Specific Tips
Gems - When you first start picking up teardrop flawless gems, go back and do it over a few times to build up a stash for your next death.
Leoric’s Crown - There were two drops within the first 25 levels each time I started a new hero. One early, and the next useable with some stats to carry to 70 for the double experience bonus with a ruby. Ask yourself this. NEXT TIME you start at level 1 and get to level 6 where the first one drops (or one in your stash can be donned) would you rather have a Flawless Ruby (15% +experience x 2) or a Marquis (33% +experience x 2) to put in the slot?
Ring of Royal Grandeur - As a hardcore not going after seasonal sets, you’re essentially a weak character until you can get something, anything. I bought two (2) each of the following sets for higher stats - Sage’s and Guardian’s. Then I cubed the RRG. I got the three (3) set credit on both sets. I picked up +15% movement speed AND +1 Death’s Breath upon pickups.
Followers aren’t strong enough to make much difference. However, their skills can help, especially the Templar in blocking oncoming mobs in narrow places. Once you have obtained the Mystic, do the following. Start a new hardcore hero for each primary skill, intelligence, dexterity, and strength and take it just past the blacksmith’s quest so you can open up the path to the Mystic. Let them sit idle. You will use them when you want to enchant an item with a different primary skill for a follower. Now you can use the dormant hardcore to enchant for the primary you want. It can enchant gear up to your max level even if the dormant is still at level 1.
Crafts People - You’ll want to train crafts people first and fast. That takes cash AND Death’s Breaths. You can’t enter a rift until you reach level 70, BUT each time you start a new hero you are given 1 DB. Start and kill them in testing to build up your DBs.
The Jeweler, Mystic, and Blacksmith will still have the previous skill levels so don’t hesitate to train them up to the max. If you have any gems, save them all. You might want to upgrade them and use on the next hero.
Treasure Goblins - Treasure goblin strategy is different, too. Softcore you go after the goblin. Hardcore you have to plan. Many times you’ll have a choice of killing a mob for a massacre bonus or killing a goblin for loot. At the same time you’ll have to worry about ignoring damage while you chase the goblin. Try this. The goblin won’t move until you get close enough to seem to be chasing him. Once you do he will head away from you. Start by staying alive with other tips. Work on the massacre bonus first since leveling up is primary for each hero while your gold and materials accumulate over multiple Fallen Heros. I’ve found that if you run to the opposite side of the loot bandit before he is “activated,” he will run back the way you came, giving you a safe opportunity to kill him in places you have already cleared. This doesn’t always work but it does often enough to try.
I entered a map with lots of bad guys. I saw and heard multiple goblins. I purposely killed everything in a big circle around the goblin mob before attacking them. Even so, other bad guys came from other areas to join the fight. Even with goblins running all over, I kept killing bad guys until they were gone before finishing up the goblins. After the excitement I had a nice quiet stroll through all the loot making two trips back to camp to unload. By saving them for later, I got lots more massacre points plus lots more loot because I was able to concentrate on the goblins when I was ready.
Kanai’s Cube - Act III is where you find Kanai’s Cube -or- not. It never showed up in my runs. I had to finish the entire campaign before I could go back and even see the Ruins of Sescheron. I found there were a few other waypoints that don’t show up in hardcore. I don’t know why. This prevented me from being able to use it for any of my heros in the process.
End of Campaign - Once you’ve completed a full campaign and can access Adventure mode with your first hardcore hero, you might want to start on another hero class. Here are a few tips for that.
1 If you start in Adventure Mode, there is no ramp up of monster vulnerability versus your character’s growing skill level. You can assign Paragon points, but without the good gear and proper skills, you’ll die a lot. It’s better to start in Campaign mode and grow your skills to level 70 before going to Adventure mode. Also, in Campaign you’ll know what comes next and can be prepared.
2. Even per #1, as soon as you get past the blacksmith, leave the game and reenter in Adventure mode. This will allow you to select a follower and use Kanai’s Cube. Otherwise, they don’t show up in Campaign mode. To change KC in the future, you’ll have to go back to Adventure mode again.
3. When your leveling up a new hardcore after having completed campaign once, everything is available but you have to change from campaign to adventure then back again. It’s interesting to have a follower from almost the beginning of Act I and twins when you meet them later in campaign mode. You get the extra fire power of both.
4. Legendary Gems don’t have required levels. Anything you have can be socketed in to the earliest socket item you can wear.
5. Use your first level 70 to build up a cache of marquis gems and get some legendary gems.
6. Consider how powerful it is at level 35 to have Leoric’s Crown cubed and using a Flawless Royal Ruby for experience AND sockets for Wildebeest, Bane of the Powerful, and Enforcer if you’re running pets.
7. If you don’t have a socketed amulet, use the level 70 to get materials for the new character to get Hellfire amulets and rings for sockets. The gear won’t be level 70, but the sockets and buffs will still be well worth the effort.
8. Don’t forget to be INVINCIBLE with lots of toughness and recovery.
