Section 1: Introduction.
Recently I have seen this question asked several times, around the site and on bnet. "Whats the fastest way to level?" So I decided to compile this list of fast leveling strategies. DISCLAIMER: I do not claim credit for coming up with these strategies, I just take credit for writing them out and organizing them.
Section 2: Glitch/Chaos Method.
This method is by far the fastest, which is why I am listing it first. It is also the most difficult to pull off without good friends.
Step 1: Get glitch rushed from normal act1 to hell act4.During the course of the glitch rush you will level up to anywhere from lvl 3-5 before hell act4. In hell act4 you will get to about lvl 10-12. A. Get rushed from normal act1-5. B. Find a normal Baal run game where the quest is open and get partied. Then sit in the game till they kill Baal and get quest and you will get it too. C. Repeat A and B for nightmare. D. Get rushed from hell act1-5. Step 2: Hell Chaos run til lvl 20. This is probably only going to take you 1 chaos run after your rush. Step 3: There is some slight discrepency as to what to do here, but from experience I can tell you that cows are best. Cow from 20-25. OPTIONAL STEP: Stop cowing at 24 and get your normal Ancients quest to hit 25. Personally I save it for later. Even though you will not get a full level, I still save mine for lvl 95+. I do this because you will still get the same amount of XP you would have got earlier, but at a later level. For those of you who have never lvled past 95 before, XP becomes extremely hard to come by, and that 1,000 points or whatever it is from normal ancients is very helpful. Step 4: Hell Chaos til lvl 60. Step 5: Get hell Ancients quest. You could also get your nightmare Ancients quest somewhere in here, but again I reccommend saving it for when you are about to level up to a high lvl. Step 6: Hell Baal from lvl 61-90(or where ever you want to stop). Optional Step 7: Hell Baal+Chaos run 90+. At these high levels, Baal runs just don't cut it. But Chaos is still surprisingly good.
If done properly and quickly, You can conceivibly reach lvl 80 in 2-5 hours.
Section 3: Rush/Baal Method.
This is the next fastest, and probably the most used on bnet. The speed of this method depends on how much help from friends you can get. This method also has much more room for variance than Method 1.
Step 1: Normal Tristram run lvl 1-15. Step 2: Get to normal act5. The best way to accomplish this is to get a rush, but if you cannot, just join public games until you find the quests you need. Step 3: Tomb runs lvl 15-20 Step 4: Cow runs 20-24 Step 5: Normal Ancients quest lvl 24-25 Step 6: Normal Baal run lvl 25-40. It is Ideal to get your Baal quest right as you hit lvl 40. Step 7: Get to nightmare act5. Again, get a rush if you can, but if not do public games till you find the quests. Step 8: Nightmare Ancients quest lvl 40-41. This level may vary, depending on if you get a rush or not and how much work you have to do in the public games. Step 9: Nightmare Baal runs 41-60. Again, get the quest as close to 60 as possible. If you are not going to be able to get a hell rush, you can continue to nightmare Baal till lvl 70 if you wish. Step 10: Get to Hell act5. This will probably lvl you at least a few times even if you are rushed. Step 11: Hell Ancients quest: we'll call it lvl 62-63 for simplicity's sake. Step 12: Hell Baal from lvl 63-90(or where ever you want to stop). Optional Step 13: Hell Baal+Chaos run 90+. See reasoning in previous section.
Depending on how fast you are, you can achieve about lvl 40 before your character becomes permanent(aka 3 hrs of game time). And should hit around lvl 80 within around 10 hrs of playing time(no I have never played that long constantly so I can't say exactly).
Section 4: Alternate HC Method: Chanted.
I am going to call this method hardcore only because I have only ever used it or seen it done on hardcore. So if you only play softcore, feel free to skip. This method is very similar to method 2, except at the beginning. It also requires some good friends to pull off efficiently. AND WATCH OUT FOR PKERS!! If you do not know the chanter, always assume they are a PKer and take necessary precautions.
Lets start with the basics. What is a chanter? A chanter is a sorceress who focuses on the skill enchant. I believe on softcore this character is known as a 'melee sorc', but I digress. Why does this character focus on enchant you ask? To add a huge amount of damage to lower level characters so they can lvl far more quickly(if this concept is confusing to you for any reason feel free to PM me and I can provide you with a better explanation and even an in game demo). On to the steps.
Step 1: Chanted walk through act1 and act2. This will get you to approximately lvl 22 depending on how many players are in game. NOTE: GET A RAVENCLAW BOW AND EQUIP IT IMMEDIATELY AT LVL 15! This bow is extremely important because it shoots explosive arrows and kills a lot more stuff a lot faster. Step 2: Cow run from lvl 22-24. If your chanter adds a good amount of damage(at least 1.5k) and you have a ravenclaw bow, do chanted solo cows. I do not recommend this without a ravenclaw, it is very easy to die. Step 3: Get to normal act5. Again, get a rush if you can, if not public game for quests. WATCH OUT FOR PKERS. Step 4: From here on, you level exactly the same as Method 2. Continue with step 5 of the Rush/Baal method. Remember that as you gain levels, your chances of someone attempting to PK you increases.
I cannot stress this enough, if you are in a public game, always assume someone there wants to PK you. 80-90% of the people on bnet are jerks.
Section 5: Closing Remarks.
Thank you for taking the time to read through my guide. I hope you found it helpful. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Again, I do not take credit for coming up with these strategies, only for assembling them and taking the time to write them out.
Last edited by Bloodangel26; 05-08-2006 at 11:14 PM.
Hmmmm, a good guide. First i'd like to say nobody for some stupid reason likes enchant games on sc. you lvl a million times faster but ppl see a lvl 90 in a trist run and assume that they are going around too.
Also the speed of grushing actually depends on whether or not you can find a baal quest game. 90% of the ppl that join those games for some reason just want to get to throne room. why they dont go to a regular run is beyound me but w/e.
Oh, and welcome back.
Live, Learn, then STFU.
I am Jack's smirking revenge.
would be nice if the forums had spacing between lines, like on MS Word, cuz all that text can get annoying on the eyes.
good job on the overall, and yeah welcome back
Nice guide. I'm gonna try the g-rush way. I recently got my account hacked on Us East L, so i switched over to Us West.
How come you get fast level ups in hell chaos, shouldn't there be a big level difference between you and the monsters there, stopping you from getting experience?
Nice guide, Blood. Maybe elaborate a bit more on the ench method, so that you won't get your imbox spammed full of the same question? Yes, I agree with Siris, enching is the way to go.
Maybe add in some high level Baaling techniques, such as mule Baaling and CSing etc, getting Diablo and Baal kills and parties. If you even wish, I could write that section and add it onto your guide.
Nice guide, I really appreciated the part about needing friends to g-rush. I got a grush to hell and then have had the hardest time joining in Chaos games to level. I always try to help anyone polite enough to ask for it, and I frequently offer first, but I got a lot of folks get pissed when I joined the games as a low level char. Many times I was not invited or had someone go hostile just to keep me from playing. I finally had a friend host a bunch of public nm baal runs to get to level 62 (I had managed to get to level 50 myself). No more grushes for me unless I have someone ready to spend the 4 hours or so to get all the way to a decent level. I will stick with your method in section 3, I find it quicker without pissing people off.
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