In our level guide for Season 26 in Diablo 3 we show you how to quickly reach max level at level 70. This is a form of speed leveling. MeinMMO shows you the steps with and without Challenge Rift.
What kind of guide is this? Here we introduce how to quickly level your new seasonal character in Season 26 of Diablo 3 to max level 70. We especially target players who have already gained experience with seasons in Diablo 3.
If you are just entering D3 for the first time, you should take your time leveling and enjoy the experience.
Level quickly in Season 26 – How does it work?
What you need to know: The leveling process has not changed much in Diablo 3 recently. In past seasons, we at MeinMMO have experienced that leveling in connection with a Challenge Portal is a lot of fun and particularly effective. You unlock Kanais Cube early and secure important rewards.
We will introduce the leveling method with and without the Challenge Rift here in the guide. This way you can decide for yourself which method you want to use to play at level 70. If you’re not in the mood for the Challenge Rift this week or have already completed it, simply skip the next section and continue reading afterwards.
Still undecided on which class to play? Ask the Wheel of Fate.
Starting with Challenge Portal
Here’s how to start: After starting Season 26 in Diablo 3, create yourself a seasonal hero. You do this by checking the box at the green leaf in the bottom left when creating. Now enter the game with this character and then exit back to the main menu.
Now go to the game settings and click the option for the Challenge Portal on the left side. It is very important that you have selected your seasonal hero before starting the Challenge Rift and gone briefly into the game.
Note: This only works if you have already completed a Greater Nephalem Rift in Diablo 3. If you haven’t done this with your account yet, skip this step.
Why is it worth it? By completing the Challenge Rift, you’ll receive valuable resources right at the start of the season. These are:
- Bounty Material (15 each)
- 35 Death’s Breath
- 475 Blood Shards
- Crafting Material
- and additionally 4.6 million gold
What comes next: After completing the portal, you have finished the first part of this method. Now you must still activate your advantages in the game. Proceed as follows:
- Go back to the Diablo 3 menu
- Now select the “Adventure Mode” in the game mode selection with the difficulty “Master” and start the game
- Now open the reward pouch of the Challenge Rift in the game – You will see the symbol for it in the interface
- Grab the Templar’s weapon or another companion’s and equip it
- Optional: Now complete a boss bounty. Maghda, Zoltun Kull, Belial, or the Skeleton King are particularly suitable for this. If one of these bosses has a bounty, you should complete it. There powerful items are waiting for you.
- After that, search for Kanais Cube in Act 3 – We have a guide for you,where you can find Kanais Cube in Diablo 3 and what you can do with it. The cube is essential for implementing the rewards of the Challenge Portal.
Legendary Item right at the start of Season 26
Once you have unlocked Kanais Cube, travel back to the city and go to the blacksmith. With the rewards earned from the Challenge Rift, you can now fully upgrade and do that as well. Now you build a yellow armor or yellow weapon for level 70. What you choose depends on your class.
In the following table, we show you which items may be worthwhile for you depending on your class. The plan is to upgrade a yellow item in Kanais Cube to a legendary item and then extract the legendary power with Kanais Cube and activate it with you. You can learn how this works in the guide linked above about Kanais Cube.
This way you carry the legendary power with you already in the early levels.
| Class | Blood Shards | Cube Upgrade |
| Barbarian | Bracers (lvl 1) | Powerful 1H Weapon – 6/8 Powerful 2H Weapon – 3/6 |
| Crusader | Shield / Bracers (lvl 1) | 2H Mace – 6/8 1H Mace – 4/7 |
| Demon Hunter | Bracers (lvl 1) | Dagger – 2/2 |
| Monk | Shoes / Bracers (lvl 1) | Fist Weapon – 8/12 Daibo – 4/8 |
| Necromancer | Gloves (lvl 1) – Rings = risky | 2H Scythe – 4/4 |
| Witch Doctor | Mojo (lvl 1), Voodoo Mask (lvl 34) | Ceremonial Knife – 8/12 |
| Wizard | Source (lvl 33) – Rings (lvl 28) = risky | 1H Wand – 6/10 |
Depending on your chosen class, there are certain items at level 1 that you can exchange at Kadala in the city. From the reward pouch, you have received Blood Shards. You can find out at what level which items drop for you at D3planner.com.
Level quickly from 1 to 70
Once you have obtained a strong, legendary power, you just need to equip the corresponding skills and then have a lot of fun leveling. Those who skipped the step with the Challenge Rift can start here with the level guide.
Preparation: Season 26 of Diablo 3 explained in 2 minutes
Level 1 to 24
Here’s how to level: Decide based on personal preference whether you want to try farming with massacre bonuses or complete Nephalem Rifts. If you level with massacre bonuses, the areas of the Halls of Agony at levels 1 to 3 are suitable. However, it takes some practice to farm efficiently with massacre bonuses.
Solo players should progress quickly with massacre bonuses. Group players can do this until level 30, but should then switch to normal Nephalem Rifts, as it usually goes faster as a group.
This way you can level up to level 24 or 30. Keep in mind that:
- You should visit the blacksmith every 8 to 10 levels and try to craft a stronger weapon
- You should regularly visit the vendor in town and look for amulets and rings that offer “+ damage” – they are really strong in the leveling phase
- You should equip a head item with a socket to plant a red gem for more XP – For weapons, red gems are good to get more damage during the leveling phase.
- Update: The new Soul Shards are also quite interesting for your leveling phase depending on the bonus.
What difficulty for leveling? You should always adjust your difficulty so that you can take down trash mobs with 1-3 hits. If you’re just plowing through enemies, you can increase the difficulty. If you need more than three hits per enemy, you should decrease the difficulty.
Level 24 to 40
From now on, it is efficient to level with Nephalem Rifts.
- Make sure to complete the portals as quickly as possible and adjust the difficulty accordingly
- If you are playing in groups, communication is important. One player might teleport out during the fight against the Rift boss and close the portal immediately after the boss is down. In the 30 seconds until the closure, he returns to the group and they all continue to kill mobs together in the portal.
Level 40 to 70
Have you reached level 40? Then teleport back to the city and visit the Mystic there. You will now fully train her.
- Then craft a yellow 2H weapon for level 70 at the blacksmith
- Do this until a weapon has a %-affix (% chance to freeze, stun, etc.)
- Now go to the Mystic and reroll the other secondary bonus (not the one with the %-affix). You want to get a level reduction as close to 30 levels as possible
- Once you can equip these weapons, equip them and increase the difficulty properly. Ideally, you are already wearing a 70 weapon at level 40. Set it to Torment 6 and slowly work your way down if it should still be too hard.
- With the high damage output of the 70 weapon, you should now progress well.
Leveling to 70: You will continue with the Nephalem Rifts until you reach max level. This works even if you don’t yet have a level 70 weapon equipped. Grind here until level 70.
Reached level 70 – what now?
Here’s how to proceed: After reaching max level, Season 25 in Diablo 3 really begins for you. If you want to progress quickly, it’s best to complete the first four chapters of the season journey (accessible on PC via Shift+J) to secure a starter set.
You will receive the starter set through Haedrig’s Gift. Once you complete it, you can easily play at high torment levels and gear up quickly.
Which leveling method do you approach the new season with? Are you a fan of the method with Challenge Rifts or do you prefer to level without them? Please share your approach and tips for leveling here on MeinMMO in the comments and exchange ideas with other players.
