12-13-2025 01:27 AM
Hi Guys,
I wanted to ask if anyone here has taken the XSOAR Engineer exam so far. I’m scheduled to sit for it next month and would love to hear about your experience.
How practical were the questions? Were playbooks and integrations heavily tested?
Any study tips or preparation strategies would be really helpful for everyone in the same boat as me.
12-15-2025 01:33 AM
Hi @WilliamHudson ,
There is no single, full-proof method or guaranteed guide to pass this certification. It validates real-world expertise. What I can offer is my personal preparation strategy based directly on the official blueprint.
Check out the following blueprint:
The exam validates the hands-on skills required to deploy, configure, integrate, and troubleshoot.
1. Were Playbooks & Integrations Heavily Tested?
Absolutely. The exam is weighted heavily toward these domains (using the numbering from the datasheet I provided in a link above):
Playbook Development (30%): This is the single largest domain. Focus heavily on 3.2 (referencing and manipulating context data), 3.5 (applying filters and transformers), and 3.6 (using the playbook debugger). This confirms you need to know how data moves and how to fix errors.
Use Case Planning (22%): Focus here on 2.3 (classifier and mapper configuration) and 2.6 (incident type playbooks, layouts, and SLAs). This confirms you need to know how data enters the system and how to automate the incident lifecycle.
2. How Practical Were the Questions?
Highly practical. They test implementation and troubleshooting. Expect questions that test your understanding of the Skills Required section:
Python & Scripts: As mentioned in the skills section, proficiency in Python (and to a lesser extent, JavaScript) for writing automation scripts is required.
Data Handling: Know JSON proficiency, data transformation, and data parsing/extraction techniques. This links directly to the "filters and transformers" tasks (3.5).
Deployment: The Planning, Installation, and Maintenance (14%) section confirms you must know how to manage a dev/prod deployment (1.3) and troubleshoot integration instances.
Targeted Study Strategy
Hands-On Lab Time: Dedicate time to a lab environment. Build a single, complex playbook that requires you to use filters, transformers, sub-playbooks, and debugging tools.
Focus on the Top 3 Domains: Playbook Development (30%), Use Case Planning (22%), and Threat Intelligence (18%). That accounts for 70% of the exam.
Read the BluePrint Tasks: Research the specific tasks listed in the blueprint (e.g., Explain the process of creating and applying automation scripts - 3.8) directly in the Palo Alto Networks documentation.
Additional resources:
https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/services/education/palo-alto-networks-xsoar-engineer
https://learn.paloaltonetworks.com/learn/courses/867/cortex-xsoar-soar-engineer-training
Hope this helps,
Click Accept as Solution to acknowledge that the answer to your question has been provided.
The button appears next to the replies on topics you’ve started. The member who gave the solution and all future visitors to this topic will appreciate it!
These simple actions take just seconds of your time, but go a long way in showing appreciation for community members and the LIVEcommunity as a whole!
The LIVEcommunity thanks you for your participation!
