Diablo IV
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.
