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D4 Fresh Level 50 Guide. Transitioning to Endgame (WT3/4)

So you're done leveling up to 50 via the main campaign, or non-campaign like an alt? Well, as a fresh level 50 character - here's how you take the next steps to transition into the endgame!

This guide is useful to you if you are:

  • Finished the campaign, and/or you're currently at or very near Level 50.
  • At or near Level 50 via non-campaign leveling (alt, seasonal etc)
  • Getting into World Tier III (you're currently in WTI/II)
  • Getting into World Tier IV (you're currently in WTIII)
  • Unsure of what to do or where to go after finishing campaign or leveling up.

Well, let's get it on! Unless you're still leveilng up.


Getting to World Tier III

Read this segment if you are currently:
in World Tier I or II, trying to get into World Tier III

The next step is unlocking WT3. You simply need to complete what's called a capstone dungeon. In the case of unlocking World Tier 3, its Catherdral of Light in Kyovashad (Fractured Peaks). It's actually INSIDE the church at the northern part of Kyovashad.

This is still part of the early game IMO and most if not all characters, with minimal preparation and refinement, can clear this by the time they're around L50.

Preparation

How strong do you have to be unlock World Tier III? (Beating Cathedral of Light)

At or near Level 50: This is the basic one. Depending on how powerful your character is, you can do this alot earlier than 50. The idea is to get this done ASAP, as there are quite a few benefits to getting into WTIII from II.

A functioning build: All the leveling builds I have for each class in the leveling guides are more than enough to smash this. You don't need the full build (including points from renown), just simply the points from leveling up are enough. You can beat this easily using only aspects from the CODEX, anything else is a bonus!

Weapon - Item Level 540~, upgraded to +2/3: You should ALWAYS be on the lookout for a great weapon. item level 540 and up should be your target. Upgrade to L2/3 as it it's pretty much free.

Armor - Item Level 500~, upgraded to +2: Don't go out of your way to get the upper limit of item level for your armor 500+ is just fine. Upgrade to L2/3 as it it's pretty much free.

Accessories (Item Level semi-irrelevant), upgraded to +2: The item level of accessories isn't super important, but of course the higher the better. As long as they give you good stats and aspects. Upgrade to L2/3 as it it's pretty much free.

Aspects? Again, you only ever need the ones from the Codex, if any. You can probably do this raw.

Renown? Typically a fresh character at this point doesn't have alot of renown. Even if you don't have a single renown reward it should be fine. If you're feeling weak, then you might want to get the first skillpoint reward from each map, as it's very easy to get and gives a lot of power in return.

Paragon? You're likely at a very low level of paragon at this point. My only advice is to get the maximum power from the board as you can, with the points you have.



Grinding

Need to grind? What are the best ways while at World Tier II going to III? Now that you have an idea of the power you need from the segments above, see below on how best to get there.

If this is your Renown character, then simply do the high-impact renown objectives to get those skillpoints. Strongholds, Waypoints, Statues of Lilith.

Even if this ISN'T YOUR RENOWN CHARACTER - you STILL wanna do Strongholds. As it unlocks Waypoints, dungeons, etc.

Get the useful aspects for your build and class, and the good general ones. These also indirectly boost your renown. Most characters would be done with some of this by this time, but it's a good chance to get some more of them. Here's a few of the better ones:

Need any others? Decide for yourself. See: List of D4 Aspects.

Since I highly doubt anyone will be here long enough to consider dungeon grinding for purely EXP's sake, I won't put the notes here... If you are curious check out the notes in the World Tier III to IV segment.

TLDR is, In a group? Champions Demise in Dry Steppes. Solo? Ruins of Eridu in Hawezar. Since EXP grinding is a recurring topic, a separate guide might need to be made for it, so I can update the info all in one place.

Tree of Whispers is IMO one of the "lowest forms of grinding". It is, however, "easiest".

They can be done pretty quickly, but I feel that focusing solely on Tree of Whisper objectives as a means to progress your character is suboptimal.

But again, it's very unlikely you'll be "grinding" a lot to complete this phase, so you won't be doing any of these activities for long.



It's really not hard as long as you have gear that isn't dumpster tier, and you have a functional build. Get some decent items, and get to L45+ and you should be well on your way into World Tier III.

Thoughts on this tier? (WTI or II to III)

Here are my important notes, and in general what I think about getting into World Tier 3.

Honestly, this is a minor inconvenience at best. Most if not all builds and characters will be ready for this at Level 50 if you took even a little care to get some decent items and an "ok" build.

Using any of the class leveling builds on here will work well.

World Tier III - What's New?

What are the benefits to unlocking World Tier III, and things to do, here's a short rundown:

  • Sacred Items: There's a new tier of items that are more powerful than "basic" ones.
  • Helltides: Every other hour, a portion of the map becomes overcome with a "helltide". These areas have LOTS of MORE POWERFUL monsters which give good EXP and drop Aberrant Cinders which you can open special chests with during the helltide event. Overall, a very good source of EXP and loot.
  • Nightmare Dungeons: Good EXP. The best way to obtain sigils, and the only way to level them. Sigils are an extremely potent part of your paragon progression that is severely overlooked sometimes. They are a titanic source of your power.
  • Higher item level for drops, more legendary drops.
  • Enemies scale with your level (minimum 50, capped at 73), and are more powerful.

Getting to World Tier IV

Read this segment if you are currently:
in World Tier III, trying to get into World Tier IV

The next step is unlocking WT4. Similar to WT3, this requires completion of another capstone dungeon. In this case, it's Fallen Temple in Dry Steppes. It's East of the Fate's Retreat waypoint.

This step (and a little past it) is what I'd call the MIDGAME. The preparation is a little more nuanced, and you need to sit down and GRIND for EXP quite a bit. It's alright though, loot and levels are why we're here!

Preparation

Honestly, I would only consider getting into WT4 if you're around L60. The two main reasons being Ancestral Items require L60, so no real point rushing. Secondly, EFFICIENT farming in WT4 may be a problem if you're too low level or weak.

Yes, you may be able to inch your way through the dungeon... but there are better things to do than struggling in WT4. L60 is, IMO, a good baseline minimum to try it out.

I put L73 as the "maximum" since that's minimum enemy level in WTIV. You SHOULD be ready way before that time.

While most if not all leveling builds here will 100% work getting here, they aren't exactly made for this purpose. Small modifications here and there are probably needed for a build with more longevity.

I plan to make a midgame build for each class, which avoids uniques as you're NOT guaranteed to get them at this point. For now, just use any build or keep using the leveling builds.

This IS the time to start making your build more complete and powerful.

At this point, +4 should be "free", and you want everything to be "(Sacred)". Accessories, again, are somewhat exempt to this.

Weapon - SACRED Item Level 700~, upgraded to +4/5: +5 should be OK at least for the weapon. Higher item level and base damage are what you're looking for!

Armor - SACRED Item Level 650~ upgraded to +4: +4 is enough, and as long as it's aroung ilvl 650, that's fine.

Accessories (Doesn't need to be Sacred, ILVL semi-irrelevant), upgraded to +4: As long as it has usable substats, you don't need to hunt for godly item levels. Upgrade it still since it's free stats.

Renown: At this point you should have at least the +2 Skillpoints and +1 Potion from each map. Ideally you're actively working toward the +4 Paragon point bonuses.

Paragon: You're still at a point here that you SHOULD NOT be using a hyper focused paragon build. Your glyph levels are low, and your paragon points are low. Get the maximum power for the points you have, ignoring efficiency. I also plan to have a "general" paragon build for each class in the near future.



Grinding

Need to grind? What are the best ways while at World Tier III going to IV? Now that you have an idea of the power you need from the segments above, see below on how best to get there.

Keep an eye out for Sacred items (and try to get a high level Sacred weapon asap), and enchant / upgrade them. Aside from possibly accessories, everything you equip SHOULD be sacred.

If this is your Renown character, then now is the time to max out renown every map. There is no better time, and the residual EXP you'll get is actually substantial.

The paragon points you get from maxing renown are the fastest way you can get power - why? You're not too strong right now, so other activities may not be super efficient yet.

Doing this now, while you're a little weaker, is the "best use of your time", and you'll hopefully be finding useful loot along the way. All paragon points from renown and statues is around 6 levels worth!

Leveling up hmm... three good sigils is a good idea right now. You can't get too high of a level since sigil EXP is pretty low, but nightmare dungeons are a decent source of EXP, and sigils are an severely underrated source of power.

You won't (or SHOULDN'T, it's too big of a grind) be getting a sigil to L15 AT THIS WORLD TIER for that massive power spike, but you can gain some easy levels on a few of them.

I honestly think I should make a separate, specific guide on how exactly the BEST WAY TO GAIN EXP are, and why... but TLDR is:

In a group? Champions Demise in southern Dry Steppes. This dungeon is hands down the best for any size party. The idea is each member goes to each of the three paths in the dungeon, and exit before the boss. The EXP is surprisingly fast.

Solo? Try Ruins of Eridu in southern Hawezar. Note that this is for strictly EXP, Nightmare Dungeons are always an option if soloing to get Glyph EXP. If you have some glyph levels, then I suppose you can do this. However, if there is a Helltide up, or other activities... I'd rather do that.

For both of these dungeons, focus on killing elites and packs, and just ignore stragglers.

As an aside, I will be referencing "how" to gain EXP effectively in many places, so making a separate guide makes sense in terms of updating, and my own sanity... Another thing on the to-do list!

If you just got into World Tier III, and you're looking for a boost, Tree of Whispers is legit for "fresh into World Tier IV" guys. Simply because you're not powerful enough to do anything else efficiently.

Once you pass a certain level of power, I feel that focusing solely on Tree of Whisper objectives as a means to progress your character is suboptimal.



Thoughts on this tier? (WTIII to IV)

Here are my important notes, and in general what I think about getting into World Tier 4.

The journey from World Tier III to World Tier IV can be a lengthy one. Even if you can clear the dungeon at L60 (the "minimum" I would recommend), farming at WTIV will be slow. So there's not much of a rush.

Now, this is also a pretty exciting time as you'll be rapidly gaining power. This is where you want to begin refining your build into endgame capability. Of course, the only restriction you should place on your own builds is that Uniques wont drop until WTIV.

Be patient and take it one step at a time. Each paragon, each upgrade, each piece of slightly better gear will inch your towards your goal.

Not gonna lie, you're gonna need a lot of EXP. So HOPEFULLY before you have to resort to straight grinding, you can complete as many side-goals as glyph levels or renowns WHILE you gain EXP, before you just go for straight EXP grinds.

World Tier IV - What's New?

What are the benefits to unlocking World Tier IV, and things to do, here's a short rundown:

  • Ancestral Items: tier of items more powerful than Sacred. Minimum L60 to equip.
  • Higher Nightmare Dungeons: It's in these upper levels where you can realistically reach L15+ glyphs.
  • Stronger Helltides: These became beefier and better to farm in!
  • Higher item level drops, even more legendary drops. Unique items now drop. Beefier enemies again!
  • Minimum enemy level of 73 (better EXP for you!). Enemies generally scale up to your level.

Aside from uniques dropping, World Tier IV doesn't actually add anything NEW, but for now this is the "final place" to grind, and can be considered the ENDGAME.


Summary, Outro, Related Links

Well if you ever needed help with your fresh level 50 character, I hope you got some guidance here. As it currently stands, this part can seem like a grind, but IMO it's an exciting one. There's lots of power to be gained, and it's in this part of the game where you'll likely learn most how YOU like to interact with D4's many systems.

Some related reading: