When it comes to WSK, is it better to run 1-2-3 levels in p8, or run and share exp with others during the waves 1-5?

It doesn't mater the entire game will be TZ for the event. Kill all of it. P8 will matter, WSK is only the best exp as a TZ itself if you are doing Pretele baals. 45 seconds a run.

does matter though

even on a hammerdin which isnt one of the top chars you'll get around 2x as much xp from solo wsk than joining throne

now on anything like java mosaic or nova thats way more

Playing HDin solo in WSK is a bad idea, because phase 2 is hard. They are better going FOH and clearing chaos in p8 in 2 minutes solo. I do it all the time.

you can play mage though with 6k foh 10k hammer

nonetheless i wasnt saying anything about hammerdin, im just saying its better to do solo WSK than to join a full throne exp-wise

I can't speak for other chars but on mosaic you get about double xp doing wsk 1 2 3 solo vs shared exp worldstone.

Takes 2 runs to test your char

Very insightful data!

Got a few questions @Ron

1. You mentioned 30+ 99s in 1 year => Were they all during the 22 days event?
2. Do you see it possible to hit 99 on all 8 characters (main + all fillers) in such event?
2.1 Or the load times + tele skew data too much and make it not worth it?
3. Elites only vs elites + large packs: which was better XP?

Currently got 2 99s this ladder, working on 3rd (all different classes), solo 8p...but I just can't see how reaching 30+ would be possible.

Some background:
I just used a Youtube video called "When to switch over to TZ" (for XP purposes) - and the answer was 94.
I then used past info from my competition days (olybaal channels in 2005+ in Europe if that rings a bell) to just go ham on elites and large packs p8 solo. But I didn't do just chaos, I always did WSK + TZ, which I guess is slower than just CS.
Without TZ, it was all baals + LH split team at baal (95+ 2-4 members) + nihla + dia duo + pretele to go to 99.
In parallel, a friend was hitting quite fast 99...but on java only and soloing p8 wsk in cows/chaos games.
But we had never used 8p "solo" in online, we had a community.

And a note: The best CS run count I could hit/be part of in 1 CS TZ was 90 in 8p games with jsp members.
1 pop seals
most went for seal bosses
few went for elite packs near seal bosses
idk if more is possible, however at that point, we had amazing tele and host.

This post was edited by Alexandru on Dec 25 2025 05:55pm

A lot to answer here. I will do it after today live stream.
If you wanna see how I level up you can click in the link below.

1. You mentioned 30+ 99s in 1 year => Were they all during the 22 days event? I don't believe any was during the 22 nights of terror. It was from start January to late November 2024. However the other years hasn't been like the current only, it's been a different bonus or negative effect every day.
2. Do you see it possible to hit 99 on all 8 characters (main + all fillers) in such event? Yes. But not sure why you want to level fillers?
2.1 Or the load times + tele skew data too much and make it not worth it? What exactly do you mean about load + tele skewing data?
3. Elites only vs elites + large packs: which was better XP? Seems to pretty equal, I personally like doing 80%+ clean, while most like doing less.

Currently got 2 99s this ladder, working on 3rd (all different classes), solo 8p...but I just can't see how reaching 30+ would be possible. A ladder is only 3-4 months, doing 30+ would be (close) to impossible. Here's a list https://forums.d2jsp.org/guild.php?t=912&p=10397664#p10397664

Some background:
I just used a Youtube video called "When to switch over to TZ" (for XP purposes) - and the answer was 94.
I then used past info from my competition days (olybaal channels in 2005+ in Europe if that rings a bell) to just go ham on elites and large packs p8 solo. But I didn't do just chaos, I always did WSK + TZ, which I guess is slower than just CS.
Without TZ, it was all baals + LH split team at baal (95+ 2-4 members) + nihla + dia duo + pretele to go to 99.
In parallel, a friend was hitting quite fast 99...but on java only and soloing p8 wsk in cows/chaos games.
But we had never used 8p "solo" in online, we had a community.
This is what I did pre-TZ
Level 90-98 Nihlathak -> Do an average of 11 packs in river of flame and chaos -> Kill Diablo -> NG
Level 98-99 Nihlathak -> Pop seals -> Take Shrine A1 -> Kill Diablo -> Kill Baal in P2 or P4 party -> NG

And a note: The best CS run count I could hit/be part of in 1 CS TZ was 90 in 8p games with jsp members.
1 pop seals
most went for seal bosses
few went for elite packs near seal bosses
idk if more is possible, however at that point, we had amazing tele and host.
Some people do also focus to much on speed and lose out on actual efficiency. Tried doing faster runs by skipping more and ended up the same or worse. But with more players doing the area it will be faster ofc

This post was edited by Roneye on Dec 25 2025 10:04pm

Thank you for all the detailed info!

Q1. That's quite a feat!

Q2. I saw it both as a different kind of challenge and had a curiosity if this was the method for your 30+ (which it was not).
Like Zarfen, NuclearRabbit and others do self-imposed challenges, but this one would be on 99s.

Q2.1 I meant dilute the xp as more load times and waiting would be needed and then it also might become not fun to wait that long.
Aside impressions and feelings, I would consider it next year, if I'll still find the time for it and we'll still have perma WSK.

Q3. I catch myself "dosing off" to clearing packs of 3-4 sometimes (I don't always spot champions easily, so then I tend to mouse over more mobs, then I feel I waste time and ignore 3-4 mob packs), but I do like to also 75%+ clear wsk and chaos.
Ironically, if I stop thinking about it and just go ham on mobs, I get better xp/h.

On shrines:
Pre-TZ: a must for bosses
TZ: They're cool to have, however playing solo means more time spent searching and on average I couldn't justify them. Also somehow every 3rd or 4th elite pack cursed my characters.
I only keep it for high density areas in non-event TZ and bosses at 97+.

On speed:
Same finding, fast isn't that efficient in solo. In actual 8 real people game, definitely.
Christmas event: Also speeding wears me out faster, so better off doing a marathon at enjoyable and less stressful than a sprint and crash soon after
Non-event: ADHD in best TZ, more relaxed outside.

What really helps in your data is sorting out TZ.
Only variable I'm afraid of is having different builds that can change a few rankings, due to mobs natural resists, but that's easily findable.
Sadly theamazonbasin is gone, wish I had their site data locally somewhere (how many elites can spawn per zone was especially a great resource).