My first character is usually a blizzard/ fireball sorc and try to make her level to hell as soon as possible. Here is what I think the best way to gain wealth from nothing fast during ladder reset. Focusing on the goal is important. My goal is usually building an infinity for a lighting mf sorc(reset skill with the blizzard/ fireball sorc), so getting two bers would be crucial. I would also try to build a second strong mf characters like hammer din/ summon necro/ smiter pally, and then a fun-to-play character like jav amazon or wind druid, a war-cry barb, or etc. I do not try to make my fun character strong, so they usually stay in NM level, but become crucial when I try to trade the stuff during MF.

If I can kill the monster with 80% success rate, I will start farming in those areas. I do not spend time on normal farming. I used to use bot/ map hacker, but not anymore.

1: NM Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal. Usually I am able to get some decent stuff and trade for runes like Mal or Um in the first couple weeks of ladder reset. I just learned how to trade D2Jsp, and I think it is a good place to gain wealth as well. I also try to make raise my survival rate as much as possible by raising my resist gearing up with good strength/ dex resist helm/ shield like spirit ruenword, Natalya's Totem(grim helm), rare MF resist rings/ amulet, spirit runeword, ryhme runeword, and etc. On the way of my mf journey, I usually get a few very good stuff like Hoz, Soj, War traveler, skill charms with other property or other valuable stuff for trade. With those tradable items I don't need for my fun characters or second main character, I will trade them for runes or gears I want. Usually I am around level 80-83 and still farming in NM.

2: Hell Countess/ Act3 Lower Kurast chest runs. After getting solid item from NM, I can pretty much solo everything in NM and occasionally, I would do some trist baal run with people in NM or Normal just for fun. Sometimes, karma will give you good luck when you are helping people. I am kidding, more ppl will help mf. It starts to get fun when you can solo everything in the game. Hell Countess/ Act3 do not really require much skill or high-end gear. The only thing annoying is Countess is always cold/ fire immune so I let the merc do the job. Runes do not count on mf anyways. Occasionally with full-rejuvenating portion, I would also try to kill hell Mephisto, clear pit level, or do Pindles. With 2- 3 months, I usually will accumulate 2 3 high runes like Lo, Vex, or even Ber/ Jah. Then I would transform my sorc to the lighting after getting infinity. At this point, I finally feel comfortable to start farming in Hell.

3: Hell Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal. With infinity on merc, it made life easier for Hell, but usually it is still far from perfectionate a lighting sorc. MF is like playing slot machines, you go, you kill, they drop. Sometime when I get bored or frustrated, I would play with my fun character or help people trist or pass nm again. Mfing in those area will make my character go up to level 90 and I would start farming for keys or uber level. Cows are fun with lighting sorc. You should be able to get lots of stuff by farming those areas and do whatever you want.