Terror Zones: Thrilling Challenges and Rich Rewards in Patch 2.5

Terror Zones: Thrilling Challenges and Rich Rewards in Patch 2.5

Questions to Be Answered:

  1. At what level do Terror Zones become better than regular Chaos runs?
  2. How does experience per hour (exp/h) compare between meta builds?
  3. What are the rankings of Terror Zones based on experience gained per hour?

How Data Was Gathered:

  • Environment: Single-player with the command -resetofflinemaps to simulate Battle.net conditions.
  • Test Duration: 20-minute tests of each zone, extrapolated to 60 minutes of gameplay.
  • Character: Mosaic Assassin, Level 98.
  • Gameplay Style: Regular gameplay with item pickup, simulating a week into the ladder.
  • Player Setting: Players 8 (P8).

Key Considerations:

  • Experience Adjustments: The experience per hour shown is higher than average due to speedrunning and leaderboard pushing experience. Adjust the figures based on your playstyle (e.g., multiply by 0.8 for 80% effort).
  • Effort Variance: More effort is generally put into high-ranking Terror Zones than subpar ones, potentially increasing the experience gap in regular gameplay.
  • Player Count Impact:
    • Solo Play: Multiply exp/h by 0.222 due to the lack of the 450% bonus from P8 zones.
    • 8 Players in the Same Area: Experience is adjusted by a factor of 4.5 for the bonus and 3.3789 for proximity to other players, giving a 90% bonus to XP when levels are equal.

Data Summary (Based on Spreadsheet):

  • B: Total exp for an hour of a given Terror Zone.
  • C: Games per hour.
  • D: Percentage exp per hour.
  • E: Average exp per game.
  • F: Adjusted exp considering 10 seconds for game creation.
  • G: Exp per minute (F factored in).
  • H: Percentage exp with F factored in.
  • I: Exp loss percentage from 98-99 due to F.

Chaos Sanctuary vs. Terror Zones:

  • Comparison at Level 93:

    • Chaos (Non-TZ): 2,226,388 xp/min
    • Cold Plains (TZ): 2,203,157 xp/min
    • Conclusion: At level 93, Chaos and an average Terror Zone are nearly equal.

  • Comparison at Level 94:

    • Chaos (Non-TZ): 1,256,086 exp/h
    • Conclusion: At level 94, Terror Zones provide significantly more experience (43% more) than Chaos.

Recommendation: Prioritize top 3 Terror Zones before level 93. At level 93, Chaos and TZs are similar; at level 94 and beyond, TZs are better.

Meta Build Comparisons (Exp/h):

  • Chaos TZ Mosaic 98: 720,042 xp/min | 14.84%
  • Chaos TZ Nova 98: 715,120 xp/min | 14.74% (Equal to Mosaic)
  • Chaos TZ Javazon 98: 624,368 xp/min | 12.87% (14% slower than Mosaic)
  • Chaos TZ Hammerdin 98: 584,358 xp/min | 12.05% (19% slower than Mosaic)

Note: These figures are specific to Chaos Sanctuary and do not account for monster AI and resistances in other Terror Zones.

Rankings: Terror Zones by Exp/h

With 10-Second Penalty for Game Creation:

  1. Tal Rasha's Tombs and Chamber: 816,340 exp/min | 16.83%
  2. Worldstone Keep & Throne: 745,700 exp/min | 15.37%
  3. Chaos Sanctuary: 720,042 exp/min | 14.84%
  4. Flayer Jungle & Dungeon: 525,229 exp/min | 10.83%
  5. Bloody Foothills & Frigid Highlands: 515,474 exp/min | 10.63%

Without Game Creation Time:

  1. Tal Rasha's Tombs and Chamber: 50,322,345 exp/h | 9.6 games/h | 17.29% (lvl 98)
  2. Chaos Sanctuary: 49,452,798 exp/h | 45.5 games/h | 16.99% (lvl 98)
  3. Worldstone Keep & Throne: 46,324,762 exp/h | 12.3 games/h | 15.92% (lvl 98)
  4. Arcane Sanctuary: 33,467,511 exp/h | 42.0 games/h | 11.50% (lvl 98)
  5. Ancient's Way & Icy Cellar: 33,433,773 exp/h | 30.0 games/h | 11.49% (lvl 98)

This guide provides an organized comparison of Chaos Sanctuary and various Terror Zones, along with meta build rankings based on experience gained per hour. Use it to optimize your leveling strategy in Diablo II: Resurrected.





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