Hero XP in Save the World: What Happened to It?
Hero XP in Save the World no longer exists as a separate upgrade currency in the current game. Epic replaced the old Hero XP and Survivor XP split with People XP in v40.00, which is why returning players can open Homebase and wonder where the familiar Hero XP balance went.
Nothing needs to be manually converted before you can level Heroes. The current menus simply use People XP for ordinary Hero levels, while evolution still has its own requirements. Old build guides can therefore remain useful for Hero choices even when their XP farming instructions use outdated currency names.
What happened to Hero XP in Save the World?

Hero XP in Save the World Image SaveTheWorldDB.
Hero XP in Save the World was folded into the newer People XP system. To level a Hero now, open Command, choose Heroes and Manage, select the Hero, then use Upgrade/Inspect and Level Up. The cost comes from your People XP balance rather than a Hero-only pool.
If a guide from before v40.00 tells you that Hero XP in Save the World is the resource to farm, translate that part of the advice to People XP. You do not need to find a hidden menu or unlock the old currency again.
How to level Heroes after the Hero XP in Save the World change
The removal of Hero XP in Save the World did not remove Hero levelling. It changed the currency name and combined the pool with Survivors and Defenders. That means Hero upgrades now compete with other roster upgrades for the same People XP balance.
Because Hero XP in Save the World is now historical terminology, check the current mission reward label before farming. A reward shown as People XP is the one relevant to normal Hero levelling today, even when an older article or screenshot would have called the reward Hero XP.
Does Auto Level replace Hero XP in Save the World?
Auto Level can automatically apply People XP to Heroes and Defenders in your active loadout, but it does not bring back a separate currency. The setting is optional and can be disabled if you want to decide exactly which Heroes receive levels.
For players researching Hero XP in Save the World after a long break, the most important practical change is budgeting. Levelling several Heroes can use XP that you also need for Survivor Squads, so focus on the Heroes you genuinely use before building out a large collection of maxed cards.
What returning players should use instead
The current system is covered in the People XP guide. If your real goal is to become stronger rather than simply level a Hero card, the Power Level guide is also worth reading because Survivor Squads are a major part of account progression.
Hero XP in Save the World still appears in plenty of older community material, so seeing the phrase is not proof that the guide is useless. Treat the old currency name as a date marker, then verify any menu paths and reward information against the current version before following them.
What returning players should do
Returning players do not need to convert an old currency manually. The current system simply presents roster levelling through People XP, so the useful part of an older Hero guide is the advice about which Heroes are worth levelling, not the name of the XP it tells you to farm. Check your current balance before making several upgrades at once, especially if your Survivor Squads also need work, because both sides of the roster now compete for the same shared XP resource.
Epic explains the current People XP and roster upgrade system on its Save the World progression support page.
