Okay so I tried RankedBoost for speeding up leveling in Diablo 2. Wanted to see if the hype was real or just noise. Here’s exactly what went down.
Why Even Bother With Leveling Tools?
Look, leveling new characters feels like a chore sometimes. Doing Tristram runs for hours? Nah. Saw folks talking about RankedBoost online, claiming crazy fast level ups. Skeptical, obviously. Anyone promising easy mode in D2 is usually blowing smoke.
Setting Things Up Was… Annoying
First off, figuring out RankedBoost itself. Had to mess around with settings way more than I expected. It ain’t plug-and-play, that’s for sure. Kept thinking “Just let me kill monsters!” Felt like wrestling with old tech.
- Config Headache: Spent ages ticking boxes and adjusting values. Wanted XP boosts specific to where I was grinding.
- Weird Performance: Game felt a bit janky initially. Tiny stutters here and there. Not game-breaking, but noticeable enough to be irritating.
Testing in Actual Blood Moor (and Beyond)
Fired up a fresh Paladin – hammerdin, naturally. Booted into Normal difficulty, ready to bonk some fallen. Hit level 8 faster than usual. Okay, interesting start. Pushed into Catacombs.
XP started noticeably jumping faster between levels. Was clearing monsters quicker? Maybe. Felt like I wasn’t waiting forever for that next ding. Reached Level 15 while Andariel was still wiping her chin. That normally takes me longer.
Things got real in Act 2. Tried some Tal Rasha Tomb runs. The game seemed smoother now, no more weird hitches. RankedBoost was chugging along, feeding that XP bar faster without me changing my usual run paths. Okay, color me slightly impressed.
So, Did It Actually Save Time?
Yeah, honestly? It did. Leveling felt significantly faster, especially past Level 20. Reached Level 40 in Nightmare much quicker than my usual slog. How much faster? Maybe like 30% on average?
- The Good Stuff: Less mindless grinding. Hitting key levels faster means getting key skills earlier, which lets you farm better areas sooner.
- The Catch: It ain’t magic. Still gotta play smart. Doing Tristram at Level 15? You’ll still get wrecked. Still gotta do Baal runs for the last stretch. RankedBoost just makes the journey between those milestones way less painful.
Final Thoughts After Beating Mephisto
Look, it’s a tool. Not a “win button”. You won’t get to Level 99 overnight.
Good for: Rushing new alts, cutting out the boring parts, enjoying your build sooner. Seriously helps after Level 20.
Not so good for: Making zero effort work, fixing bad builds, or replacing actual game knowledge. Still gotta know where to farm for your level.
Used it? Worked for me. Saved a bunch of hours. Wouldn’t level another character without it. Just be ready to fiddle with settings first – and maybe take that “instant max level” talk with a huge grain of salt. It speeds things up, nothing more.