Get Kanai’s Cube from Act 3 Ruins of Sescheron, Elder Sanctum.
Train the Blacksmith and Mystic to Level 12.
Craft a Level 70 Class-specific Rare item and spend Blood Shards.
Upgrade the Rare item and cube the Power if you got something good. If you got an Ancient Weapon with a bad Power, keep it to enchant a Secondary Property to Reduced Level Requirement.
Buy +DMG Rings and Amulets at Level 6 to Level 10. (Look for Vendors with a suffix of “the Fence”).
Complete an easy Boss Bounty for Rare items (Zultan Kulle, Maghda, etc.)
Do Rifts on Hard Difficulty until you reach Level 40.
Craft a Level 70 Rare Weapon with Life per Hit and a Crowd Controlling effect as a Secondary Property.
Reroll the other Secondary Property to the best Reduced Level Requirement you can get.
Change the Game Difficulty to Torment I (T1) or higher.
Do Massacre Bonuses in high-density areas.
Once you hit Level 70, complete the Season Journey Chapters I through IV (1 - 4) to receive your free Set and run Greater Rifts to get Legendary Gems.
What to upgrade
Barbarian: 2-Handed Mighty Weapon
Crusader: Crusader Shield
Demon Hunter: 1-Hand Dagger
Monk: Daibo
Necro: 2-Handed Scythe
Witch Doctor: Mojo (or Voodoo Masks)
Wizard: 1-Hand Wand
The preceding guide is meant for Solo players with a newly created Seasonal Character. It was inspired by a Season 19 leveling video guide for all Classes, but mostly focused on the Barbarian, by Raxxanterax.
I have modified the steps taken, to be less Class-specific, to correspond more closely to Character progression and hopefully be relevant to any Season.
If you are interested in viewing the video that inspired this thread, here it is:
I wanted to do some practicing in Patch 2.6.7 before Season 19 drops. I started a new Crusader Hard Difficulty.
I’ve checked all Merchants [the Fence]; in fact all Merchants, in every Act at Levels 6 and 7. So far, none of them offer Rings or Amulets.
I crafted a Hellfire Amulet and 2 Hellfire Rings for me and my Templar Follower. I will continue checking as I level up. But, I may end up editing the OP unless I find more information. (Nothing is written in stone. Everything is D3 RNG. )
Edit: By the time I finished a Nephalem Rift on Hard Difficulty I was Level 13. I checked the Merchant Fence in Act I and he currently has a Jewelry tab. I don’t know when this tab is available or if it’s random. But, I did see Raxxanterax purchase +DMG Rings at Character Level 7 (in his video).
As someone who is brand new to season play, should I start the game on normal difficulty or go for hard in the beginning and drop it down if it gets too difficult? I’m not sure what it is like to play the game without most of the bonuses I’m used to (mostly played PS4, barely touched PC). I’m going to try season 19 on PC with Crusader having never leveled one before.
As GhostDragon stated, you may be able to start on Master Difficulty. Especially playing a Crusader.
I main a Demon Hunter, but thought I’d try something new. I’ve been practicing with a newly created non-Season Crusader and they are really tough. Of course, if you’re playing Hardcore you’ll want to be more cautious.
Keep in mind, that whatever Difficulty you are on, monster Levels scale with your Level. If you’re Level 6, the monsters are Level 6, even on Master Difficulty. They just have more HP and do more DMG on higher Levels. Eventually, when your Level gets high enough, you may take more DMG and it may be harder to kill monsters on the same Game Difficulty. If that happens, you then may want to lower the Game Difficulty until you’re comfortable: Finding better gear, not taking too much DMG and killing monsters quickly… relatively speaking.
A final note I did not include in the OP: If, for some reason, you don’t complete the Challenge Rift (wait until Friday, November 22, 2019 for Season 19), you’ll want to start running Bounties in all Acts to collect Bounty Mats. You’ll need them to cube a Weapon and eventually craft some Sets until you earn your free Season Set.
do you think doing campaign speed run around level 20 to get Leoric’s crown is worth it?
do you have a link or details on what sets/unqiues are now automatically unlocked when upgrading blacksmith to lev 12? I heard sages, not sure if there are any others? I’m talking about things available without finding plans from bounties, goblins etc.
On your own no, if splitting up a party and have one high move speed class (DH, Monk) go for it and invite others maybe. The crown drops pretty easily and is also easily gambled from Kadala at lvl 1 if your class doesn’t have better things to target (or you get them in a few tries).
AFAIK it is only the LVL 70 Sage’s set that the Blacksmith gets for free.
Personally, no. I usually find Leoric’s Crown between Level 6 and Level 10 while running Bounties during Seasons in Adventure Mode. They drop often. You’ll get them from Kadala when gambling for Helms and from Kanai’s Cube when upgrading Level 70 Rare Helms.
The Sage’s Journey Set (for double Death’s Breaths) is the only Set I’m aware of that the Blacksmith learns automatically at Level 12, as GhostDragon stated.
Maybe it’s random. But, when I created a new Crusader to practice for Season 19, I checked “the Fence” Vendors in each Act at Character Level 6 and 7, but they didn’t even have a Jewelry tab.
I bumped up the Difficulty, I think to Master, ran a Nephalem Rift, which bumped me to Level 10. When I checked the Vendors again, they had a Jewelry tab with both Rings and Amulets. (I didn’t get a chance to check at Level 8 or 9).
In Raxxanterax’s video, he was Level 7 when he got his Rings. So, we’ll see what happens when Season 19 starts tomorrow.
Here’s hoping everyone has D3 RNG in their favor this Season.
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