Finally, the wait is over. Diablo 4 is officially on store shelves, and players can battle for the future of the Sanctuary. As you blast, tear, and cleave your way through mobs of demonic foes, your character will steadily grow in power at a steady rate. The leveling process will be smooth sailing at first, but once you get to the higher levels, you’ll notice your progression begins to move like a slow-paced turtle.
Diablo 4’s world levels scale with your character, so you’ll constantly need to upgrade your gear along the way. Otherwise, you won’t survive in the harsh world. In this guide, I’ll divulge many tips and tricks to help you level up quickly in the game and get to the endgame.
Side Dungeons Are Your Friend
When booting up Diablo 4 for the first time, you might just glance at the side dungeons scattered around the world since you’re too busy with your main quests, but they’re actually a neat way to level up. Side dungeons offer rewards in the form of Aspects—these are enchantments you can unlock to use with any character on your account.
Simply put, Aspects are used to upgrade your gear by giving them a unique trait. For example, you can get an Aspesct of Conflagration, which gives your character a 20% boost in burning damage whenever you cast Incinerate. That said, since Aspects alter skills, almost all are class-specific.
Overall, side dungeons are packed with enemies and challenging to do since they’re packed with critters and always have an epic boss fight. If you play with your friends, you can expect to gain levels quickly by jumping from one side dungeon to another.
Side Missions Are Aplenty
If you go to every outpost on the map, chances are you’ll encounter an NPC that needs help. Some will ask you to help forage some herbs in the woods, while others might require you to find their missing husband who’s been seduced by a cultist. There are even side missions that offer multiple questlines, such as Sister Octavia, who’s on the East side of Kyovashad. Whatever side quest you decide to take, know they’ll give your character a significant boost in XP. Best of all, you’ll (most probably) never run out of them!
Strongholds Are Perfect for No-Brainer Activities
The perfect place to farm XP is Strongholds, bar none. They’re chock full of enemies you can kill, and since their difficulty scales with your level, you won’t get too overwhelmed. Besides getting experience points by clearing areas, you can also turn them into facilities that can be used down the line. Sometimes, these Strongholds become a zone event known as The Gathering Legions, which you’ll need to complete with other players in the area.
One of the Strongholds I recommend going to is Kor Dragon, as its zone event yields many rewards. You can expect massive hordes of demons, three boss fights, and a final boss. Since many players are needed to complete the event, you can simply join them. In return, you’ll get tons of XP and high-end gear for your character.
Higher World Tier Means Better XP Gains
The World Tier you select determines how many enemies spawn, how hard they hit, how tough they are to kill, and more. I’m all for playing games at a pace you’re comfortable with, but if you do decide to buff the demons in Diablo 4, you’ll get a massive jump in the amount of XP you gain and the quality of loot you can get. If you want to risk it for the biscuit, you can increase your World Tier until you finish grinding out your levels.
The Difference Between Character and Paragon Level
There are two level progressions in Diablo 4: Character Level and Paragon Level. The maximum level you can attain for your character is level 50, during which you’ll unlock the Paragon progression. This will offer you 50 more levels. The Paragon Level’s cap is also 50—much like your Character Level—but it’ll be way more challenging to level it up since it requires you to gain much more XP.
To unlock your character’s full potential, you must reach the maximum level for your Character Level and Paragon Level. Doing so will allow you to get through the endgame content.
How Many Skill Points Can You Get?
By leveling up from 1-50, you can get 48 skill points for your character. However, if you try to accumulate 200 to 800 total Renown in a region, you’ll be rewarded with 2 skill points. Since there are five regions in Diablo 4, you should get 10 skill points if you decide to complete all the available Renown challenges. With that in mind, you should have a maximum of 58 points per character.
