If you’re jumping into the Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred expansion, the first 24 hours will decide how fast you hit endgame—and whether you’re farming Torment 4 while everyone else is still stuck in the campaign. Read this Diablo 4 LoH leveling guide, we bring you the best ways to reach level 70 and T4 fast.
Diablo 4 LoF Leveling Guide - Best Ways to Reach Level 70 in D4
The truth is, most players waste a massive amount of time early on. They run side quests, clear random dungeons, or farm inefficient content before the game even opens up. Meanwhile, experienced players follow a very tight leveling route that prioritizes unlocks, power spikes, and high-value XP sources like Helltides and Whispers. This D4 Lord of Hatred guide breaks down the fastest and most efficient leveling strategy from level 1 to Torment 4, step by step. You’ll learn exactly what to do, what to skip, and when to transition into each phase—so you’re never wasting time or falling behind the curve.
Phase 1: Character Creation & Pre-Game Setup
Step 1: Create a Seasonal Character
At the character select screen, click "Create New Character." Under "Game Mode," select Seasonal (not Eternal). Choose your class (Spiritborn is new, but any works). Seasonal characters get access to new mechanics, the Seasonal Journey battle pass, Smoldering Ashes (XP bonuses), and the leaderboards. Eternal Realm characters cannot participate in season-specific content.
Step 2: Start on "Normal" Difficulty (or higher only if geared)
At the game start screen, choose Normal as your baseline. Only select "Hard" or "Expert" if you have a strong leveling build and plan to group up.Higher difficulty = more XP and gold, but slower kill speed. If you take 2x longer to kill a pack, the XP bonus is a net loss. Normal is fastest for 95% of players at launch. Once you are one-shotting normal mobs, go to town, open the map, and use the difficulty statue to raise it one tier.
Step 3: Equip Your Pet IMMEDIATELY
Press I (inventory) or U (wardrobe). Find the pet tab (usually a paw icon or companion slot). Equip any pet you own. Pets auto-pickup crafting materials (iron, herbs, gems, boss summoning mats). Without it, you have to manually click every single stack, which loses massive time over a 10-hour campaign. In the wardrobe (press U), go to "Companions" → "Pet." If none shows, you may need to claim it from the shop or seasonal rewards first.
Step 4: Grab Your Mercenary ASAP (if available)
Exactly what to do: After the intro sequence, look for the Mercenary Den on your map (a tent or hut icon – location may change in the expansion). Talk to the NPC inside and hire one mercenary (e.g., Raheir, Varyana).
Why: Mercenaries:
Deal damage
Tank hits
Provide a passive buff
Can equip gear that gives you stats
Have a "Reinforcement" ability that triggers in combat
If not available immediately: The video notes the map is changing. If the Den isn't there, skip this step and check again after the first town.
Phase 2: The Campaign (Levels 1–~45)
Step 5: Select the "Vessel of Hatred" Expansion
After creating your character, when choosing the game mode, make sure Vessel of Hatred is selected as the active campaign. You may need to click a toggle or tab. The expansion campaign is required to unlock the new zone (Nahantu), new difficulty tiers, and endgame systems. Doing the base campaign instead locks you out of new content.
Step 6: Follow the Main Quest Line (Yellow Marker) EXCLUSIVELY
On your minimap, follow the yellow quest marker. Do not click on blue (!) side quests. Do not enter dungeons. Do not explore caves. Go directly from yellow objective to yellow objective. Campaign completion unlocks everything else (difficulties, Whispers, Helltides, capstones). Every minute spent on a side activity before finishing the campaign delays access to "giga XP" activities.
How to stay on track: Press J (quest log). The top quest with the yellow star is your main story. Abandon or ignore all others.
Campaign length: ~10 hours. Add +4–5 hours if watching all cinematics and dialogue.
Step 7: Handle Class Quests Correctly
Exactly what to do:
For all existing classes (Barbarian, Sorcerer, Rogue, Druid, Necromancer): Your class quest will auto-complete at level 15. Do nothing.
For the new Spiritborn class (referred to as "Warlock" in the video by mistake): You must manually complete the class quest the first time you play one. A yellow marker will appear around level 15.
Class quests unlock key passives and abilities (e.g., Enchantment slot for Sorc, Weapon Arsenal for Barb). Missing them gimps your damage.
Phase 3: Post-Campaign (Levels ~45–70)
Step 8: Do Your 1st Capstone Dungeon
Open your map. Look for the Capstone Dungeon icon (a gray gate with a red glow). It's usually in Kyovashad or near the main hub. Enter it, clear both bosses, and complete the dungeon.
Why: This unlocks the next world tier (usually Nightmare/Hard), gives 2 bonus skill points, and progresses your Seasonal Journey.
What level to attempt: ~45–48. If you die on the boss more than twice, go do 10 minutes of Helltides for better gear, then try again.
Step 9: Go to Helltides – Focus ONLY on Whispers
Exactly what to do:
Open your map. Look for a red, blood-soaked zone – that's a Helltide.
Enter it. Set your game difficulty to Hard (or higher if you melt packs).
Open your map again. Look for green leaf icons – those are Whisper bounties.
Do ONLY those green leaf objectives. Each gives 3–5 Whisper points.
At 10 points, teleport to the Tree of Whispers (big tree icon). Turn in your cache. Grab another.
Teleport back to the Helltide. Repeat.
Why: Whisper caches give:
Massive XP (often 1/4 of a level bar)
Boss summoning materials
Runes and scrolls
What NOT to do: Do not farm open-world mobs in Helltides. Do not open Helltide chests (they give less XP per time). Only pursue the green leaf bounties.
Step 10: Run Any Dungeons Your Build's Aspects Require
Open your Codex of Power (Y on keyboard).
Scroll through the list. Identify 2–3 aspects that are core to your leveling build (e.g., "Umbral" for resource, "Accelerating" for attack speed).
Find the dungeon listed for each aspect.
Look at the map. If that dungeon is within 30 seconds of a waypoint, go do it immediately. If it's far, save it for later. Even the lowest-rolled aspect from a dungeon is better than no aspect. It can double your damage or solve resource issues.
Pro tip: Do NOT do dungeons that aren't for your build. Only the essential 2–3. You can farm all others in endgame.
Step 11: At Level 50+, Do the 2nd Capstone Dungeon
Exactly what to do: Same as Step 8, but the 2nd capstone. Look for the icon on the map (usually in a level 50+ zone). Unlocks the next world tier, gives 2 more skill points, advances Seasonal Journey, and unlocks better loot drops.
When exactly: Level 50–55. If you have decent legendaries, try at 50. If not, wait until 55.
Step 12: At Level 60+, Start Strongholds – The FINAL Push to 70
Exactly what to do:
Open your map. Look for the Stronghold icons (a red castle or fortress). They are not on the map until you get close, so explore region edges.
Go to a Stronghold that matches your level range (e.g., Kor Valar in Fractured Peaks is ~level 45; others go to 60+).
Clear the entire Stronghold. Kill the boss.
Do ONE Stronghold, then go back to Helltides for 2–3 levels. Then another Stronghold.
Stronghold completion gives a HUGE one-time XP reward. But you can only do each Stronghold once per character. So save them for the last 8–10 levels (60–70) when XP requirements are highest. Do not do Strongholds at level 20. You waste the XP.
Phase 4: Entering Torment 1 (Exactly at Level 70)
Step 13: At Level 70 – Switch to Penitent & Temper Your Gear
Exactly what to do:
Go to the Blacksmith (Tab → click anvil icon).
Select "Temper."
Pick the best manual you have. Priority stats: % Damage, Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed, Main Stat.
Open your map. Go to the difficulty statue in any major city. Change difficulty to Penitent. Open your inventory. For every piece of gear (helm, chest, gloves, pants, boots, both weapons/offhands, rings, amulet): Do not waste resources rerolling. Just get something on every slot. Penitent difficulty is required to access the Pit. Tempering adds 10–30% more damage/defense per slot, which you need to survive Tier 1.
Step 14: Do the Pit – Unlock Torment 1 (T1)
Look for the Pit entrance (a glowing obelisk – usually in Cerrigar or near the Tree of Whispers).
Enter. Select Pit Tier 10 (it's unlocked immediately – you don't have to grind from Tier 1).
Clear the Pit: kill mobs to fill the bar, then kill the boss.
Upon completion, Torment 1 difficulty will unlock. Go to the difficulty statue and switch to Torment 1. Torment 1 is where the real endgame loot drops: Ancestral items, higher-tier runes, and more boss mats. ou can enter the Pit before level 70 if you want, but it's much harder. Wait until 70.
Phase 5: Endgame Progression (T1 → T4)
Step 15: At T1 – Back to Helltides for Uniques & Mats
Exactly what to do: Same as Step 9, but now on Torment 1 difficulty.
Farm Helltide Whispers.
Collect boss summoning materials (Distilled Fear, Living Steel, etc.) from Tortured Gift chests in Helltides.
Why: Boss summoning mats are the only way to summon Lair Bosses. Lair Bosses are the only source of target-farmable Uniques (e.g., Tempest Roar for Druids, Ring of Starless Skies for casters).
Step 16: Kill Lair Bosses for Your Build-Defining Uniques
Exactly what to do:
Once you have 3–5 of a boss mat (e.g., 5x Living Steel), go to the boss's altar (Grigoire, Varshan, etc.).
Summon the boss. Kill it.
If the Unique you need drops – great. If not, repeat.
Trade duplicate boss mats with other players in Discord/party.
Uniques are massive power spikes. Many builds are non-functional without their specific Unique (e.g., HOTA Barb without Red Furor, Bone Spear Necro without Deathless Visage).
Step 17: Do the 3rd Capstone
Find and complete the 3rd Capstone Dungeon (available after you've beaten the Lair Bosses and have ~1000+ armor). Unlocks Torment 2, gives more skill points, advances Seasonal Journey to Chapter 4–5.
Step 18: Rinse and Repeat Through T2, T3, T4
The loop:
Helltide for Whispers + boss mats
Lair Boss for Uniques
Pit for Glyph XP
Capstone when you can comfortably clear it
Why this loop: It maximizes XP, gear, and progression systems simultaneously. No downtime.
Step 19: Upon Reaching T4 – Do the 4th (Final) Capstone
The 4th Capstone is the hardest. It requires high resistances, armor capped (9230+), and a complete build with 4+ Uniques. Final 4 skill points (total from all capstones = 8 bonus points), full Seasonal Journey completion, and access to the absolute hardest content (T4 Echo of Lilith, T4 World Bosses).
Step 20: Final Endgame – Mix Pit, Helltides, & New Systems
Push Pit tiers to level glyphs to 100. Farm for Talismans and Cube upgrades (new systems in Vessel of Hatred). Target-farm Ancestral Legendaries with greater affixes. Complete the Seasonal Journey for the final rewards (titles, pets, cosmetics).
