Quickest Way to Level 99

[ZealotBoy]

Quickest Way to Level 99

Awhile back I found a chart and some other info on this site regarding the quickest way to reach level 99 (legitimately, of course). This info basically compared Diablo runs and Baal runs as well as when would be the ideal time to finish the Ancients quest). Does anyone know where I could find this info, or have any thoughts/knowledge on the subject (I found a couple of links but they no longer work)?

Basically I'm wondering how Diablo runs compare to Baal runs (time vs. experience) within different scenarios. For example: i) doing only a Diablo run; ii) doing only a Baal run; iii) doing a Diablo run and the end of a Baal run (meaning, when people are doing Baal, you do Diablo yourself then get to Baal before he's killed); etc.

Likewise, if doing Baal runs is faster than Diablo runs, would you be better off doing Ancients right away (at level 60), or would it be faster in the end to do Diablo runs until level 98 and then Ancients/Baal thereafter?

 

[TheBigClown]

Re: Quickest Way to Level 99

The best would be to save all the ancient quests until lvl 98, you should save the normal and nightmare ancients, but I'm afraid that saving the hell ancients is only a real option in single player.

You should do baalruns, which allows you to do nihlathak and diablo also (sometimes with experience shrine).

You should definitely do diablo and nihlathak if you're running in botruns, but I wouldn't advise you to do botruns because they don't do what is known to be baal party, which is crucial if you want to reach lvl 99 within a reasonable amount of time. Sure you might get all the diablo and nihlathak experience, but your amount of experience shrines will be limited to those you find in CS.

I'd advise you to try finding a channel. People outside channelruns might think channelruns offer less experience, but I swear that people in these runs know different (it's all basic math already proven). You will play with fair rules and the runs are blazing fast and full, but the most important aspect is that you play with other people and not just bots, which I find bizarre.

Fastest way to lvl 99 in theory would probably be a java stealing baal experience with a CS- and ES-sidekick! However, botruns will ban you pretty quickly - I tried that.

 

[butchie]

Re: Quickest Way to Level 99

Pretty much what Clown wrote. Find some good baal running channel.
Levels 97+ usually do the following:
1.) Kill Nihlatak while someones tele throne and CS party is killing seals.
2.) Go to CS when told by the CS party for Diablo kill (max 3 ppl in CS)
3.) Go to throne for the remaining waves (with good party it can be made in time for wave 3) and then kill baal in a baal party (max. 4 ppl party of highest chars ingame).

I have 95 assa on HardCore Ladder atm and aiming to get as high as i can till the ladder resets (if it resets ). Good luck if you're going for 99 too .

 

[TheBigClown]

Re: Quickest Way to Level 99

Another trick to give you more xp at lower lvls is to do "extra waves" during the baalrun. After a wave is killed there's a 10 second delay before the next wave spawns (~18 seconds after the 3rd wave if there's hydras). You can tele around the throne looking for champions, which gives nice xp at lower lvls. I usually spend the first break at just revealing the map and go for the kills the other breaks. Kill mobs during baal if you're not in the baal party. Also, search river of flame and kill champions while the teleporter goes for the throne. It's definitely a nice boost at lower lvls, it's not unusual to double your xp at lvl 90-96. Don't give up just because your timing sucks the first 10 tries or so - you'll get a hang of the timing needed rather quickly. Remember to play semi-safe when doing this.

You need a high damage char for this and that means playing soso or assa. Some hosters don't like this, but most don't mind. Respect the host

 

[minuses]

Re: Quickest Way to Level 99

Hitting lvl 99 the legit way takes years if you want real information. The furthest I got to is lvl 94 which I did all self exping. I would not count on even trying to hit lvl 99 unless you are in a clan with other legit players that want to do costant chaos and ball runs with you.

The best way to hit lvl 99 well is a method we can't talk about here so you know what I mean. If you really want to hit lvl 99 legitimate then gl with all that.

 

[mephiztophelez]

Re: Quickest Way to Level 99

the "quickest" method, once you get over ~lvl94, relies on one simple principle: DO NOT DIE!

dieing in softcore costs you XP, dieing in hardcore and, well, you're dead.

so, drop back your damage a bit and go for iDR/mDR en masse. a chromatic circlet+amulet Of Life Everlasting can make you nigh on PvM immortal.

i've found that solo (or small party) Baal+Chaos walking in big games (duelling games?) can yield pretty decent XP. clean out the whole chaos sanctuary (c'mon, no IM, ez) the River of Flame is another favourite place to stonk up the XP.

Top Baal/Diablo'ing can work well (where you only have one or two people getting the Baal Diablo XP)

go for high mlvl targets so the XP penalties don't bite so hard (Diablo, Nihlathak and Baal).

FYI: the highest i've levelled anything is my lvl97 fire sork. lvl95-97 took forever. on the plus side, i found all sorts of nice stuff on the way.