Guide From level 1 to 99

Decided to write a guide which can be useful for most players, to systematize self and sometime others experience.

General tools

1. Maphack - sting or bh, which you like more. Personally I prefer Sting.
2. D2Loader - open as much D2 windows as you want/need.
3. Autoteleport - not a must but can save you lots of time on high levels.

You can argue as much as you want but sorceress is the Best class for the start.

Where we go:

Equipment:

Weapon —> Spirit - Oculus - HotO (DF for cold)
Shield —> Spirit Monarch (StormShield for those who are afraid of being killed);
Armor —> Viper’s magi - CoH - TM
Helm —> shako - NW/Griffons/Flickering flame
Amulet —> Mara (tal-rasha set) - Crafted 2/10+fcr ++
Rings —> 2x SoJ or 10fcr+++
Boots —> WaterWalk - War travelers - SandStorm
Gloves —> magefist/trangouls set
Belt —> vigor - snow clash - arachnid
Torch+Anni skillers/20 life sc/5 all res sc

Mercenary equip:

Weapon —> Insight - infinity
Armor —> Fortitude (great to be eBugged)
Helm —> Guillaume’s (vampire gaze/Andy’s visage)
Amulet —> Highlord
Ring —> Ravens
Boots —> Gore riders
Gloves —> Draculas grasp
Belt —> String of ears

What we do to get above - collecting jewels (40 for Ohm) and gems (300 for Ber) to sell or to roll GC’s (80+ ilvl)

Let’s get it started:

First part of the guide is for beginners for whom I highlight main points on the way to 60 lvl playing solo (who have no friends rushing and equipping them) as I did a year ago on the start of current season.

Firstly we create at least 5 chars on different accounts (that’s important as any exit from the game will drop you from the server) and join new game. We have no gold or anything else except our “digging stick” but it’s not a problem.

Stats and skill points during the start (till 30 lvl): Invest into str 60 points (total will be 70) all the remaining to vitality. Skill points: fire bolt—> fire ball + 1 point to static field/telekinesis/teleport (when available 6/18 lvl)

Leveling:
It took me 1 hour to kill normal Baal on the way to whom i got 54 lvl (sorc + 4 mules). We are not killing every monster on the way, stop only to kill uniques.
Just dont waste time and go directly to Den of evil (1-st quest), make the quest and you will get --> lvl 12.
Than we just go to Stony field and Dark wood WayPoints and saving Deckard Cain --> lvl 16.
Rushing further till Andariel, equipping during the way and collecting gems/jewels (keep sapphires to socket helm/chest) --> lvl 20.
Rushing act 2, luckily we have teleportation already (get mercenary who will help with Duriel) --> lvl 25.
Rushing act 3, important - if you got 30 lvl (i got it in flayer jungle) you go to Akara and reset stats/skills. Stats remain the same and skills: 1 point to static field/telekinesis/teleport, 10 points to ice bolt, remaining to frozen orb and cold mastery (we save some points to invest into both FO and mastery each lvl) --> lvl 35.
Rushing act 4 and 5, trying to find crystal/broad sword (26 ilvl+ required for 4 soc) for Spirit runeword (Tal/Thul/Ort/Amn) and any polearm (26 ilvl+) for insight runeword (Ral/Tir/Tal/Sol) --> lvl 54.


Before we go to Nightmare, if you still didn't get Spirit and Insight, strongly reccomend to clean up Secret cow lvl 1-2 times, both bases and runes are easily droped there.

Now we have spirit sword and insight for our mercenary, quite strong Frozen orb and much more mana compared to Normal dificaulty. These allows us to rush ourself through Nightmare.
To finish Nightmare, as you can see on screen below, I spent 16 minutes (used AutoTele with mana potions) and got 69 lvl.

BTW still don't have any good equip except Spirit


Now we came to Hell and first we do is reseting stats by Akara and going for blizzard.

Second thing to do is Usefull tip - Grizvold (Tristam) on our server has a specific drop out of which we can find most common bases for runewords. So you go to save Cain and kill Grizvold to get Monarch (to make spirit) and colosus voulge for better dmg insight (regretfully it require 210 str (200 for eth) and our mercenary isn't that strong yet ).

Strategy is the same, rushing through 1-3 act. To kill council members in Travincal we need bit more efforts, cause of cold immune Turk Icefist. We kill all his friends with blizzard and than our poor merc trying to kill him with our help and help is a spam of telekineses on Turk which will not allow him to hit our mercenary (2 hits and merc dead).
Same situation and strategy in 4 act and Lord De Seis (spam telek). Thiswise we came to 5 act and ancients. Lil advice - summon several times until Korlic will be the only one with cold immune (may be it is possible but i've never seen it - none of ancients is cold immune).

Now we killed ancients and are ready to join public baal runs and get 93-95 lvl.


Advanced leveling 95-98
By the 95 lvl we are well equiped (cause we sold lots of gems or skillers with life) and are ready not just to cast blizzard from time to time on baal minions but to try hard to maximize experience during 1 run (AutoTeleport is highly recommended).

Average public baal run takes 2 and halph minutes, out of which baal takes 30 sec. This means we have 2 minutes for:
1. Find experience shrine (20 sec), which lasts 2 minutes 23 seconds which is enough for the following;
2. Kill Diablo (takes me 1 minute with nova sorc);
3. Kill Nihlatak (20 sec), tp to town and dive in Baal tp;
4. Join main party to receive exp for killing Baal.
This timing is 100% suitable for light/nova sorc and hammerdin (from own experience), comments for other classes are welcome.

And finally 98-99 level
We do the same as mentioned above (surprise ) but here is a usefull tip for you - regretfully you can't use it with your first sorceress, but making new character when you already have equiped char is quite easy and wount take lots of time. The tip is the following: you can skip killing ancients and baal on normal and nightmare (even if your hero is lvl 1) if your "new" main char is in party with "tramplin" character who will be rushed through Normal and NM. This will allow you to save Ancients quest on normal and NM to kill them on 98 lvl. The issue is that those quests give fixed amount of experience (1.4kk normal and 20kk NM, note that number of players in game and experience shrine don't effect those figures) and finishing them on 98 lvl will give you 7,4% of 99 level which is equal to 82 diablo+nih+baal runs.

You have two main options to speed up - make a TrapSin who will be killing baal minions while your main char is killing diablo and Nihla and than join Sin at the throne. Or, if you are a bit lazy, like me (bit, cause if you are just lazy you wount have 98 lvl) - join with 5 chars, give barb BO and go to baal. Inbetween minion waves you join with remaining 3 mules (total count 8), killing last wave (Lister) and immediately going to search experience shrine, get it, going back to baal (i prefer to use waypoints to save tp near throne) and kill him, than nihla and finally diablo (2+ mins shrine allows to do it during 1 effect).




I already passed this route on Softcore and is on the way to 99 on Hardcore with beloved Nova sorceress, which i want to share here:

Stats:
0 str/dex/vita
100500 energy

Skills:
1 point to: warmth, frozen armor, charged bolt, lightning, chain lightning, teleport, energy shield, thunder storm (optional)
20 points to: static field, nova, lightning mastery, telekinesis
remaining - lightning/charged bolt/chain lightning

Gear:
Obsession (+3 nova/light mastery base), griffon's with light RBfacet, Eth Zoded eBugged Sorc TM, mara, arah, 2 soj, frostburn, WaterWalks, Anni, Torch, Skillers (i use 17 skillers, some with +life).

 

Hi. 7,4% of 99 level which is equal to 74 baal runs. Its possible ? Im did 0.06-0.07 for Bh, Nihla and Di with shrine exp, and 7.4% = ~120 games.

 

What are you asking of? Is 0.1% per run (agree with you, it’s lower ) possible or 7.4% for ancients?

I don't remember amount of exp on 98 but here is screen on 97 lvl (diablo+nih+baal without minions)

 

Yes, at level 98, 7.4% exp is given for the quest, but to get 7.4% exp you need more than 74 baal runs as written, I meant it.

 

Hi there.
I find this guide amazing tho I skipped alot in detail.
My shameful question would be about the opened ancient quests (normal and nightmare). So far, I understood that past level 98, these two quests boost the experience amount. And ofc, at any high level achievement.
I never view this as a "bug", but just as a rational exploit of the game. Because the ancient quest gives experience, not level, of course.
Further, my noobish question is about this riddle: should I fill the game with characters (8 players), and, also to activate an experience shrine just before completing the ancient quest (normal or nightmare) ?!
P.S.: I`m truly sorry if you mentioned this in the guide which I read in diagonal
Best regards mate.

 

Neither players amount nor exp shrine has effect, regretfully

 

It is really bit more - 82 runs (0.09% per run) - corrected
And not baal runs but baal/nih/diablo.

 

u can skip ancients hell with autoteleport =)

 

Found it out yesterday
But, I suppose, you won’t be able to enter other player’s TP, which is not that big deal TBH

 

u can always fly by your own ;P

 

Friend i had a similar setup and playing style except the part where you said have different char on different accounts. It helped immensely. I had chars on one account . Now after this read i have 8 accounts and different chars .
If you have not seen me on server.
My setup now is
Main char Cold sorc with freeze merc
Druid with health summons and def merc
Druid with dmg summons and might merc
Paladin resist/remove resist aura with heal merc
Paladin concentration aura with blessed aim merc
Paladin frenzy aura with
Barbarian 2x spirit and 2x lawbringer with heal merc
Assasin couldn't come bcz of lag if it come it will be with thorns aura merc

Right now 90+ lvl in softcore and hardcore