My Crusader Leveling Struggle
So yeah, started fresh with a Crusader in Diablo 3, aiming to smash stuff fast and level up quick. Felt super weak at the beginning, like hitting demons with a wet noodle. Just had the basic slash thing, Punish. Felt slow, man.
First moves:
- Equipped Punish – gotta have something to whack ’em with.
- Picked Slash instead? Big mistake. Too slow, barely hurt anything.
- Took Provoke early – yelled at stuff, got some juice (Wrath) back fast. That helped a tiny bit.
Ran Act 1, felt like a slog. Those big skeletons took forever to kill. Died to the first mini-boss pack, those blue guys with shields. Embarrassing! Needed better ways to blast groups and survive.
Found the Good Stuff
Around level 10 or so, hit the jackpot. First, snagged Falling Sword at level 9. Thought it sounded neat. Tested it… holy crap! Jump up, CRASH down, stuff around you just vanishes. Game changer! Suddenly clearing packs felt possible.
Kept hunting:
- Saw Fist of the Heavens! Unlocked it later, maybe level 16? Huge.
- This skill? Point, click, BOOM. Big lightning smash. Then little bolts zap nearby losers. Absolutely wrecked elites.
- Slapped on Zeal rune later. Made my Punish faster. Finally felt decent up close.
Started feeling powerful. No more running around scared. See a big group? Boom, Fist of the Heavens. Champions? Jump on their heads with Falling Sword. Stuff started melting.
Getting Tough Enough
Still got wrecked sometimes, though. Needed beefiness. Forgot about Iron Skin until way too late. Huge mistake! That armor is no joke. Pop Iron Skin with the Reflective Skin rune? Suddenly you’re tough AND stuff hurts itself hitting you. Perfect when overwhelmed.
Got Steed Charge too, maybe level 17. Horse time! Needed that speed to zoom between packs. Game feels slow without it. Also great escape if things get hairy. Don’t skip this, seriously.
My Final Core Setup (For Leveling Fast):
- Punish (Zeal): Fast, simple attacks to build Wrath & kill stragglers.
- Fist of the Heavens (Any rune): The BOSS. MELTS groups instantly.
- Falling Sword (Any rune): Jump smash! Crowd control & damage.
- Provoke (Any rune): JUICE! Refills Wrath super fast.
- Iron Skin (Reflective Skin): Become a tank. Essential.
- Steed Charge (Any rune): ZOOM! Faster clears, GTFO card.
Killed Everything After That
With this stuff? Night and day difference. Moved fast, killed fast. Tore through story mode Acts quickly. Went from struggling to being a lawnmower through hordes.
Cruised past Malthael without much trouble. Honestly felt OP most of the way. Hit level 70 faster than any other character I’ve played recently. This combo just works. Forget slow grinding. Grab these skills ASAP, hammer down the big buttons, and watch the XP fly. Good luck smashing!