	~6 h	First major work-time drop
Level 6 → Level 9	~3 h per level	under 4 h	Another work-time drop
Level 9 → Level 10	~3 h	under 2 h	Big speed-up for finishing works
Level 10	—	under 2 h	Endgame: fastest works + best bonuses

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Money notes (examples from my run)

• Around Level 6: “Good” sold for ~150 Mew

• Around Level 9: “Good” sold for ~200 Mew

• At Level 10: Excellent ~300 Mew, Perfect ~1000 Mew

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Level 10 benefits (hacking + income spike)

Hacking Competition (Sundays)

• Available at Level 10

• You can participate on Sundays

• Outcome in my run: either you win 1000 Mew or you get nothing (luck-based)

Hack into a Bank

• Available at Level 10

• Takes ~10 minutes

• Success: +1000 Mew

• Failure / caught: −500 Mew

• Cooldown applies whether you succeed or fail

Quality/value spike at Level 10

• In my run, higher quality outcomes mattered most here:

  • Excellent ~300 Mew

  • Perfect ~1000 Mew

• Combined with under 2 hours per work, this is where Programming can be a sufficient money maker.

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  Update / Addendum: Genius trait speeds up Programming

  While playing another Zoi with the Genius trait, I noticed Programming felt significantly faster, so I ran a quick test to confirm.

  Test setup: two Zois started at the same time with the same actions and the same mood (no active buffs). One Zoi had Genius, the other didn’t.

  Result: the Genius Zoi was clearly faster both in finishing works (apps/games) and in leveling up.

  • Work completion time (apps/games) with Genius:
    up to Level 3 ~4h10m → from Level 3 ~2h45m → from Level 6 ~1h50m → from Level 9 <1h

  • Level-up time with Genius: usually ~2h15m per level, and Level 9 → 10 ~1h45m

  • See the time coparison Genius vs. not Genius 2 posts below Work completion time (apps/games) with Genius:

[EllaEstella]

I did a very interesting observation today and not sure if it was there prior December update already because back then I tested only with one Zoi who had the Genius trait but even then the leveling times were crazy slow. This changed a lot after the December update for most of the skills.

For the above Guide after the December update I did the testing with a Zoi without the Genius trait and measured the timings. Now while playing another Zoi with the Genius trait I spotted a difference in the time he needed to finish the programming work. Especially in the early levels it is quite noticable as 7,5 hours is really long.

The Zoi with the Genius trait finished his first programming work within 4:10 hours and after he reached Level 3 (where the first work-time drop happens) the time dropped to 2:50 hours. I will update once I hit Level 6 and Level 9. Also the time to level-up took him only 2:15 instead of the normal 3 hours. So for programming it really makes a huge difference when you give your Zoi the Genius trait!

To be sure I did a short test with 2 newly created Zois. He has the Genius trait, she hasn’t. I placed them next to each other and they started to work on programming exactly at the same time. You can see the difference in the 2 screenshots: he is already shortly before reaching Level 2 and has his current programming work at 57%:

At the exact same moment after the exact same time of programming she is only at 28% for her programming work and has has still a quarter of the skill circle to go until reaching Level 2.

Once I have the work-time drops for Genius for Level 6 and 9, I will update with a note directly in the initial guide post.

[EllaEstella]

I finalized the test run with the Genius trait Zoi and leveling speed as well as programming work-time is constantly way faster vs a Zoi without this trait. I did a small update in the guide directly with a link to this post.

Genius vs. Normal (Programming) — differences at a glance

Phase	Normal (work completion time)	Genius (work completion time)	Difference
Up to Level 3	~7h 30m	~4h 10m	~3h 20m faster
Level 3 → Level 6	~6h	~2h 45m	~3h 15m faster
Level 6 → Level 9	under 4h	~1h 50m	≥ ~2h 10m faster
Level 9 → Level 10	under 2h	under 1h	~1h faster (approx.)

Phase	Normal (time to level up)	Genius (time to level up)	Difference
Most levels (Level 1 → Level 9)	~3h	~2h 15m	~45m faster
Level 9 → Level 10	~3h	~1h 45m	~1h 15m faster

[HeinziDerHeld]

Wow, that’s a huge difference. I’ll try to keep it in mind for my gameplay. Thanks for sharing all of this info with us