Diablo 3 Fastest Way to Level

The first thing I’m going to say is that you need to know how to play your class.  So this isn’t going to be a specific class guide to leveling, it’s going to tell you how to level fast under the assumption you know how to play your class.

The second thing I’m going to say is that, if you’re bad at your class, the fastest way to level is by progressing through co-op.  You can’t get to level 60 other than completing the progression of the quests.  This isn’t like Diablo 2 where you can skip some of the content.  If you’re good at your class, the easiest and fastest way to level to 60 is to simply solo your way to it.  But here are the main leveling things you need to focus on.

* Buy Gear off the Auction House

This is first and foremost the most important aspect of leveling in Diablo 3.  It is unlikely you’ll find all the upgrades you need while progressing through Diablo 3 without extensive farming.  For example, when I hit level 60, I still had 4-5 pieces of gear that was level 40 or lower.  This no doubt made my leveling experience slower than it should have been.

Since the Auction House is so poorly configured, you can buy a lot of really great gear for really cheap prices.  Use the Maximum filter while searching for equipment.

If you can’t afford to buy all the gear you need or the best gear available, I recommend that you check out this site.

* Use a Follower

When you are soloing you get the option of using one of 3 followers.  If you’re on normal mode you don’t get all three till you’re in act 3 but use whatever is available to you.  By pressing F you can equip things on your follower.  Don’t overlook this important aspect.  My follower at level 60 adds over 700 damage as well as an array of life saving abilities.

The Templar will help you heal and save your butt, the Scoundrel has snaring effects and range, and the Enchantress has spells.  Take a look at each one and see what suits you best.  As a Barbarian it’s a good idea to have a Templar.

* Don’t Waste Gold on Artisans

While leveling, don’t waste the gold on Artisans.  Yes you can get upgrades and yes you can make money but if you want to level fast you’ll save your gold and use it for buying equipment to level.  Think how much easier it will be to go back and farm the stuff you need or just buy it all off the Auction House when you’re in Inferno making lots of gold.

* Vitality for Everyone

Yes, I don’t care what class you are.  Make Vitality at least you’re not most important stat.  No matter how quick you are or how careful you are, at some point, you’ll get hit and you’ll get hit hard.  Unless you want to fall over 90% through a boss fight and have to restart, keep your health pool up.

* Don’t be Afraid to Try new Skills

The same skills you used in Normal will probably not suffice in Nightmare and Hell.  You gain skills for a reason, try them out.  You’ll find yourself swapping to all kinds of skills just to progress through the game.  Don’t be afraid to do it.

* Don’t Run Back in Co-op Games

This one a lot of people over look.  If you’re playing in a co-op game and you die and leave your corpse, don’t run back.  Use a town portal and click on a banner in town of an ally who is where you need to go.

* Use Elective Mode if You need to

Using elective mode may be more advanced for some people but it allows you to configure your skills in a better manner.  Instead of being forced into selecting one of two good skills in a certain skill tree, why not just equip both?  Elective mode allows you to have any 6 skills up that you want regardless of where they fall.

* Don’t Be Afraid to Leave or Remake Your Game

If you get stuck on an elite pack and can’t get passed them, just leave and resume game.  The elite packs are random spawn so you most likely won’t get the same ones again.  It’s better than taking an hour to beat an elite or champion pack.  Just make or join a new game.

Additionally, for some elite packs we couldn’t beat I would take my barbarian and run through the entire zone as far as I could trying to find the next portal to the next area.  If you can do this (*cough takes Vitality) you can save yourself and your group a lot of time.  Just skip the entire zone.  This helps to have stuns, health regen, and knockbacks equipped to keep the enemies away from you as you make a run for it.