There are two types of levels, completely unrelated:
1. Your character level, which just increases over time for killing shit and completing shit. This is a passive level up - you don't have to trigger it.
And it automatically upgrades your health, magic and strength by different amounts depending what vocation you are when you level up. For example, if you're a mage when you level up, magic will go up a lot and strength and health will just go up a bit.
I can't remember what the level cap is, but it's well over 100.
2. Your vocation level. This applies to each class (or vocation) and determines what skills and abilities you can buy for that vocation. You buy skills/ability with a different currency, different to XP but comes in for the same things: i.e killing shit and completing shit.
Again, the levelling up is passive in that it just increases over time. But you do have to go to a dude and spend points on new skills and abilities, then assign them as active. There are only 9 levels for each vocation (with 9 vocations), but the levels stick, so if you level up fighter to 4, then dick around as a mage for a bit, when you decide to be a fighter again, it will still be at level 4.
Also, vocations determine what weapon you can use, although there is some cross-over in the hybrid vocations. i.e. fighters can only use swords and shields and mages can only use staffs. But a mystic knight, which is the fighter-mage hybrid, can use swords/shields or staffs.
And if you unlock a sword skill as a fighter, you can still use it as a mystic knight when equipped with a sword. There are also abilities which are passive buffs usually, and these can be used no matter what vocation you are once you've unlocked them.
So it can be good to max out a vocation, even if you don't really like it, just for one high level ability it offers that will work well with another vocation. For example, maybe mage can unlock increased magic, but mages are kinda gay, so you level up mage to get the ability, then fuck it off and become a sorceror where the magic smack down begins - but now you can be a sorceror with increased magic.
I'm not sure I explained that too well lol, but it should make sense once you get to the city and start changing your class around.
Also, all that applies to your pawn as well, with the only difference being that pawns can't select hybrid vocations, which leaves you 6 of 9 options.
Can you tell I'm bored at work? LOL
