The Fastest Way to Level in Diablo 4 in Season 5

Leveling has changed drastically in Season 5. After doing some research on the fastest ways to Level in Diablo 4 Season 5 here’s what I found.

This Guide can be used in both group or solo play and takes less than 10 minutes to read to prepare and start leveling your newly created Character in Diablo 4.

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Prepare for Fast Leveling

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Here’s what you need to know in order to have the best Leveling experience and go as fast as possible on your newly created Character.

Choose the best Leveling Build

Your Leveling Build is most likely going to be different than your Endgame Build. Choosing the correct Leveling Build will help you clear big groups of enemies almost instantly and also help you move as fast as possible with low cooldowns on your skills. This was you can reach the Endgame in little to no time.

For some of the | Best Endgame & Leveling Builds | click the buttons below:

Where to get the best Experience

With all the current Powercreep and changes to the experience system in Diablo 4 it is worth mentioning that World Tier 1 is totally useless.

As a baseline everyone should start in World Tier 2 for 50% EXP gain, then follow in World Tier 3 for +150% EXP and World Tier 4 for +250% EXP.

Here’s a quick breakdown of Experience Values based on monster type and level differences:

Normal enemies rewards base EXP that scales with their level.
Elite enemies rewards almost double the EXP (compared to normal enemies) that scales with their level.
Minions (of Elites) and Champion monsters rewards 60% more EXP than Elites, making them the best targets.
Defeating higher Level enemies than your Character Level increase the Experience Reward:
- Example: enemies that are 10 or more levels above character give +15.0% Bonus EXP.
  This scales up to a maximum of 30 Levels higher than your Levels as of Season 5.

Defeating lower Level enemies than your Character Level decrease the Experience Reward:
- Example: enemies that are 5 or more levels below character give -50% EXP.

Target the best Legendary Aspects

The Codex of Power is a great way to target the best Legendary Aspects your Build requires. You can always stop by and complete a few Dungeons here and there to get that Legendary Aspect you need to imprint your Items and complete the Build prerequisites.

These Legendary Aspects can be infinitely imprinted on new items as you Level your new Character.

Tip 1: You can also get more Legendary Aspects by purchasing Legendary Items from other players and by salvaging them at The Blacksmith.

Tip 2: If you’re planning to build more than 1 Character you can always stash a few items that have good stats for your Alts.

Tip 3: You can Trade for Unique Items with other players to increase your power and have a better leveling experience.

Tip 3: Uber Uniques can be equipped starting from Level 35. If you’re lucky enough to find one then you’ll end up getting to Level 100 in no time.

Experience Boosting and Consumables

You can Boost the Experience gains furthermore by using Consumables like *Elixirs, *Incenses and *Seasonal Blessings in Diablo 4.

*Elixirs

Use at least 1 EXP Elixir at all times to get a constant 5% to 8% experience boost.

Here are a couple of cheap to craft Elixirs you can use to boost the experience gains:

Elixir of Advantage —5% EXP Boost
‍Elixir of Advantage II —8% EXP Boost
‍Elixir of Precision —5% EXP Boost
‍Elixir of Precision II —8% EXP Boost

You can only have one Elixir EXP boost at once.

*Incenses

Another way of stacking another 5% EXP boost on top of your current ones.

Incenses last for 20 minutes and are more expensive to craft.

Here are a couple of Incenses you can craft to boost your experience gains:

Type I Incenses: ‍Desert Escape, ‍Storm of the Wilds, ‍Song of the Mountain —5% EXP Boost
Type II Incenses: ‍Soothing Spices, ‍Reddamine Buzz —5% EXP Boost
Type III Incense: ‍Chorus of War —5% EXP Boost

You can only have one Elixir EXP boost at once.

Upgrading Items by Imprinting and Tempering during leveling

Always look for better Weapons with higher DMG and as soon as you find an upgrade change it straight away.

Save materials

To prevent you from having to go to The Occultist and The Blacksmith to imprint and temper your new weapon every 15 minutes you should imprint your strongest Legendary Aspect on your amulet and ring slots because these will be changed less often and the stat difference on these items when not changed regularly is less impactful.

The cost of imprinting and tempering goes up with Item Power but so does the stat bonuses.

Only invest as many mats as needed to one shot normal enemies, complete Capstone Dungeons, and changing World Tiers.

Best Item Stats to keep

Not all Stats are made equal which means not all Stats scale up in a similar way.

Here’s what stats to consider and when:

Early Game

These Item Stats are extremely helpful early on but lose value over time

Life on Hit / on Kill is —valuable during early levels.
Additive damage rolls and tempers such as % Damage, Close Damage, Fire Damage or Paragon Nodes such as ‍Targeted or ‍Magic Node —valuable during early levels.
Resource per Second —valuable when having Resource problems in early levels.
Movement Speed —valuable during all forms of content.
Armor and Elemental Resistances —valuable during all forms of content with less impact in the early game.

Mid to End Game

The following stats are the complete opposite due to increasing stat values as you climb in levels

Main Stat (Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Willpower).
Resource Cost Reduction.
Cooldown Reduction.

*Seasonal Blessings

Smoldering Ashes unlock as you level up and progress through the Battle Pass.

Be sure to max the "Urn of Aggression" first to increase the EXP gained from defeating enemies.

Smoldering Ashes are Character Level locked so in case you are unlocking you Battle Pass levels faster you will not get the at the same time.

Step 2: Start Leveling

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Now that you are familiar with the preparations, skip the Campaign and jump straight into World Tier 2 to start leveling.

Playing in a group gives 5% experience for nearby player bonus and an additional 5% bonus if you are in party with them.

New Season, new Mechanic

Unlock the new Seasonal Mechanic by progressing through the Seasonal Questline.

After you have unlocked the new Season’s Mechanic, forget about the Questline and continue Leveling, you can always come back and complete it after you hit Level 100.

Leveling in Helltides

Helltide Events are the fastest way to reach World Tier 3. You can join Helltide Events starting from World Tier 1.

In the same time you can complete Tree of Whispers, Legion Events and open Helltide Chests while at it.

Quick Guide:

Fill up the Helltide Threat Meter for more enemy spawns.
Complete Tree of Whispers and Legion Events while in the Helltide to boost your leveling gains.
Complete nearby Events for additional Aberrant Cinders.

Tip 1: Save all Baneful Hearts for World Tier 4. Monsters spawned during the Blood Maiden Event do not grant experience.

Tip 2: Helltide Threat Meter:

If you’re leveling in a party make sure you are together because the additional Monsters help fill surrounding player's Helltide Threat Meter. This way you can benefit from constant additional Monsters spawning while completing other Helltide objectives.

Tip 3: Helltide Chest's experience reward scales with character level. Save and use Cinders to open Helltide Chests just before the Helltide ends to receive the maximum amount of experience.

Tip 4: Using Profane Mindcage during Helltide:

Make sure to activate the Profane Mindcage only at the very start of a fresh Helltide. This way you maximize the benefits throughout the whole Helltide.

You can also group up with other players that have a ‍Profane Mindcage active to benefit from multiple increased Threat Meter gains and have even more monsters spawning.

Capstone Dungeons

Clear the Capstone Dungeons needed to enter World Tier 3 and World Tier 4 as soon as possible. You can always ask a friend or use Discord chats to fast forward the process.

If you are a lone wolf the level at which you can clear the Capstone Dungeons relies on your build strength and your ability to play it. A safe bet is to power up your Character a bit more than usual to help spike up your DMG and Stats by Tempering and Imprinting.

If you managed to make it to World Tier 4 early, complete Strongholds to unlock the Nightmare Dungeons needed to get the missing Legendary Aspects for your leveling Build.

Nightmare Dungeons

Enemies in World Tier 3 Nightmare Dungeons have an additional 30% EXP multiplier.

World Tier 4 Nightmare Dungeons and The Pit have an additional 80% EXP multiplier.

Start doing Nightmare Dungeons as early as possible to maximize Leveling and Paragon Glyph farming. Fighting monsters that are exactly 30 levels above your character give the maximum amount of EXP.

If you want to target the best Nightmare Dungeons in terms of EXP gains check out our | Nightmare Dungeons Tier List | below:

S5: Nightmare Dungeon Tier List

While doing Nightmare Dungeons be sure to also complete Dungeon Events for extra EXP.

Only pick up Rare and Legendary items to minimize having to salvage back in town.

Consider farming only S and A Tier Nightmare Dungeons from the Nightmare Dungeon Tier List to get at least twice as much Experience per hour on average compared to the worse D and F Tier Nightmare Dungeons.

Playing in a Party

You can split up in Nightmare Dungeons to complete objectives faster. The experience is shared through the whole Nightmare Dungeon regardless player distance.

Infernal Hordes

The Infernal Hordes are a brand new Mechanic in Season 5, and it’s the most importal thing in Diablo 4 as of new.

The Infernal Hordes are the best for:

The best source of EXP
The best source of Items
The best source of Masterworking Materials
The best source of Gold

Alternatively, if you have unlocked the Infernal Hordes and Leveling through the above mentioned method seems boring. You can always farm the newly added Dungeons.

But this new game mode is more of a an Endgame activity and it is recommended to be farmed only after you have leveled all your Paragon Glyphs to at least Level 15 and you have enough Masterworking materials from the The Pit (updated), the Infernal Hordes are the best source of Masterworking Materials in Diablo 4

In the end it all comes down to your own personal preference, if you decide that this method is boring and lacks fun you can always do you. But, this way, I wanted to highlight the most effective and fastest way to Level from 0 to 100 in Diablo 4 as of Season 5.

The Infernal Hordes don’t drop Glyphs for Paragon System Upgrades.

Tip 1: Once you have reached WT3 or WT4 most of the Paragon Glyphs or around your Glyphs for your Build around Level 70+ you can start farming Infernal Hordes.

I hope you found this helpful. Thanks for reading!

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