23 replies to this topic

[cersoze]

Hello guys, new barb here. I've recently came back to D3 after spending some time in Pandaria, and now I've decided that my place is Bastion's Keep. Now, as the title implies, I have some questions about power leveling paragons levels.

I see a lot of people talking about Alk runs. I know that Alkaizer was the world first lvl 100 paragon, and congrats to him and stuff, but I've never saw a video or whatever about this "alk run". What is this about? Like some path that the guy did on a specific Act? Can someone explain this to me?

Another question: Is it better to do these "runs" on higher MP or lower? Because actually i run at MP3, all acts, and I'm feeling that it's slow as hell

Thanks in advance!

PS: English is not my first language, so, sorry

PS2: Can't post links until 10 posts here, so my battletag is cersoze#1265.

[Tensor]

Yes Alkaizer run is a path followed in Act 3.

http://www.diablofan...d/#entry1034301

[MrBlaine]

Hey there!
Alk runs are basically getting 5 stacks asap: Tower of damned + tower of cursed/core/wherever u feel its fastet and then doing Keeps lvl2 + Bridge of Korsaikk  +  Crater lvl1/2 (or both, some ppl go just for lvl2 cause its shorter)

You should be able to do  this in like 10-15 min. Its possible even faster, like 6 min or so. Its the best because you focus on zones where the density of monsters is highest. After you are done you just reset the game and do it again.

-Also you need as much movement speed as possible. Ideally 25% from gear.

About monster power... Do like MP0 or if you are reaaaallly well geared go for mp1 but above I think its a waste. Basically you need to oneshot white mobs and elite packs shouldnt take you more then a few sec.

[provocator]

<p>
Do it on MP0.

• 
  Resume game right before Azmodan
  
• 
  Run backwards through Core of Arreat, clear
  
• 
  WP to Tower of Damned Level 1, clear in a circle, WP out
  
• 
  WP to Arreat Crater Level 2, clear to Tower of Cursed Level 1 entrance, TP
  
• 
  Waypoint to Keep Depths Level 1, enter Keep Depths Level 2, clear
  
• 
  WP to Bridge of Korsikk
  
• 
  Clear Fields of Slaughter, then TP
  
• 
  Leave game, repeat.

[JKlimek]

had to jump in with my 2 cents

25% move speed is not possible to get without getting it on three items, which is kind of a waste.  Get two 12% MS items and that's fine. (Boots and Lacuni bracers imo)

As to which MP you should be using, you're going to have to determine that based on the time it takes you to do runs.  Time yourself doing ten MP0 runs and then do some MP1 runs.  If it's taking you more time, then go back to MP0.  If MP0 takes you more than 25-30 mins, then go back to Hell MP10.

^^Provocator has the right idea here.  If you get bored with this or you are just looking to get more kills out of each run, you can add Arreat Crater Level 1 after Tower of the Damned (walk up the stairs after your loop in the Tower) and add Stonefort and Keep Depths Level 1 at the end of the run.  IMO adding those two doesn't decrease your exp/hr significantly, and you have a small chance of getting act 3 keys from the key warden in Stonefort.  I don't explore these areas extensively, I just run through until I get to a dead end and TP out.

[cersoze]

Thanks for the fast answers guys, really appreciated that. I have another doubt, now with my follower. I read somewhere that 1/5 of EXP on Kill, +%magic find and +%gold find on my follower's items "transfers" to me. Is it right? If I have like 100% magic find on my follower's items, I'll have +20% to myself? Same with EXP on Kill and Gold Find? Returning to Alkaiser's topic, I read that he used a 29% Leoric's Signet on his follower, does the 1/5 rule apply on it too?

[Turtel]

Yes 20% of the stats you mentioned transfer from follower.
You can craft a few Hellfire Rings for 35% bonus xp for you and for your follower (that would be 7% for you). Its free (just takes some time), while Leorics costs some gold and is 30%.

XP on kill is weak and not worth it really, you're better of with MF + HF ring on follower. If you are using the enchantress, get a cheap Grand Vizier for her. Amulets can have up to 45% MF.

Dont forget a ruby in helm.

Edited by Turtel, 11 December 2012 - 05:19 PM.

[cersoze]

Turtel, on 11 December 2012 - 05:07 PM, said:

Yes 20% of the stats you mentioned transfer from follower.
You can craft a few Hellfire Rings for 35% bonus xp for you and for your follower (that would be 7% for you). Its free (just takes some time), while Leorics costs some gold and is 30%.

XP on kill is weak and not worth it really, you're better of with MF + HF ring on follower. If you are using the enchantress, get a cheap Grand Vizier for her. Amulets can have up to 45% MF.

Dont forget a ruby in helm.

Yeah, about the EXP% items: I still have to craft a Hellfire ring for me, don't even say to my followers. As I'm playing at low MP and not farming keys, I just got one, and still have to get the recipe so...it'll take some time. I'll see if a friend of mine help me today to farm some keys at MP5-6. Leoric's Signet is something unimaginable for me, I have like 500k on gold and I'm trying to get better gear so...

About the ruby, I've got a 25% EXP, because better ones needs the recipe, or LOTS of gold to buy

As I saw yesterday on AH, it's 45% MF on amulets and 20% MF on rings, 95% total (19% for me then). Better than nothing...maybe those 19% helps me to drop something good ($$$).

[Turtel]

cersoze, on 12 December 2012 - 10:21 AM, said:

As I saw yesterday on AH, it's 45% MF on amulets and 20% MF on rings, 95% total (19% for me then). Better than nothing...maybe those 19% helps me to drop something good ($$$).

That's why i mentioned Grand Vizier (staff) for enchantress, its 45% more MF
With 85 from jewelry that's a 130% total or 26% effectively.

Edited by Turtel, 12 December 2012 - 10:31 AM.

[Ferret]

Yep, as people have already said, its basically running A3 backwards that have high monster density coupled with speed for efficiency. The more +EXP you have on gear without sacrificing killspeed, the better. Get familiar with item drops; single out what is worth picking up at a glance. As a matter of fact, the more efficient you want to be, the less you want to pick up, maybe even going as far as not picking up anything other than legendaries.

Though D3 is leaps and bounds better than D2 when it comes to making areas viable, but the Alk run really showcases the problem with endgame grinding in any ARPG - if a single area has a higher monster density, it automatically becomes the most efficient. Just listening to general player feedback, Blizzard should perhaps consider adjusting A1 + A2 to have more opponents spawn. The other thing is that at it's most basic level (MP0), while D3 is generally harder, the killspeed is too high when compared to D2. This is evidenced by the fact that even at a 5-digit DPS value, you can end up losing too much time by picking up loot. Some classes (Barb and Monk) may not even see what monsters drop before the player is already more than a screen away. It is also partly due to the mobility requirement to be efficient; while in D2 a lot of endgame exp-grinding was done in a stationary fashion, in D3 you can't afford to stop moving, let alone turn around to pick up "average" loot.

In D2, you could pick up loot while still being perfectly efficient grinding exp. This is not possible for D3, and it's a bit of a shame seeing as leveling is done solely for prestige and becoming more efficient at *drum-roll*... ...finding loot.

Meh, I dove way too far past the actual topic, but its been one of the most mentally exhausting days in my life :/

Edited by Ferret, 12 December 2012 - 12:01 PM.

[JKlimek]

I would get a hellfire ring or two asap.  I know a lot of people say that you should farm keys and such at as high an MP as you can do, but personally I think I would rather blow through 3 quick runs at MP3/4 than try to struggle through MP7/8.  As to the uber fights, there are groups all over the place that will do MP9/10 runs for you if you provide the three portals.  If you can't find anyone in general chat in the D3 client, there's a "looking for group" section on this page and the general forums.  I can't really do anything higher than MP6 without help, but if I'm on, I'd gladly help you out.
telquessir#1437

[cersoze]

I'll try to work on those keys and plan today with a friend of mine. As I can craft 3 portals, I'll look for people to help me get my ring. I know 35% EXP is awesome and I'll try to get it ASAP. Thanks for the help too!

[hannebarbar]

Do some runs on MP 0-5 and time them, and see how much xp you get from each run. Then you can calculate how much xp you get per hour on the MP levels.

[JKlimek]

^^ The easier way to do this is to just do MP0 runs and time yourself until you get a consistent time.  Then change to MP1 and see if your time increases significantly.  If not, go to MP2, etc.  I would bet money that your best exp/hr comes at the mp that is within 10% of your MP0 time

[cersoze]

I've made some tests yesterday...got about 2 lvls in 1 hour (PL 14 to 16) doing Alkaizer runs at MP0. The path is fine, lots of monsters to kill, but I keep struggling to maintain 100% uptime on WotB. I have some lag spikes sometimes that eat some seconds of the buff, sometimes I die (I've got like 22.9k HP and some resists). I guess I have just to practice the path a lot...XP will get better

[Nubtro]

Cain´s 3 set bonus + Ruby in helm + Leoric´s Signet + Hellfire ring on Barb.
Leoric´s Signet and Hellfire on Enchantress.

A3 quest 3: Breached Keep - Find the breach

Main hand fastest Mighty Weapon you find (Blade of the Warlord is nice and relatively cheap), OH cheap Echoing Fury. Get enough Attack Speed Increased by x% on gear to achieve at least 2.50001 attacks per second on both weapons when Wrath of The Berserker is up, ideally 2.85715 on one of them. Why? Check my signature.

Skillset is Instigation - Run Like the Wind - Into the Fray - Ravage - Hurricane - Thrive on Chaos - Unforgiving - Animosity - Weapons Master

How to play. Take the waypoint to keep depths 1, enter keep depths 2. Next time you continue the game you´ll start in keep depths 2. The goal is to run as fast as you can, utilizing Sprint and WW with WotB up to kill trash as fast as possible by placing Rend Ravage damage over time on the most trash you can and leave them to bleed to death while you keep going to the next pack. You place a Rend on elites to keep the massacre going but don´t kill them, it´s a waste of time.

Important note: When you run into a dead end, town portal and leave the game, continue the next one. Depending on the dungeon layout, you should get massacres of 170-350, mostly around 200.

I did this on MP1 but you have to find your own low MP where monsters don´t die on the first tick of WW/Sprint allowing you to generate enough Fury to keep Wotb up and Sprint all the time. Stuff should always die at least to the whole duration of Rend Ravage.

It takes a bit of gear tweaking but when done correctly, you should gain at least 70 million exp per hour. I did this yesterday and last two paragon levels (635 million exp) took me around 8 hours (I was gaining close to 80m per hour). I only began this heavy exp farming when I was level 94 but it was worth it.

The idea behind this is that you have enough base +x% exp bonus on gear that you don´t need to kill elites for the bonus. I believe this is the best way to gain exp right now, better than Alkaizer runs. One more thing that needs to be mentioned. You´re not going to pick up much stuff.

This idea is from Uberjager.

Edited by Nubtro, 13 December 2012 - 10:37 AM.

[cersoze]

TL;DR: Use most of bonus %EXP you have and run Keeps 2 until PL 100? Sure I'll give it a try as soon as I put my hands on 2 Hellfire Rings (1 for me and 1 for my follower) and a Leoric's Signet. Cain's set I never saw, what's the bonus for it? %EXP?

Thanks for the imput!

[komoto77]

Does MP lvl XP scales or it's better to run on MP0 for optimal time?

[cersoze]

komoto77, on 14 December 2012 - 10:27 AM, said:

Does MP lvl XP scales or it's better to run on MP0 for optimal time?

Lower MP - more XP farming efficiency, at least this is what I'm reading about a wholo week.

[MadViking]

komoto77, on 14 December 2012 - 10:27 AM, said:

Does MP lvl XP scales or it's better to run on MP0 for optimal time?

http://www.diablowik...er-bonuses2.jpg

On MP1 you get 10% bonus XP, but mobs have 50% more health. The bonus to XP is added to what you already have, which makes it less of an advantage than you would think.

Looking at my own gear the difference is as follows:

MP0:
Start %XP: 96 (35 from Hellfire, 7 from followers Hellfire, 23 from Leoric, 31 from ruby in helm)
End %XP: 171 (96 from gear, 75 from full nephalem valor)

Mp1:
Start %XP: 106 (96 from gear, 10 from MP)
End %XP: 181 (96 from gear, 10 from MP, 75 from full nephalem valor)

So during most of my run (in particular fields of slaughter and keeps lvl 2) I get only 3.7% (2.81/2.71) more XP when at full neph valor (compared to MP0), but mobs have +50% HP. Even if you have only modest XP from gear (perfect star ruby in helm and a Hellfire, for a total of 60, plus full neph) MP1 will give you only 4.3% more XP than MP0. Seems like a bad deal, and testing shows this to be the case also. For exact results you must test this yourself, for example doing 5 full runs on MP0 and 5 full runs on MP1 (etc). Calculate XP gained per hour.

In short: to maximize your XP/hour, play on MP0 unless you have realy good gear. A big advantage to doing MP0 is that you can wear weaker gear (less str/vit/resist) and add MF/GF/pickup to also gain a substantial economic boost. I'm gaining something like 55 million XP, 600k gold and 2-3 legendaries per hour, doing Alkaizer runs on MP0 with close to maxed out MF and GF. My gear is pretty cheap (besides the Leoric ring which is 20+ million on AH) so anybody can do this with a barb.

Edited by MadViking, 14 December 2012 - 12:52 PM.