Diablo 4 - Beginners Guide: What to Do First

Beginners Guide: What to Do in the Early Stages of Diablo 4

From the Start of the Game

Progress through the main story campaign.

It is recommended to progress through the main story campaign when starting the game.

Clearing the campaign Acts will give you a lot of EXP, allowing you to level up efficiently.

If going through the story starts to become difficult, it is a good idea to raise your character’s level with other content.

Diablo 4 Main Story Campaign Walkthrough

Unlock the mount.

If reach Act 4: A Gathering Storm, the priority quest Donan’s Favor can be started which will let you mount a horse.

Mounts make map exploration easier. While a bit counter-intuitive, try to put off exploration the entirety of the map until you get a mount.

Diablo 4 How to Get a Mount

Clear Priority Quests.

Priority Quests begin to appear as you level up. Most of these quests are related to important content so be sure to check them out.

If you clear the Priority Quests for each class that become available when you reach a certain level, new functions, abilities, and effects specific to that class are unlocked.

Clear Side Quests.

By clearing Side Quests found in various locations, you can earn EXP and items as rewards.

If you see a blue “!” mark on the map, head for it and accept the side quest (even if you do not plan on clearing it immediately).

Diablo 4 Side Quests List

Clear Random World Events.

You may encounter random World Events while moving around the map.

These random events can be cleared via co-op with other players (who do not belong to a party). Completing these side content allows you to obtain EXP, items, and Obols as rewards.

Murmuring Obols, in particular, are required to purchase items (such as weapons and armor of random rarity) from a Curiosity Vendor.

Equipment bought from a Curiosity Vendor may sometimes be of Legendary rarity. Because of this, try to collect Obols as often as you can.

Diablo 4 How to Get Murmuring Obols and Exchange Guide

Map Exploration

Unlock Waypoints.

As you progress through the story campaign, try to release Waypoints that are found in various areas in the game.

Be sure to unlock these landmarks as they are a convenient fast travel points for going back and forth on a map.

Diablo 4 All Waypoint Locations

Find Altars of Lilith.

Altars of Lilith are located throughout the map which grant permanent stat bonuses to all characters within the realm.

Diablo 4 All Altar of Lilith Locations

Earn Renown.

On each map (region), you can acquire Renown through various actions such as finding Waypoints, discovering new areas, liberating Strongholds, clearing dungeons, and finding Altars of Lilith. Earning Renown will eventually raise you Renown Level which activates useful bonuses in the game.

Some bonuses can give you additional Skill Points or increase your Potion Charge so try to accumulate Renown as often as possible.

Clear Dungeons.

It is also a good idea to clear the Dungeons in each region, which rewards you with useful Aspects for a class.

You will, however, want to aim for Dungeons that give out an Aspect that is usable for the class you are currently playing.

Diablo 4 Dungeons List and Rewards

Class Progression

Try to specialize in specific areas when allocating Skill Points.

When allocating Skill Points, try to build your character to specialize in a playstyle instead distributing the resource evenly.

For the basic and core skills that you use the most, it is recommended that you focus your Skill Points on one of them (or two at most).

Unlock special class mechanics.

When your character reaches a certain level, a type of Priority Quest called a Specialization Quest will appear. Clearing these will unlock new system mechanics and abilities unique to your character’s class.

The unique systems of each class are all powerful, so be sure to clear them when these Priority Quests appear.

Things to Do in Town

Strengthen weapons and armor at the blacksmith.

If you feel that enemies have become too difficulty to defeat, upgrade your equipment at the blacksmith.

Try to prioritize tempering your weapons up to Level 2 during the early stages of the game.

Enhancing gear to Level 3 requires materials  that can only be obtained by salvaging Rare equipment. Use the materials you get from disassembling them to enhance Legendary gear.

Upgrade necklaces and rings at the Jeweler.

You can enhance necklaces and rings at the Jeweler.

Upgrading necklaces and rings will increase the stats of the equipment.

Salvage equipment you obtain the early stages.

If you have a lot of equipment on hand during the early stages, try to salvage them (except for Legendary gear).

Diablo 4 How to Salvage Equipment

For Legendaries and Jewels, store them in the stash and organize them when it is full.

Diablo 4 Stash Location and Guide

Attach Gems in equipment sockets.

You can also put Gems on equipment with open sockets at a Jeweler. Doing so grants useful effects according to the type of equipment and Gems you use.

To remove a Gem from a piece of gear’s socket, talk to the Jeweler and pay the gold fee.

Enhance Potions.

Alchemists found in various towns can enhance potions.

Each potion can be strengthened after you reach a certain level and bring the required upgrade materials.

Diablo 4 How to Upgrade Potions

How to Earn EXP

Progress through the story campaign first.

You can earn EXP by clearing each act of the story campaign.

There are story acts that can be cleared without defeating enemies so try to prioritize campaign mode first.

Multiplayer is recommended.

You can earn EXP much more efficiently in multiplayer than when playing solo.

This is especially true when running dungeons or doing events. Because of this, try to invite other users and friends to your party for these types of content.

Doing random World Events that require you to keep defeating waves of enemies is recommended.

There are various types of random events that occur while exploring the map, but the best ones for earning EXP are those that test your endurance in defeating enemies that keep coming.

Enemies will keep spawning endlessly until the time runs out, making it easy to earn EXP fast. EXP is also among the clear rewards for these events, allowing you to get even more EXP from doing them.

On the other hand, it is best to ignore random events that take a long time to clear and do not have a lot of enemies.

Use Elixirs.

Using an Elixir will give you a unique buff for a certain amount of time, including increasing the EXP you get in battle.

When attempting to do events or run dungeons, try to drink Elixirs first.

Diablo 4 Elixirs List

How to Get Legendary Gear

Level up first.

In Diablo 4, the higher your level, the higher the drop rate of Legendary equipment. Because of this, you should progress through the story campaign and earn EXP to raise your level.

Purchase equipment from the Curiosity Vendor.

You can obtain equipment from Curiosity Vendors found in towns by trading in Murmuring Obols.

Items purchased from Curiosity Vendors have random rarities, making it possible to get Legendary gear from them if you are lucky.

Diablo 4 How to Get Murmuring Obols and Exchange Guide

Defeat Treasure Goblins.

Treasure Goblins that sometimes appear on the map have a high chance of dropping Legendary equipment when defeated. These rare enemies are very quick to run away so use impeding effects that restrict their movement to stop them.

A Treasure Goblin icon will appear on the mini map when a Treasure Goblin is nearby. When going around the map, always try to look at the mini-map as you move.

Defeat World Bosses.

World Bosses are boss events that occur and specific locations and during specific times in the game. Among the World Bosses confirmed to appear are Ashava, Avarice, and Wandering Death.

World Bosses are guaranteed to drop Legendary gear so try to take them down whenever they spawn on the map.

Diablo 4 World Boss Spawn Times and Location

Farming Gold

Focus on farming money after beating the story campaign.

You will not require large sums of gold (money) until you clear the story campaign and reach level 50, so it is recommended to put off farming for the resource until you are in the post-game stages.

Weapons and armor should be salvaged and converted into rare materials until you actually need lots of gold.

Other Strategy Guides

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Diablo 4 End-Game Guides

Diablo 4 Story Campaign Walkthroughs

Diablo 4 Side Quest Walkthroughs

Diablo 4 Database

Diablo 4 Forum