Anything Goes D2 Lounge!

It depends very much on the build, wealth, and even playing ability. There has been a ton of theorycrafting about it, much of with can be found in the 99 theorycrafting thread and latest untwinked 99ers thread.

If you want the highlights, or at least good places to start figuring it out, here are some helpful links:

My general post-90 leveling summary
Gripp's epic sub-98 research and post
Nanomist's XP tables

That should provide you with more than enough information to start your research, but IMO, as far as we can tell right now the absolute fastest way to 99 would be (for a build that can handle these areas):

1. Pits/AT until you're capable of running CS (usually ~94/95 ish)
2. CS runs (Vizier/Infector seals) until 98
3. Nihlathak runs + Ancients to 99

This is not a blanket approach though, as for some characters it's faster to take other approaches (Baaling for a trapper or javazon, for example). But for the absolute fastest way to 99, with an appropriate build, this would be it.
 
I am building my WW Barb, closing in on Enigma and second Grief, I wont move on until I have both. Other gear is pretty standard, I guess. I like the CS running method, as I've never done that before, and I like to know where to packs spawn and move in a dangerous environment (makes me feel like I've beaten this game :D)

Gripp's post is very informative, like always, but the chars have higher starting point than mine. Could I start CS running at 89 if I can?

I am going to read the other posts, thanks @Pb_pal :)
 
A WW barb probably won't do very well in the CS. Well, rather it would likely do better Baaling. Decrep is rampant in there and an absolute killer for melee builds when you're talking efficiency.

I think probably the best plan of action for a WW would be to just start doing Throne runs ASAP. Something like this seems likely to be the most efficient, though you'd have to do a formal test with runtimes etc to find your best path:

1. p8 Lister runs (ie all of the waves, but skipping Baal) until 96/97 (I can't remember which of those levels is the breakpoint for him to become efficient, but it would be easy to check once you're there).
2. Baal runs (p8 Waves, p3 Baal) until 98
3. Nihl runs for 99. Not sure if he'd be a great target for WWing, but a respec to a Concentrate build would work well. If you're dead set on WW and Nihl doesn't work, Baal runs would probably be your best bet.

The only thing you might want to vary would be doing Pit runs or something until you're into the 90s a bit more so that when you kill the Ancients you get more bang for your buck from the free XP.
 
Shame about the CS runs and It's constant Decreptify, but I am going to try it, see how it works. Hopefully I can whack things quick enough to not get hit :D EDIT: Ohh..It slows WW

Was hoping I could avoid Baaling, as the drops are so poor, It seems.

But Pit runs at P8 would probably still yield high gains at this point. @zitcassy (cant spell his name..) barb Perkele did Nihl runs for the last ding, Concentrate build.

If I were to respec for CS running, would Berserk work better than WW? I'm thinking telestomp, howl and Berserk the seal bosses, or would I need the minions for it to be effective enough? Drops would be very limited this way, though, not that it is of any importance, but still motivating.

Ancients quest is completed, sadly, as I didn't think about running for 99 back then.
 
A WW Barb can easily level to 92 in Trav. 93 is doable but slow. I would go to 92 there for the drops and the exp.

I have then levelled a Barb from 92 to 95 doing Lister runs, not sure if it is the most efficient, but it was Grip's advice at the time.
 
Since I'm full into D2 again, I'd say: bring it on !!

I do need to level my Pitzerker for it though, since he is only level 77 and I'd like him to be at least 10 levels higher. What would be the best way to do so? Can a Berserk Barb do any area on /p8 safely? I'm mainly thinking Pits and Pindle here. Or would it be better to respec him to something else (probably WW Barb or Zeal Barb), and run Pits or Pindle for a bit on /p8? I'm not sure I have many, or even any respecs left on him though ...
 
@NamelessPenguin - I wouldn't recommend a zerker for CS. He'd be able to handle it, I'm sure, but a single target attack in there would be brutal for your XP/time. The CS is great for leveling because you have such dense packs of high XP monsters in static locations.

A Conc/Zerker might be an option for doing Diablo runs for the last level since the seals are done on p1 and you're only killing the Seal bosses and D at that point. Not sure if anyone has tried that out specifically, but if you get there it wouldn't hurt to do some testing and see if you can get a higher XP/time rate doing that. My guess would be it would be faster than Baaling, but slower than Nihl.
 
Shame about the CS runs and It's constant Decreptify, but I am going to try it, see how it works. Hopefully I can whack things quick enough to not get hit :D EDIT: Ohh..It slows WW

Decrepify slows WW movement speed, but it doesn't slow its attack speed. For WW, it depends of the weapon's speed itself and the IAS on it. Neither penalties (like chilling, slowing, decrep) nor bonuses from other sourcees (like fanaticism, off-weapon IAS) have an effect. Some people even like the slower movement because it produces more attacks on target for the amount of mana spent.

BTW, apart fron "normal" decrep, OKs cast a kind of bogus decrep which doesn't have any effects. It's a replacement for iron maiden which they cannot cast anymore since 1.12 or 1.13, I'm not sure...
 
Then I don't really see the problem with CS runs, or what am I missing? I will probably take some serious damage, but maybe some DR may help this.
 
Then I don't really see the problem with CS runs, or what am I missing? I will probably take some serious damage, but maybe some DR may help this.

My discouragement comes with the caveat that I (nor anyone that I know of) has tried out a WW barb for serious CS running. Since you've already killed the ancients what you can do is just do some CS runs and some WSK runs and see which have the better XP/time rate. Also, that way you can figure out which you like best. If you're serious about leveling, you're going to spend a TON of time in these places, so liking something better may be more important than the actual XP/time rate of those areas.

Try some things out, see what you like, see where you won't die, and have some fun. :)
 
Who wants to host the MFO btw?

It's an honorable task, so if anyone hears the call, go answer! :p I can host also, if needed.

As for when, we came to no conclusion last time I brought this up. What about November 3rd-12th?

@T72on1 WW Barb could run Travi and level quite fast, you'd be good to go with a lower setting too, most likely P3 being the best. That said, few of my Pit runners have just started leveling in the Pit and stayed there. Even with P1 running, the exp comes decently fast. And you are looking at a big bunch of runs when talking about Pit running anyway.

And I could imagine Zerker needs a little while to get used to, 10 levels worth of Pit runs sounds like a proper warm-up! :p
 
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I don't hear any call. Just a big sign pointing at you as the host of the next MFO :p.

I'm fine with whatever time frame you guys come up with.
 
It's only -50% offweapon ED, not a unique modifier. Whirlwind's ED isn't especially high, but Decrepify shouldn't make that much of a difference.
 
Are you sure? Reading the Basin Wiki page on Decrepify, it's still not clear to me just how the damage penalty is calculated, and if the reduced attack rate (=ias) affects whirlwind.
 
It says right there on the page:

"Will reduce physical attack damage by 50% in the absence of +% Damage. If +% Damage is applied, then Decrepify -% Damage is subtracted from it."

It goes into the damage formula at the same place as skill ED and offweapon ED and and LoH.

As for whirlwind attack speed, it doesn't affect it at all, the same way that being chilled doesn't.
 
Ok thanks. Even when it's there in text, I often struggle to understand what the impact is in practice, as I'm not very good with most formulae used in D2 (or any computer games for that matter).

In that case I'd think that a WW Barb could definitely work in CS. And I hope that @NamelessPenguin will be testing it for us :).
 
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