Currently, the leveling experience from 1–60, in my opinion, gets far too little attention. The only goal is to reach Torment as quickly as possible.
Items are replaced purely based on item level without much consideration, and there’s no real challenge since everything can be cleared on Normal difficulty.
With Season 11, Capstone Dungeons are returning — providing a solid foundation for a more challenging experience.
What I would change:
Step 1 (Level 1–20) — NORMAL
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You start on Normal difficulty.
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You receive 100% XP for Whispers, monsters, quests, etc.
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From level 20 onward, XP gain is reduced to 10% until the first Capstone is completed.
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Capstone Dungeon 1 becomes available at level 15.
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Item drops are mostly Magic quality.
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Small chance for Rare items.
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Very small chance for Legendaries.
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Extremely small chance for Uniques.
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Small chance for Magic Runes.
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Very small chance for Rare Runes.
When the dungeon is completed:
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The XP reduction is removed, and you receive 100% XP again until the next level cap.
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You now play on Hard difficulty.
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Season Rank 2 is unlocked.
Step 2 (Level 20–40) — HARD
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Same system as Step 1.
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Capstone Dungeon 2 available at level 35.
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Tempering becomes available.
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Item drops mostly Magic/Rare.
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Small chance for Legendaries.
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Very small chance for Uniques.
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Small chance for Magic/Rare Runes.
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Very small chance for Legendary Runes.
When the dungeon is completed:
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Same as Step 1.
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You now play on Expert difficulty.
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Season Rank 3 is unlocked.
Step 3 (Level 40–50) — EXPERT
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Capstone Dungeon 3 available at level 45.
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Item drops mostly Rare/Legendary.
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Masterworking becomes available.
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Normal chance for Legendaries.
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Very small chance for Uniques.
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Normal chance for Magic/Rare Runes.
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Small chance for Legendary Runes.
When the dungeon is completed:
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You now play on Penitent difficulty.
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Season Rank 4 is unlocked.
Step 4 (Level 50–60) — PENITENT
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Capstone Dungeon 4 available at level 60.
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Item drops mostly Rare/Legendary.
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Sanctification becomes available.
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Normal chance for Legendaries.
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Normal chance for Magic/Rare Runes.
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Small chance for Legendary Runes.
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Small chance for Uniques.
When the dungeon is completed:
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Torment 1 is unlocked.
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Season Rank 5 is unlocked.
With these changes, players are forced to play on higher difficulty levels.
However, the current issue is that gear scales with enemy level — which means it would underperform on higher difficulties.
Therefore, the following adjustments are necessary:
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It should always be possible to find max level 750 items at any stage and for every quality (for that dopamine hit).
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Uniques should always roll at max level 750.
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Level requirements for items should be removed.
Example:
A player at level 40 has completed Capstone 2 and is now playing on Expert.
The current item range is roughly player level × 12.5 + small bonus (around item level 500).
→ Goal: 95% of drops should be around level 500.
→ 10% of drops can roll between (player level × 12.5) + 100 — so 600+ up to 750.
On Normal:
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98% within player item range
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2% between +100 and 750
On Hard:
- 95% / 5%
On Expert:
- 90% / 10%
On Penitent:
- 80% / 20%
This would make drops relevant again and allow players to dominate within their difficulty level.
What content can you play during the 1–60 leveling process?
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Helltides
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Season Campaign
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Infernal Hordes
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Kurast Undercity
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Nightmare Dungeons
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Strongholds
Torment Difficulties
Currently, Torment 2 and 3 feel unnecessary, since everything can already be found in Torment 1 and players rush through them.
To fix this, Torment 2 and 3 should scale better and be more difficult, making higher drop chances and XP gains more meaningful.
Torment 1 (Enemy power ≈ Pit Level 10)
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Pit / Tower unlocked
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World Bosses unlocked
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Lair Bosses
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Grandmaster (GA) Items (800) can drop
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GA Uniques/Mythics can drop
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New Capstone Dungeon to unlock Torment 2 (difficulty: Torment 2)
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Drops mostly Legendaries
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Normal chance for Legendary Runes
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Magic/Rare only from runes
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100% XP gain
Torment 2 (Pit Level 30)
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Higher chance for GA Legendaries/Uniques/Mythics
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Normal chance for Legendary Runes
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Magic/Rare only from runes
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200% XP gain
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New Capstone Dungeon to unlock Torment 3 (difficulty: Torment 3)
→ Upon completion, Season Rank 6 unlocked.
Torment 3 (Pit Level 50)
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Significantly higher chance for GA Legendaries/Uniques/Mythics
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Higher chance for Legendary Runes
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Magic/Rare only from runes
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300% XP gain
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New Capstone Dungeon to unlock Torment 4 (difficulty: Torment 4)
→ Season Rank 7 unlocked.
Torment 4 (Pit Level 75)
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Maximum chance for GA Legendaries/Uniques/Mythics
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Maximum chance for Legendary Runes
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Magic/Rare only from runes
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400% XP gain
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Final Capstone Dungeon
→ Season Journey completed
Similar to the leveling process, XP gain in Torment tiers could also be reduced once certain Paragon milestones are reached.
This would encourage players to complete the Capstone Dungeons in order to resume normal leveling, gain power, and conquer higher Torment tiers.
At this point, I’ll stop — I have more ideas, but this would already provide a significant improvement for me.
I’m not interested in reaching max level as fast as possible — I want to be challenged, right from the start.
Summary
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Leveling is no longer a rush — it becomes a challenge.
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Players are forced to increase difficulty once they hit the phase level cap; otherwise, XP gain is drastically reduced.
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Better rewards (up to max item level) can be obtained at any difficulty.
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No more low-level Uniques — once you find one, it remains viable up to Torment.
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Item quality improves with difficulty level.
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Capstone Dungeons exist for every single difficulty tier.