Quick Leveling Strategies in Diablo 4: Mastering the Vessel of Hatred

With the launch of Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, the entire leveling system has been revamped, offering players a significantly different experience compared to previous seasons. This new progression format, combined with additional features and consumables, opens up numerous avenues for leveling. Indeed, players who master the game’s mechanics will find that reaching new levels has never been easier.

Accelerating Your Leveling in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred

Before diving into effective leveling strategies, it’s crucial to maintain a supply of elixirs. In Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, players can easily craft elixirs by collecting Bundled Herbs scattered across the world (any herb qualifies). Combining five Bundled Herbs yields one elixir, which grants a 5% experience boost for a duration of at least 30 minutes.

Leveling While Completing the Campaign

As you aim to level up rapidly, it’s advisable to also progress through the Vessel of Hatred campaign. The objective is straightforward: traverse through the campaign efficiently to earn substantial experience points from quest bonuses, ultimately advancing to the endgame content.

However, if you rush through the campaign, expect to reach only around level 45. This level might vary depending on whether you complete certain class quests or engage with additional foes along your questing path.

Ending the campaign below level 60 can feel suboptimal; pursuing content to hit level 60 afterward tends to be inefficient, since you’ll likely replace that gear swiftly once you access Torment one (T1) difficulty.

The key is to accomplish as many essential tasks before reaching level 60 to leverage bonus experience points. These tasks can feel cumbersome if left for late-game, as their experience rewards diminish significantly at higher levels. Key tasks to complete include:

Strongholds
Tenets of Akarats
Renown Bonuses (Also)
Season Journey tasks

Strongholds yield substantial experience gains at lower levels and contribute to various season journey objectives and renown bonuses. Completing these tasks alongside the campaign should efficiently push you toward level 60.

Engaging in tasks like Helltides, Undercities, and dungeons may not be the best use of time, as the loot isn’t particularly rewarding during the leveling phase. Focus on T1 to ensure meaningful gear progression.

Speed Leveling After the Campaign

If you’re looking to rapidly level an alternative character or continue speed leveling post-campaign, numerous strategies are available.

Upon completing the campaign around levels 45 to 50, consider following these steps:

Gather Seething Opals from the Season of Hatred event.
Acquire Tribute of Growths (experience bonuses) from Tree of Whispers, Undercities, or dungeons.
Check for nearing season journey ashes rewards (to activate experience bonuses).
Craft the most potent experience elixirs.
Stack experience bonuses from Seething Opal, elixirs, and season journey rewards.
Run Undercity at the highest difficulty you can manage and utilize a Tribute of Growth for additional experience boosts.

Employing these experience-enhancing strategies can dramatically expedite your leveling pace. For instance, I spent only 20 minutes running through the Undercity while leveraging all bonus experiences and advanced from level 55 to 60 (8). While paragon levels provide a smoother leveling experience starting from 1, stacking these experience points bonuses can lead to a remarkable leveling speed.

If Undercity isn’t your preference, feel free to use Seething Opal and elixir bonuses in the content you enjoy. Don’t forget, you can also earn experience bonuses from Nightmare Sigils.