How are people already level 70 in the first 2-3 hours after the season starts?!

[SirCowdog]

I'm looking at the solo Hardcore leaderboard, and there's already people climbing the GR list. How did they even reach 70 so fast?! Is there a trick that I don't know about? Some technique that I've never used?

EDIT: I'm no slouch at this game, and I've been playing constantly(with a couple 10 minute breaks to stretch) since 5pm, but I'm only level 51. I'd dearly like to know the method these guys are using so I can work it next season.

[DesMephisto]

I spent an hour and a half getting to level 29 in just the anniversary rift (from level 1) then I did just HoA and FoM and that took about an hour from 29 to 70

[SirCowdog]

I spent an hour and a half getting to level 29 in just the anniversary rift (from level 1) then I did just HoA and FoM and that took about an hour from 29 to 70

And you did this in Hardcore Seasonal?

What class, and on what difficulty?

[Jazzhands]

And you did this in Hardcore Seasonal?

What class, and on what difficulty?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...lview?sle=true

[SirCowdog]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...lview?sle=true

The demon hunter video from that link starts at Paragon level 180... :/

[Jazzhands]

The demon hunter video from that link starts at Paragon level 180... :/

Ok? You asked how it was done, there you go. It just won't be as fast.

Just because he has paragon doesn't mean its spent.

[SirCowdog]

Ok? You asked how it was done, there you go. It just won't be as fast.

Yeah, that's still pretty impressive. I guess I'm not as good as I thought I was. Have to use that next time I level from scratch if I die.

Thanks for the info, btw.

[dadev]

The demon hunter video from that link starts at Paragon level 180... :/

Doesn't look like he spent them. So it's as legit as it can get.
I suspect the biggest boost to shorten leveling time is getting Leoric's crown (with lvl >= 20) and then switching to adventure mode.

[Coldkil]

Doesn't look like he spent them. So it's as legit as it can get.
I suspect the biggest boost to shorten leveling time is getting Leoric's crown (with lvl >= 20) and then switching to adventure mode.

It's not. Fastest way is to roll a WD and farm FoM all time doing huge killstreaks.

Also if you level up in party it takes even less time. Anyway you either go for killstreaks or farm standard roifts ar hard/master. Nothing else to do - use the red gem on helm if you manage to, but actively searching for XP items isn't worth it.

Side note: event dungeon isn't worth to do. Legendary gem is useless until 25 (and not even that good after) plus it stuns you every time it procs; dungeon itself has too low density to be useful.

[Bigbazz]

I have no idea what HOA or FOM stands for, people making guides and talking about abreviations only known to veterans who don't need guides to begin with!

[Coldkil]

I have no idea what HOA or FOM stands for, people making guides and talking about abreviations only known to veterans who don't need guides to begin with!

Eh, unfortunately optimized play is just tens of times superior to casual solo. Not as much as it was long time ago, but still superior.

HoA = Halls of Agony
FoM = Fields of Misery

I know at least a couple of people who did Guardian two days ago. Yes, literally 20-ish hours into season. Tbh, on my barb i totaled around 30 hours of /played to complete everything but i played 99% solo.

It doesn't really take much time if you know what to do beforehand.

[dadev]

It's not. Fastest way is to roll a WD and farm FoM all time doing huge killstreaks.

Also if you level up in party it takes even less time. Anyway you either go for killstreaks or farm standard roifts ar hard/master. Nothing else to do - use the red gem on helm if you manage to, but actively searching for XP items isn't worth it.

Side note: event dungeon isn't worth to do. Legendary gem is useless until 25 (and not even that good after) plus it stuns you every time it procs; dungeon itself has too low density to be useful.

It does sound quite efficient. I tried it a bit on the wiz this time (farming FoM), it was quite efficient. I ended up doing most of the leveling in rifts though, not sure why now that I think about it.
I still think getting the crown is worth it because it's quite fast, but ymmv.

[Coldkil]

It does sound quite efficient. I tried it a bit on the wiz this time (farming FoM), it was quite efficient. I ended up doing most of the leveling in rifts though, not sure why now that I think about it.
I still think getting the crown is worth it because it's quite fast, but ymmv.

Yes, getting the crown is not the issue. It's just the fact that adding everything up actual times ended to be basically on par or around 5-10 minutes faster over the 2.5-3 hours span. You can do it, but it's not needed and if you rift, monsters spawned have a bigger impact than the crown itself.

[Noxina]

Yeah, leveling to 70 in 2-3 hours isn't really an issue. Well 2 is rather quick, but 3 is where I've been the last season, not really stressing it but knowing what to do. Helps a ton if you get a lucky crafted weapon at lvl 43, was lucky enough that two (we're 4 people) in my group this season got weapons with good lvl requirement (44 and 46) so that sped things up a lot.

[SirCowdog]

Lost my DH doing a T9 GR(that's tier 30 something? I don't recall).


Plugged a crown with a red gem, grabbed a badly rolled hellfire amulet with a legendary socket, and hit up Fields of Misery and Halls of Agony. It's no joke. I think it took me maybe an hour and change to get back to 70 with that gear and paragon levels.

It's going to take longer to re-farm the gear. Luckily I had another set in the stash, but my preferred set and rings/ammys are subject to RNG.

[Noxina]

Lost my DH doing a T9 GR(that's tier 30 something? I don't recall).


Plugged a crown with a red gem, grabbed a badly rolled hellfire amulet with a legendary socket, and hit up Fields of Misery and Halls of Agony. It's no joke. I think it took me maybe an hour and change to get back to 70 with that gear and paragon levels.

It's going to take longer to re-farm the gear. Luckily I had another set in the stash, but my preferred set and rings/ammys are subject to RNG.

Never thought about that you don't lose all the items in the stash when you die in Hard Core. I only played it once, last season, and died after reaching 120 something paragons, and I just quit, thinking I lost it all, lol.

Maybe I should give hard core a new go, sounds like an interesting solo project (all my friends and clan mates have grown tired of Diablo, and we only played the weekend this season, pushing to rank 1 then take a screen shot and log off )

[SirCowdog]

Never thought about that you don't lose all the items in the stash when you die in Hard Core. I only played it once, last season, and died after reaching 120 something paragons, and I just quit, thinking I lost it all, lol.

Maybe I should give hard core a new go, sounds like an interesting solo project (all my friends and clan mates have grown tired of Diablo, and we only played the weekend this season, pushing to rank 1 then take a screen shot and log off )

A lot of people are afraid of losing everything, and that keeps them from trying it. You keep your crafting levels(smith, jeweler, and Xmog gal), everything in your stash, your gold, and your paragon levels, and whatever legendary orange buffs you've unlocked with the cube. And, as this thread outlines, getting back to 70 is super easy.

Really, all you actually lose is what your character was wearing, and what was in the inventory. That CAN suck, especially if you've got some super perfect rolled set items that are ancient. And leveling up legendary gems again is tedious. But it's a trade off for the extra challenge and adrenaline rush you get from having to actually avoid death. A couple close calls and you'll be hooked!

[Noxina]

A lot of people are afraid of losing everything, and that keeps them from trying it. You keep your crafting levels(smith, jeweler, and Xmog gal), everything in your stash, your gold, and your paragon levels, and whatever legendary orange buffs you've unlocked with the cube. And, as this thread outlines, getting back to 70 is super easy.

Really, all you actually lose is what your character was wearing, and what was in the inventory. That CAN suck, especially if you've got some super perfect rolled set items that are ancient. And leveling up legendary gems again is tedious. But it's a trade off for the extra challenge and adrenaline rush you get from having to actually avoid death. A couple close calls and you'll be hooked!

Yeah, I'm giving it a go now. Not 100% sure what class to go for in Hard Core though.

[SirCowdog]

Yeah, I'm giving it a go now. Not 100% sure what class to go for in Hard Core though.

A lot of people will tell you to start with Witch Doctor since they're supposedly better at speed farming. But I say play whatever you're most comfortable with so you're less likely to die. But no class has a distinct advantage over others. All the ladders are class specific.

[soulzek]

because the game gives everything to you. its why its bad

Infracted.