Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, Season 6 – the fastest way to reach max level and be ready for the endgame
Diablo 4’s Season 6 has kicked off, right alongside the release of the game’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred. This is, without question, the most interesting time to play Diablo 4, and that’s before you even consider the new story and gameplay content the expansion is bringing to the game.
If you’re eager to jump into the premier action RPG today, or you want to return to check in on the Eternal Conflict after dropping off, now is the best time to do so. Over the last several months, Blizzard made many crucial changes to the way levelling works, how loot is doled out, the types of activities you can farm for gear and so much more.
In this guide, we’re specifically going to focus on the most efficient, fastest way to reach the current level cap, and get your character ready for the endgame. The even better news is that much of what we’re about to recommend does not require owning Vessel of Hatred, meaning all Diablo 4 players will be able to take part.
What is the new level cap in Diablo 4?
Starting with Season 6, the new level cap in Diablo 4 is 60. Yes, that’s considerably lower than the previous cap of 100, but it won’t actually matter too much in terms of character power and gear scaling. Getting to the new cap, however, is far more straightforward (and faster) than it ever was.
After reaching level 60, all players will automatically unlock the updated Paragon system, which is made up of 300 levels. This system works similarly to the one from Diablo 3, in that each Paragon level reached grants bonuses to your character, ensuring you always get more and more powerful as you play.
How fast can you reach the new level cap in Diablo 4?
Seeing as the new level cap is lower than it was, and considering the wealth of activities Diablo 4 offers to help you get there, the process of reaching the new level cap is incredibly player-friendly. It’s also quick.
If you choose not to follow any optimised guides and play at your own pace, it could take you about eight to ten hours to reach the maximum level. This assumes you play some campaign missions, side quests, and a mix of various in-world activities as you come across them.
That said, using the tips we’re about to share, you could cut that down to a much shorter five to six hours. None of that will have you missing out on narrative content or spoiling the events of the story for yourself; it’s simply a matter of knowing what to prioritise to stack up those XP bonuses.
Before we begin, we should point out that both the main Diablo 4 campaign, as well as Vessel of Hatred’s are well worth playing. If you have an existing character that played past the Diablo 4 prologue, you’re able to skip the campaign entirely when creating a new one. Once you finish the Vessel of Hatred campaign, your future characters will be able to skip both.
Most of these tips do not require finishing either campaign, however.
Stick to Normal difficulty
Unless you’re looking for a bit of a challenge, the most efficient way to reach level 60 right now is to remain on Normal difficulty. Yes, that is despite the tier above it offering more XP per kill. Normal simply allows for the smoothest, fastest way to glide through the levelling process without requiring you to be skilled at combat.
The difficulty selection screen explains what you gain (and lose) at every difficulty level, so take a moment to read it carefully if you’re curious. Ignore Torment levels, those will be available for you much later into game. Torment is effectively the new endgame, so it’s not our concern at this stage.
Prioritise hunting down Realmwalkers
Realmwalkers are about to become one of your favourite activities in Diablo 4. These roaming bosses are new for Season 6, and they’re effectively multi-stage fights that end with a dungeon. The main reason why you want to fight one immediately is because of their rewards. More specifically: Seething Opals. This a new type of Elixir, which offers various bonuses when activated. All of them grant a flat 15% bonus to all XP gain by default, regardless of their individual effects.
To get Opals, you must finish the dungeon each Realmwalker is carrying on their back. After defeating the boss, they’re going to drop the red portal they’re lugging around, which allows you to enter a Seething Realm, where the dungeon takes place.
The real reason Opals are crucial in speeding up the levelling process is because they stack with other Elixirs. In other words, if you craft standard Elixirs at the Alchemist that boost your XP, even by small amounts, those add up with the Opals. Now, pair those with the bonuses you get from your Seasonal Journey – assuming you created a Seasonal Realm character – and you could be looking at a nearly 30% bonus to all XP earn.
It’s always been a good idea to have a healthy stock of Elixirs for their XP bonuses (and other benefits). This hasn’t changed, but why rely only on basic Elixirs when you can stack those up with Opals? Deeper into your character’s journey, you’ll also be able to craft Incense, which is another consumable that stacks with the previous two, offering even more wealth of XP.
How to start the Realmwalkers quest
Taking down Realmwalkers also happens to be a major component of Season 6, meaning there’s a reputation system associated with it that offers even more XP. In order to start it, head to the city of Zarbinzet, and speak to Crusader Damond.
This will start you on the Creeping Hatred quest, which involves defeating a Realmwalker and completing a Seething Realm. The more dungeons you finish, of course, the higher your stack of Opals is going to be, ensuring that you never run out.
Seeing as these are public events, you’re more than likely going to run into other players doing the same thing, which itself grants small XP bonuses, and makes the challenge a bit easier for faster progression.
Where to find Realmwalkers
Every 15 minutes, a new Realmwalker will spawn in a random region of the world. Another one will spawn only in Nahantu every hour – as a bonus for owners of Vessel of Hated.
You won’t have to guess as to their whereabouts, either, because the map will show them, represented by a horned skull icon (with parentheses around it). Simply head to where that is, and start the fight.
When you get close, your objective (seen below the minimap) will change to show the Realmwalker’s health, and how close you are to taking it down.
If you own Vessel of Hatred, finish the campaign
Even if you don’t care about the narrative side of Diablo 4 or its expansion, we still recommend finishing the Vessel of Hatred campaign. When you’re done with it, you’ll unlock Deeds of a Champion, which is something of a bonus campaign.
This is yet another way to earn bonus XP. On Normal difficulty, we’re talking around three levels for every Deed you finish. Deeds don’t require you to do anything out of the ordinary, and you’ll find that you’re automatically completing them just as you normally explore. They’re also great at taking you to places in Nahantu (and other realms) you may not have seen over the course of the main campaign.
The more of Nahantu (the expansion’s new zone) you explore, the higher your Renown level goes, too, which grants XP, skill points, and Paragon points at later stages. By that point in your journey, you’ll likely be well past the level 60 cap and into your Paragon progression, so every extra bit of XP counts.
Pick activities that progress more than one quest
There are so many activities in Diablo 4 with varying levels of challenge and rewards. So many, in fact, that some let you tap into more than a single reward/progression track. Take Whispers, for example, those feed into the Tree of Whispers’ quest, and they rotate across the world map.
Any activity can be a Whisper, so a smart move is to wait until the activity you want to play becomes a Whisper so you can kill two birds with one stone. For Realmwalkers, the first one to spawn every hour will also be a Whisper (and every three hours for the Nahantu spawn), and the same idea goes for pretty much everything else you can do in Diablo 4.
Craving a fight with a World Boss? Wait until it’s a Whisper! Want to run a Stronghold? It’s probably going to be a Whisper soon. Wondering what Helltides are? Check back soon when they have the Whisper icon above them. Speaking of which…
What to do after reaching the level cap
Now that you’re level 60, your next goal is unlocking as many Paragon levels as possible. There’s a whopping 300 levels to go through, and they carry over between characters – meaning that, unlike normal character level, you won’t have to do that enormous grind for every future character you create.
Helltides are a great source of XP in the endgame, but everything else we discussed in this guide will also continue to be relevant. A good rule of thumb is to prioritise whatever new activity arrived with the new Season, because that’s where most of the good stuff is going to be.
This is when you can naturally toggle higher difficulties on, which in turn creates new build goals for you that allow you to take on the next one, and the next.