Getting Started with My Hardcore Run
Alright, so I kicked things off with a Necro. Why? Well, skeletons are kinda like free buddies, right? Thought they’d keep me safe. Started in the usual place, just running around whacking things with my little bone stick. Felt slow, man, super slow. Especially early on, like before level 15. Was just plinking away, one mob at a time. Wasn’t feeling the speed at all, and in Hardcore, slow feels dangerous.
Then stuff started to happen. Found a decent wand with some extra points to Skeletal Warriors. Okay, a bit better. My guys hit harder. But still… squishy. Saw my minion health dropping fast in some areas. Got sweaty palms near some of those big Fallen shamans throwing fire. Almost logged out once when my health dropped too low for comfort. Decided I needed more toughness asap.
The Plan Takes Shape (Mostly)
After that scare, I kinda panicked and switched up my skills. Went hard into the Fortify stuff on the Book of the Dead for my Skellies and the Golem. Sacrificed the Mages for permanent Fortify whenever my guys hit stuff. Felt smarter. Also grabbed any piece of gear with +Max Life or Damage Reduction I could find. Chest, pants, helm – pure defense. Forget fancy damage stats early on. Staying alive > killing slightly faster.
Played like a coward, honestly. Stuck to areas I knew were easier. Farmed the heck out of Sarasat Ruins early dungeon runs whenever it popped up. Lots of tight corridors, good for controlling mobs with a Corpse Tendril stun. And plenty of corpses for my army! Used Corpse Explosion for clear, but honestly, felt like the Minions + me plinking away was safer than risky AOE pulls. Pulled small packs. Ran away from Elites if they looked nasty. Zero shame.
The Real MVP: Leveling Trick
I know it sounds lame, but the real game-changer for speed wasn’t some fancy gear drop. It was realizing I could just ignore the damn main quest! Seriously. Stopped doing it around level 25. Saw folks online saying to farm Renown regions instead. Focused entirely on:
- Tree of Whispers Caches: Grinded events and dungeons just to fill the bar. The XP rewards are solid, and the caches often gave gear upgrades without fighting world bosses.
- Re-rollable Dungeons: Targeted ones like Dead Man’s Dredge. Clear objectives, good density, reasonable layout. Ran them repeatedly. Not glamorous, but predictable and safe.
- Strongholds: Knocked these out ASAP when entering new zones. Huge XP dump, unlocks the zone fully.
This focus made levels fly by. Felt less random. Way less chance of getting jumped by some insane Elite pack wandering around in the story zones. Plus, clearing dungeons gave constant Renown rewards, unlocking skill points and potion charges, which meant even more safety. Positive feedback loop!
Gearing Up Without Screwing Up
For gear, kept it simple and safe:
- Weapons: Upgraded whenever I found something significantly better. Didn’t sweat the affixes much until closer to 50.
- Armor: Anything with +Max Life, Damage Reduction, or Armor. Especially Helm, Chest, Pants. Defense layers are king.
- Aspects: Grabbed the free ones in the world! Specifically prioritized ones that boosted my Minions (like the +2 Warrior Skellies one) or gave me Fortify generation. Slapped these on cheap yellow gear instantly. Big, easy power spike that didn’t require fighting hard stuff.
- Potions & Scrolls: ALWAYS kept at least 1 Escape Scroll ready. Drank potions constantly, don’t hoard! Used healing potion upgrades whenever they became available.
Honestly, I think prioritizing Aspects really smoothed things out. Felt way less squishy once I had constant Fortify rolling from my minions hitting things.
The Home Stretch (Watching Paint Dry)
By level 40, things were… stable. Too stable maybe? Felt slow again, but safe. I just kept churning through Whispers and easy dungeons. Played super cautious. Checked every Elite affix. Froze up every time the game stuttered (dang server!). Avoided any cursed shrines or events that looked remotely spicy. It was mind-numbing at times, grinding those same safe spots. But hey, getting to 50 without dying was the only goal.
And it worked. Finally dinged 50 yesterday evening. No crazy deaths to lag or stupid mistakes. Didn’t push my luck once. Got my mount finally unlocked through Renown too, nice bonus.
The Big Takeaway
So yeah, if you wanna hit 50 in Hardcore without biting the dust? Forget being flashy. Forget trying to max damage early. Play scared. Play boring. Dump points into Minion toughness and your own defense. Focus entirely on Whispers and Targeted Dungeons. Get those free defensive Aspects ASAP. Run away a lot. It ain’t fast in the fun way, but it’s fast in the “still alive at 50” way, which is the whole dang point in Hardcore!