How to get XP fast in Diablo 4, including leveling methods explained
Here is how you go zero to hero in Diablo 4.
When delving into the dangerous world of Diablo 4 - now available on Game Pass - learning how to level up fast is one of the core aspects you'll want to know as you make headway for the endgame and seasonal content.
Much like other RPGs, increasing your level in Diablo 4 is one of the main ways of unlocking various new abilities via the Skill Trees and Paragon board - a post-level 50 pursuit that'll get you fine-tuning your character's various attributes.
To get you into the rhythm of levelling and unlocking access to higher tiers of loot and stronger abilities, this guide will cover how to get XP in Diablo 4, as well as how to level up fast, whether you're diving into the main campaign or seasonal content.
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How to get XP in Diablo 4
Diablo 4 is a massive game, with many activities that reward you with experience points. One of the most consistent ways you gain XP is by killing enemies. However, you won't usually see tons of experience rewards from this alone, though you can find larger groups of enemies and bosses that'll reward you with greater amounts that are more likely to be worth your while.
If starting off a fresh character and not skipping the campaign, your main source of XP are the main quests as part of the campaign. These, along with side quests and random public events that occur in the open world, will provide you with a steady stream of XP as you slowly grow in power over the course of your playthrough.
The deeper you get, the more content you'll encounter to earn XP, such as dungeons and strongholds, both of which provide solid amounts of experience. Both of these activities may be more challenging than a main or side quest however, and they run the gamut of level recommendations from early to late game. Along with the number of enemy encounters within, you'll no doubt be leaving these with a decent amount of XP.
Diablo 4 also grants you XP by finding Altars of Lilith, completing world events that happen all around Sanctuary, and leveling up the Renown system.
Past the campaign and into the endgame, if you're taking part in the game's current seasonal content, you'll also be able to gain a bunch of XP from completing activities, quests, and content associated with that too.
How to level up fast in Diablo 4
Although you can get XP from all the sources presented in the previous section, it’s important to know how to efficiently use them and which ones to prioritize.
When starting out, the first thing you'll likely want to do is focus on finishing the campaign. By the end of the last act, you'll be around level 40 or higher if you're partaking in lots of side content and activities along the way.
If you want to level up even faster when playing through this content, you should set your World Tier to 2, which increases the XP you earn by 20% when killing monsters. After beating the campaign, you can then work towards unlocking the World Tiers 3 and 4 which raises this XP bonus to 100% and 200% respectively.
After you've beaten the campaign, you should get to work on increasing your Renown in each region as a sort of passive background task. Raising your Renown involves completing side quests, finding Altars of Lilith, beating dungeons, and clearing strongholds. In addition to the experience you earn by completing all these activities, every level of Renown you go up in a region, you are granted a bonus XP buff.
As you get beyond level 50 after completing the campaign and entering World Tier 3, you're pretty much well into the endgame of Diablo 4 by this point, meaning you'll also have access to the Whispers of the Dead missions. On top of the various gear rewards you can receive from these, this is also another source of XP when giving 10 Grim Favors to the Tree of Whispers.
Since we're now in the seasonal release schedule for the game too, you'll also have whatever the current season's activities are to jump into and play, each of which reward a bevy of season-specific and core game loot, on top of varying amounts of XP.
Moving onto more passive ways to increase your XP that'll help you level up faster, one thing you can do is use Elixirs, of which several can increase the amount of XP you receive from all sources. You can craft these at an Alchemist vendor, and use them via the Consumables tab in the Character screen. Most provide a 5% boost to XP for 30 minutes along with a slew of other differing benefits depending on which elixir you're using.
If you're engaging with the game's seasonal content - which requires a character created in the Seasonal Realm - you'll have an additional way to increase XP gains.
As you play on the Seasonal Realm and complete objectives and Chapters in the Season Journey, you earn Favor that unlocks tiers on the Battle Pass. One of the rewards you'll unlock along the track of rewards is a currency called Smoldering Ashes, which you can then spend on Season Blessings - buffs to a character's various statistics and attributes. One of these is called the Urn of Aggression, which will grant an increase to the amount of XP you're earning, similarly to the Elixirs, except these are a permanent buff until the end of the season. Note that you need to be level 28 to access the Season Blessings system however.
As for a couple of other ways in which you can boost your XP gains, playing with other players will net you a bonus, and whilst it's not a huge bump, it's another increase that'll boost the rate at which you'll level up.
Additionally Blizzard sometimes runs bonus XP events in the game which will also provide a hefty boost for a particular duration - as an example, starting just as Diablo 4 launches on Game Pass on 28th March 2024, there's an event running till April 2nd where you'll receive 35% bonus XP and Gold across both the Seasonal and Eternal Realms, as well as across all World Tiers.
The in-game notice also mentions these bonuses stack with all the others we've mentioned, meaning these events are great to keep an eye out for if you're wanting a sizeable increase in your XP gains.
For more on Diablo 4 when it comes to explainers and more, check out our tips and guides page, and for more specific topics, check out our guide on how to get a mount in Diablo 4, as well as where to go to get involved in Gem crafting that'll bolster your character's stats.