Hey folks

I’m on a quest to level 1 character to 99 each ladder, each ladder with a different character.

Last ladder it did it with sorceress and this ladder’s assassin is 98,6 and will be done in a couple days.

My work/family constraints are such that I rarely can play more than 2h/day except on the first weekend. Therefore I have around 150-180h of total play time to get there.

I also have 8 accounts and can always get my games to P8 if I have enough clear speed.

So far I used:
Nova ES sorc
Mosaic Sin

These were no-brainers though other builds would certainly have been viable.

I also know I’ll use :
Javazon : no real alternative here though cold bowzon could probably do the trick but I’m not looking for more of a challenge as it already is
Hammerdin: hybrid foh/hammer/smiter is also tempting as it is fairly good at doing WSK but I think a pure Hammerdin will be faster 95% of TZ and that is key for reaching 99 efficiently

What would you advice for Necro, Druid and Barb?

I was thinking novamancer, fire Druid and double throw Barb but I’m not 100% sold on either.

Did you do it on these characters? How long did it take and which build did you use?

Again, only talking about fast TZ clears and a grind that’s doable in 2-3 months.

Thanks in advance for any advice that could help me get there. I’ll tell you in about 16 months if I did it 😅

#1 strategy. No life it.

I think your on the money.

before i saw your choice for necro / druid / barb i was thinking pretty much the same

ive never done a fire druid but for some reason i was thinking it would be best.

same with nova necro

however barb id say ww but ive never had a double throw barb not sure how they stack up against eachother

the ultimate gg exp is loading 7 grushed chars into your game using a script and soloing tz hitting champ/unique packs only (generally between 6-8 spawn per zone, clear then ng, don't waste time on trash)
second best is joining fast paced pub/priv cs/baals and doing the same
third is doing it entirely solo

with option 1 you can do lvl 90-99 in a 2-3 days if you go hard enough

I am currently on the same mission… fire druid in 1/8 works quite well, for sure not comparable to nova sorc or mosaic or javazon…

Double throw barb feels also doable for me.

My biggest concern is the Necro. I tried a poison nova Necro with gg poison dmg but it does not feel like I can really make this to 99…

Within my service, barbs and necros mostly run 2/8 with one of the top 3 (mosaic, nova, javazon).

Good luck with your grind.

This post was edited by namhan on May 30 2025 08:24am

I don't play D2:R

Tele Berserk Barb (once you have full setup) might be good if you are just killing Champs/Uniques and Bosses... Baal waves would be a bit slow if killing by yourself in 8p game. Basically you would be using 1 base Conc ... mind you, I think 1 base WW would be okay, haven't built one of these in decades.

Sorry, can not help on other classes (Nec / Druid)