The fastest way to level from 1 to 70 in Diablo 4 Season 15 is to build your leveling around War Plans. Start Helltide War Plans in Temis right away, unlock the Writhe and Rot node so Hellwyrms release Maggots that drop large experience orbs, and farm those orbs until level 70. If Helltides do not suit your build, the Kurast Undercity with the Jade Epiphany node is a slower but steadier alternative from level 25.
With this route, experienced players reached level 70 in about 1.5 to 2 hours last season, while most solo players needed 2.5 to 4 hours. In this guide, the Mythic Store team walks you through every step, from your first War Plan to unlocking Torment 1.
This route is based on the methods that worked in Season 14 and on the 3.2.0 PTR. The 3.2.0 PTR patch notes did not list any changes to War Plans, Helltides or the Undercity, but we recommend checking the node tooltips at launch in case of last-minute adjustments.
Leveling Route at a Glance
Level | Main Goal | What to Do |
|---|---|---|
Before launch | Prepare your character | Pick your class and build, decide on a new character or Rebirth, confirm the campaign skip |
1 to 15 | Start War Plans | Go to Temis, start a Helltide-heavy War Plan, hire your Mercenary, farm Aberrant Cinders |
15 to 25 | Build War Plan progress | Activate your class mechanic, move to Hard if enemies die quickly |
25 onward | Run your XP engine | Farm Hellwyrm Maggots in Helltides or run the Undercity with Jade Epiphany |
Around 30 to 40 | First Capstone Dungeon | Clear it for extra Skill Points when your build feels stable |
Around 50 to 70 | Second Capstone Dungeon | Clear it to unlock The Pit and more Skill Points |
70 | Transition to endgame | Switch to Penitent, update your gear, earn early Paragon, clear Pit Tier 10 for Torment 1 |
Before You Start
A few decisions before the season begins will save you time in the first hour.
Choose your build in advance. Level with the leveling variant of the build you plan to play in endgame. You avoid relearning the class and replacing your whole setup at 70.
Check the campaign skip. If your account has already completed the campaign, skip it and go straight into the open world.
Decide between a new character and Rebirth. Rebirth turns an Eternal character into a level 1 Seasonal character. It gives no experience or gear advantage, but it keeps your name, appearance and cosmetics. Move all gear and inventory items to your Eternal stash first, or the game will not let you continue.
Start on Normal. Early on, kill speed matters far more than the difficulty bonus. You can raise the difficulty once your character clears packs instantly.
Levels 1 to 15: Start Your War Plans in Temis
War Plans are the core of fast leveling. Each completed activity in a plan earns points for that activity's skill tree, and a few nodes in those trees turn normal activities into experience farms.
Pick the Right War Plan
Teleport to Temis and open the War Plans command table.
Look for a plan with as many Helltide activities as possible. A plan with two Helltide steps is ideal.
If the plan offers few or no Helltides, reroll it.
Hire your Mercenary in Temis while you are there and summon your Pet so it collects gold and materials for you.
Your First Helltides
Travel to the active Helltide and kill dense packs to collect Aberrant Cinders.
Complete the objective shown in your War Plan. Opening a random chest does not always count, so follow the plan step exactly.
Turn in the completed step and start the next one.
Spend your first Helltide tree points on Hellmouth, then Writhe and Rot. Hellmouth gives Hellwyrms a chance to bring Maggots, and Writhe and Rot makes the Maggots reliable.
Last season, reaching Writhe and Rot took around eight Helltides, or roughly an hour of play. Until you unlock it, your goal is not killing monsters for experience but finishing War Plan steps as quickly as possible.
Optional: The Penitent Chest Swap
Throughout Season 14, many players sped up this phase with a simple trick. War Plan progress is counted when you open the Helltide chest, and chests opened on a higher difficulty give more progress.
Farm about 150 Aberrant Cinders on Normal without opening any chests.
Switch the difficulty to Penitent.
Return to the Helltide and open the chests to complete your War Plan step.
This roughly halved the time needed to reach Writhe and Rot. Skip it if your character is fragile, because dying on Penitent costs Cinders and the time saved disappears quickly. Also confirm at launch that the trick still works in Season 15.
Levels 15 to 25: Class Mechanic and Difficulty
At level 15, your class mechanic becomes available. Open it and make sure it is active, because some classes need a short quest or a manual selection before it works.
Keep completing Helltide steps and spending Skill Points as you level. Once normal packs die almost instantly and you rarely take serious damage, switch to Hard for the extra experience. If fights on Hard take noticeably longer, go back to Normal. Experience per minute is what counts, not experience per monster.
Level 25 Onward: Choose Your XP Engine
At level 25, the Kurast Undercity becomes available, and you now have two proven ways to farm experience. Both depend on War Plan nodes, so the route you have already invested in is usually the faster one.
Route | Best For | Watch Out For |
|---|---|---|
Helltide Hellwyrm farm | Maximum leveling speed, plus gear and materials on the way | Dangerous enemies at high Threat, needs a route through fixed spawn points |
Undercity with Jade Epiphany | Short, predictable runs with less risk | Slower overall, fewer materials, depends on meeting the timer |
Route A: Helltide Hellwyrm and Maggot Farm
This was the fastest leveling method in Season 14. Hellwyrms burst out of the ground at fixed spawn points in each Helltide zone, and with Writhe and Rot unlocked, they release Maggots that drop large experience orbs.
Enter the Helltide and fill your Threat meter by fighting. Hellwyrms start appearing as Threat rises, and keeping the meter between half and two-thirds full gives the best spawn rate.
Mount up and ride between the fixed Hellwyrm spawn points instead of clearing random packs.
Kill the Maggots quickly and pick up every experience orb yourself. A single orb can be worth close to half a level, so do not rely on your Pet to collect them.
If the meter reaches its maximum, powerful Hellborn enemies appear. Undergeared characters should avoid fighting them and bring the meter down instead.
When Threat drops too low, rebuild it by opening chests with your Cinders and killing elite packs, then resume your route.
For most characters, Hard is the best difficulty for this farm. Higher difficulties increase the risk of dying, and a death resets your momentum and your Threat meter.
Route B: Kurast Undercity with Jade Epiphany
The Undercity route relies on the Jade Epiphany node in the Undercity War Plan tree. It spawns experience orbs every time you gain an Attunement rank during a run.
From level 25, choose War Plans with Undercity steps and complete them as directly as possible.
Put your first Undercity tree point into Jade Epiphany.
In each run, activate Beacons and kill enemies to raise your Attunement.
Collect the experience orbs that appear with every new Attunement rank.
Reach Attunement rank 4, then head to the boss, finish the run and start the next one.
Once Jade Epiphany is active, rushing straight to the boss is a mistake. The Attunement ranks are where most of the experience comes from.
When to Switch Routes
Your Helltide produces few Maggots. Check that Writhe and Rot is unlocked, keep your Threat above half and follow the fixed spawn points before giving up on the route.
You keep failing the Undercity timer. Your weapon is most likely outdated. Replace it before changing routes.
Either route is working well. Stay with it until 70. Building up the other tree from scratch costs more time than it saves.
Capstone Dungeons and Season Rank While Leveling
Capstone Dungeons are the milestones of the Season Rank system. They give Skill Points and Paragon Points, and one of them unlocks The Pit, which you need for Torment. Open the Season Rank menu regularly to track them on the map.
First Capstone Dungeon: around level 30 to 40, once your build feels stable. It rewards additional Skill Points that noticeably speed up the rest of your leveling.
Second Capstone Dungeon: around level 50 to 70, depending on your gear. In Season 14, this Capstone unlocked The Pit.
Capstone Dungeons have fixed difficulty and do not scale with your level. If an attempt drags on, leave, gain a few levels or a weapon upgrade, and come back later. The Season 15 Capstone Dungeons and their exact unlock order will be confirmed at launch.
Season Rank objectives also award Skill Points throughout the early ranks. Many of them complete naturally while you level, so check the menu at every town stop and claim what you have earned.
Keeping Your Character Strong While Leveling
Leveling fast often means your gear falls behind. A few habits keep your damage and survivability on track.
Replace your weapon regularly. Weapons fall behind fastest. Check vendors in Temis every 10 levels or so, because a vendor weapon at your current level can easily double your damage.
Imprint your key Aspects. Use the Occultist to put the most important Aspects from your Codex of Power on new gear, especially the one your build depends on.
Prioritize survivability over damage. Every death costs time, Cinders and Threat. Keep Life, Armor and Resistances on your armor pieces.
Keep your Movement Speed. Both farming routes involve a lot of travel, so Movement Speed affixes and mobility skills are worth more than a small damage increase.
Avoid expensive crafting. Do not spend rare materials on Tempering or Masterworking gear you will replace within the hour.
XP Boosts Worth Using
Experience Elixirs. Use an Elixir with an experience bonus whenever you meet its level requirement, and refresh it at town stops.
Whispers of the Dead. Complete Whispers that lie on your farming route and turn them in at the Tree of Whispers once you reach 10 Grim Favors. Avoid long detours, especially while your Maggot farm is running.
Splinter of Lies. This new Season 15 Soul Splinter grants 25% bonus experience along with more gold and crafting materials, but it makes you permanently Weakened and Vulnerable. It suits farming on a difficulty you clearly outgear. In a high-Threat Helltide, the extra damage you take can easily cost more time than the experience bonus gives you.
Season 15 Content While Leveling
Season 15 adds two open-world encounters you will run into while leveling. Plan your response in advance so they do not break your route.
Challenge Dungeons appear as portals in the Overland and lead to a boss fight. While leveling, enter them only if your build can clear the fight quickly.
Overland Ambushes give you a 30-second warning before a powerful demon starts hunting you. If your character is still undergeared, especially in Hardcore, use the warning to leave rather than fight.
Common Mistakes That Slow Down Leveling
Killing random monsters before unlocking the XP nodes. Until Writhe and Rot or Jade Epiphany is active, finishing War Plan steps matters far more than killing.
Playing on a difficulty that is too high. Slower kills and frequent deaths cost more than any difficulty bonus.
Letting experience orbs expire. Every missed Maggot orb is a large chunk of a level lost.
Keeping an old weapon. It is the single most common reason for slow clears and failed Undercity timers.
Forgetting to spend points. Check for unspent Skill Points and unclaimed Season Rank rewards at every town stop.
Switching routes too often. Once one method works, stay with it until 70.
After Level 70: Your First Steps Toward Torment
Level 70 is where Paragon progression begins. Your goal now shifts from leveling to building the strength to unlock Torment.
Switch to Penitent difficulty if you can clear it safely.
Replace your leveling gear with level 70 items from drops, vendors, Obol gambling and Blacksmith crafting.
Temper your key pieces and make sure your build's essential Aspects are equipped.
Keep farming your XP route and aim for around Paragon 25 to 40 to reach your first Legendary Paragon node.
Complete the Capstone Dungeon that unlocks The Pit if you have not done so yet.
Clear Pit Tier 10 to unlock Torment 1. In Season 14, this was also a Season Rank objective.
Unlocking a new Torment tier and farming on it are two separate decisions. If your runs slow down noticeably on the new tier, keep farming one tier lower until your build catches up.
Diablo 4 Season 15 Leveling FAQ
What is the fastest way to level in Diablo 4 Season 15?
The fastest method is to unlock the Writhe and Rot node through Helltide War Plans and farm Hellwyrm Maggots for experience orbs. The Kurast Undercity with Jade Epiphany is a safer alternative from level 25.
How long does it take to reach level 70?
Based on last season, experienced players reached level 70 in about 1.5 to 2 hours on this route. Most solo players should expect 2.5 to 4 hours, depending on their build, gear and War Plan luck.
Does Rebirth make leveling faster?
No. Rebirth resets your character to level 1 without any experience or gear bonus. It only lets you keep your character's name, appearance, cosmetics and Normal or Hardcore status.
What difficulty should I level on?
Start on Normal and move to Hard once enemies die almost instantly. Hard is the best difficulty for the Hellwyrm farm for most characters. Switch to Penitent at level 70.
Do I need the Lord of Hatred expansion for this route?
Yes. War Plans and their experience nodes come from Lord of Hatred. Without the expansion, you can still level through regular Helltides, Nightmare Dungeons, the Kurast Undercity and Whispers, but without the bonus experience orbs.
When should I do Capstone Dungeons?
Do the first one around level 30 to 40 and the second around level 50 to 70. These are recommendations rather than requirements, so clear them whenever your character can finish them quickly.
Is Splinter of Lies worth using while leveling?
It is worth it only on content you clearly outgear. The 25% experience bonus is strong, but being permanently Weakened and Vulnerable makes it risky in dangerous Helltides and in Hardcore.
