Farming Guide

Best Areas by Loot Type (Hell Difficulty)

Target Loot	Best Areas	Why	Tier
High Runes	Travincal Chaos Sanctuary Cow Level	High mob density, Council drops, many popables	S
Unique Items	The Pit Ancient Tunnels WSK	alvl 85 zones - can drop any item in game	S
Keys (Ubers)	Countess Summoner Nihlathak	Only sources for Terror, Hate, Destruction keys	S
Low/Mid Runes	Countess Lower Kurast	Countess special drop, LK super chests (SP)	A
Experience	Baal Runs Chaos Sanctuary Cow Level	Highest monster density, boss exp bonuses	S
Gold	Travincal	Council members drop massive gold with Goldfind gear	S
Gems	Cow Level Flayer Jungle	High density, many drops per run	B
Crafting Bases	Cow Level WSK	High ilvl white/grey items for crafting	A
Charms	Baal Diablo Nihlathak	Act bosses have best charm drop rates	A

Area	Act	Difficulty	Best For
The Pit (Tamoe Highland)	Act 1	Easy - No immunes with right build	Blizzard Sorc, Hammerdin
Mausoleum (Burial Grounds)	Act 1	Easy - Cold immune only	Any non-cold build
Ancient Tunnels (Lost City)	Act 2	Easy - No cold immunes!	Blizzard Sorc (best zone)
Sewers Level 2 (Act 2)	Act 2	Medium - Mixed immunes	Hammerdin
Chaos Sanctuary	Act 4	Hard - Many immunes	Hammerdin, Lightning builds
River of Flame	Act 4	Medium - Fire/Phys immunes	Cold, Lightning builds
Worldstone Keep 1-3	Act 5	Hard - All immune types	Hammerdin, Javazon
Throne of Destruction	Act 5	Hard - Wave-based	All builds (Baal runs)

Level	Area	Notes
1-15	Tristram Runs	Clear Tristram, reset. Fast early levels.
15-20	Tomb Runs (Canyon of Magi)	Run all 7 tombs, good density.
20-24	Cow Level	After killing Baal, great exp if carried.
20-25	Ancients Quest	Huge exp boost - save for level 20+.
25	Baal (Normal)	Complete Normal, move to Nightmare.

Level	Area	Notes
25-40	Progress through acts	Don't stop to farm, just push.
40	Ancients Quest	Save for level 40 for max exp.
40-60	Baal Runs (NM)	Best exp until Hell. Can start at 40.

Level	Area	Notes
60+	Ancients Quest (Hell)	Save for level 60 for max exp (~1.4M).
60-80	Chaos Sanctuary / Baal Runs	Best exp in game. Chaos slightly faster.
80-99	Baal Runs / Chaos / TZ	Terror Zones give bonus exp to 99.

* Terror Zones rotate hourly and give bonus experience, making them the best option for leveling 80+.

Area	Immunities Present	Safe Damage Types
The Pit	Fire Cold Light (varies by spawn)	Magic, Physical
Ancient Tunnels	Poison (No cold immune!)	Cold, Fire, Lightning, Physical
Chaos Sanctuary	Fire Cold Light Phys	Magic (Hammerdin ideal)
Travincal	Fire Light	Cold, Physical, Magic
Worldstone Keep	Fire Cold Light Phys	Magic, varies by floor
Cow Level	Light (Hell Bovines only)	Cold, Fire, Physical
Countess Tower	Fire Cold	Lightning, Physical
Nihlathak's Temple	Cold	Fire, Lightning, Physical
Arcane Sanctuary	Fire Light Phys	Cold

Rune Tier	Best Source	Method	Notes
El - Ral	Countess (Any Diff)	Kill Countess	Special rune drop table
Ort - Fal	Countess (NM/Hell)	Kill Countess	NM caps at Ko, Hell caps at Lo
Lem - Ist	Countess (Hell) / LK	Kill / Super Chests	LK only good in Single Player
Gul - Zod	Travincal / Chaos / Cows	Kill density	Pure RNG, maximize kills/hr

Drop Type	Max Rune	Expected Drops
Special (Guaranteed)	Ist (very rare) / Lo (rarer)	Usually 1-3 runes: Ral-Um common
Regular Drop	Lo	Same as any mlvl 82 monster

* Countess special drop can give up to 3 runes from her special table + normal drops. Most efficient for Lem-Ist farming.

* LK runs are only efficient in Single Player where maps don't reset. Find a map with 2 campfire huts near waypoint.