In this Diablo 4 Beginner Guide article, I’m going to show you 10 things you should know before you start playing Diablo 4 very shortly. Even if you have played either the Betas or the Server Slam, these tips should be extremely helpful. So if you don’t want to slog through the earlier parts of Diablo 4, then this Guide is for you!

Diablo 4 Ultimate Beginner Guide

We’re going to cover lots of things in this Diablo 4 Beginner Tips & Tricks Guide including selecting the right tier or difficulty mode depending on your goals, pushing the main story or doing specific side content, where to find the Altars of Lilith, which Dungeons to do, how to handle extra gear, whether you should respec your Skills or not, what Legendary Aspects to get, and so on! These are very, very helpful to maximize your time in the game while avoiding backtracking.

Before we begin, a lot of people have already seen how every Class plays at the beginning of Diablo 4 but they haven’t experienced them in the endgame. We’re going to release a separate guide that you can check out if you want to get a sense of how these characters will evolve and feel when they hit Level 50 before you pick one.

Diablo 4 Beginner Guide – Which Difficulty to Choose

Moving on, the first thing you’re going to want to decide in Diablo 4 is the difficulty mode you’d want to play in. Do you want to play on World Tier 1 or World Tier 2. For starters, Tier 2 gives you extra experience and gold but creatures will be harder to defeat. Now if you’ve just started playing Diablo with no prior experience, then Tier 1 is probably the best way to go. 

Here, you’ll get through enemies much more quickly since they won’t be as aggressive, smart, and tanky. As such, you’ll be able to obtain nearly the same amount of experience and gold as you would on Tier 2. Tier 1 is also the ideal difficulty mode if you’re the type of player who wants to rush to the endgame efficiently, especially since there won’t be changes to the kinds of loot you’ll get in either tier anyway.

In the beginning, if you’re not sure which to pick, I would start on Tier 1 and then decide if it’s too easy. You can move up to Tier 2 at any point in the game. To do this, you’ll just need to move North from the Kyovashad Waypoint until you reach the World Tier Statue. Or you can switch tiers from the Character Selection screen after you start the game.

Diablo 4 Beginner Guide – What to do First

Next, I’ll discuss the essential activities to prioritize, meaning whether you should push through with the main story campaign to complete it before doing side content or if you should do the side content first. These pertain to gaining enough Reputation to reap certain bonuses, participating in Open World Events and World Bosses, and unlocking your Mount.

The first thing you should know is that after completing the main story campaign, you’ll have the option to skip it entirely for the succeeding characters that you make. What’s good about this, is that you’ll immediately gain access to certain areas of Sanctuary as well as a lot more Waypoints, which you can then use to fast travel to. Additionally, the further you push into the main Quests, the sooner you’ll unlock your Mount. This also will be available for the rest of your characters, allowing you to traverse landscapes significantly faster.

However, this doesn’t mean that you should only prioritize finishing the main story campaign. You’ll need to balance out the side content you get along the way as well. First, there’s a Reputation System for each region of Diablo 4 that you need to consider. Every time you finish side quests, find Altars of Lilith, do Strongholds, and discover Waypoints, you accumulate significant Renown experience, which will help you gain gold, Potion upgrades, and Skill points during the early game. Strongholds are really important due to the Renown Value they provide and they grant access to certain Dungeons. So be sure to use our Diablo 4 Interactive Map to find where those are.

Furthermore, many Renown rewards are account-wide so the other characters you play will also gain access to these Skill points, for example, when they reach certain ranks. As such, it becomes more manageable to tackle any type of Boss. So the benchmark here is to reach at least Reputation Rank 3 in each Region as you follow along in the Main Campaign. That is to say, don’t press on to the Dry Steppes, if you haven’t reached Rank 3 Reputation in Scosglen, for example.

Again, Reputation isn’t shared between characters so if for instance, character A is approaching Rank 3 but then you start playing character B at Rank 0, you’ll need to catch up a lot to eventually reach Rank 3.

When it comes to Group Events, they won’t be very significant until you reach Level 30. Although you get Murmuring Obols, which you can use at the Purveyor of Curiosities NPC to gamble for Legendaries, the chances of gaining a Legendary Weapon or Item at lower levels aren’t good. So you’re better off worrying about them from Level 30 onward. But it’s not to say that you shouldn’t participate in Events, especially if they’re on the same path as your main or side quests, just don’t focus on them.

And finally, there are World Bosses, which regardless of your level, you should definitely participate in. Not only do they give you about 2-3 Legendaries and a weekly chest reward to gain more of this precious Equipment, but defeating them provides you with valuable crafting materials to upgrade your gear later on. So remember to check your map every now and then to see if this activity is available or not.

Diablo 4 Beginner Guide – Altars of Lilith

Next are the Altars of Lilith, which are statues that grant permanent account-wide buffs to boost the overall power of all of your characters. For instance, you can get +2 Intelligence, +2 Dexterity, and even raise the max Murmuring Obols you carry at a given time. 

Now the Stat increase may seem small in the beginning but eventually, discovering all of the Altars of Lilith in a single region like Fractured Peaks will yield considerable results. So I recommend checking out our Diablo 4 Interactive Map, which will show you the exact location of every statue for each region. Some of them are straightforward to find as you’re exploring while others require a bit more searching since these are placed in remote parts. Additionally, remember that the Attribute bonuses and raised Obol capacities for all of the Altars are fixed. 

What’s important to note here is that you won’t need to unlock the Altars of Lilith for each of your characters. Bonuses are shared account wide, though their locations are not shared, so you cannot see which ones you’ve found on previous characters. For this reason it makes sense to try to find them all on one character once, so you don’t need to do it again.

Diablo 4 Beginner Guide – Which Dungeons to Do

Now in terms of what Dungeon to focus on, which will greatly benefit you in the early and late stages of the game, it’s the Lost Archives. The Lost Archives isn’t very far and in fact, you can readily finish it in Fractured Peaks. Doing so will provide you with the Aspect of the Protector from the Codex of Power, allowing you to imprint this over and over again to your gear. It’s a very strong Defensive Aspect because this lets you conjure a Barrier to absorb damage the moment you hit an Elite or Boss. So regardless of the Class, you’ll want definitely the Aspect of the Protector.

For the other Dungeons, the ones you should prioritize doing will largely depend on the Beginner Build you’re trying to come up with. So it’ll be better to open your Codex of Power to look at the aspects you need. These types of aspects are one of the most reliable and sure-fire ways of improving the power of your characters. Remember to put a pin on these Dungeons on the map to show you the direction of how to reach them. Of course, you’ll want to focus on doing the ones that are nearby, otherwise, you should be doing them later at endgame. There’s really no benefit to doing most of these Dungeons early on unless you intend to play the other Classes very soon, therefore obtaining their corresponding Codex of Power Aspects. 

Diablo 4 – How to Handle Extra Gear

Next is what you should do with the extra gear you acquire since you’re going to get tons of loot. These rarities range from Common and Magic to Rare and Legendary at the start, and what you decide to do with them will be really important at the beginning of Diablo 4. For your Common, Magic, and Rare Items, it’s better to deconstruct them for crafting materials. 

When you reach Level 15 or 20, you’ll want to consider selling some of them for gold since these will be priced better. By then, it’ll also be the right time to know the balance between getting more materials or gold in order to properly upgrade your Equipment later on. 

For the Legendary ones, remember to save them for later. These Legendary Weapons and Armor have respective Legendary Aspects imprinted on them. Some of these aspects can be obtained from Dungeons whereas others can only be found on the Legendary Items themselves. What’s more, is that you can save them for the other Builds you’re trying to make, and you can extract Legendary Aspects to imprint onto other weapons, jewelry and armor at The Occulist, if the piece of gear they are on is not good for your build.

Diablo 4 – Don’t Be Afraid to Respec Your Skills

One important thing to try, especially early on in Diablo 4 is to spend some gold to respec and experiment with new Builds. This is very cheap at the start so if your current Build isn’t working, go for something else. You’d be surprised how changing one Skill in the game can make a huge difference to the character you’re working on. And who knows? Maybe the Legendary Items you’ve kept will be more useful for your new Build. 

Diablo 4 – Legendary Aspects and What to Look Out For

Going back to the Codex of Power Legendary Aspects, these are the weakest you’ll get in the game. It’s not about the type of bonuses they provide but what the actual value of those bonuses are. Since they’ll always remain at the minimum value, they’re enough to keep your Beginner Builds going, but you’ll eventually want to try and find dropped versions of those same ones since these typically roll higher values so they’ll always be better.

This brings me to my next point, which is that some Legendary Aspects are restricted to drops only. Moreover, Legendary Aspects have different types that you should consider. You have Offensive, Defensive, Utility, Resource, and Mobility. Offensive increases your damage; Defensive protects you; Utility is good for general things; Resource helps you generate more resources, which is vital for any Build; and Mobility improves the way you traverse. Note that they can only be slotted on specific types of gear via The Occultist. For instance, Offensive Aspects can only be imprinted on Weapons, Gloves, Amulets, and Rings. 

Furthermore, your Two-Handed Weapon will give you a 100% power increase on any aspect you imprint compared to a One-Handed Weapon. So if you have a bonus that you really like and want a stronger version of it, be sure to imprint this on your Two-Handed Weapon for the best results. On the other hand, Amulets provide you with a 50% power increase. So if you want an Offensive Aspect, which may not be as good enough to be slotted on a Two-Handed Weapon, but will still help your Build become stronger, then you should place it on your Amulet for the bonus.

Should you find a great Legendary Aspect imprinted on a terrible Weapon, remember to drop by The Occultist to extract that aspect, which will automatically deconstruct the same Weapon in the process. But you’ll now be able to imprint it on better gear later on. 

Now one last tip is that these extracted Legendary Aspects don’t have to be imprinted on another piece of Legendary gear. You can put them on Rare Equipment via the same NPC to turn them into a Legendary Item. As a whole, the gear bonuses won’t be as high, but you can certainly convert rare items when you imprint Legendary Aspects on them, which is great early on. 

Diablo 4 – Upgrading and Enchanting Gear

Next is upgrading and enchanting your gear together with the bonuses that you should chase after. In Diablo 4, you can upgrade all of your Equipment such as your Weapons, Armor, and Jewelry. For Weapons and Armor, you’ll need to visit The Blacksmith whereas for Jewelry, you have to go see The Jeweler. And this is very important because when you have good bonuses on a piece of Armor or Jewelry, upgrading them will not only give you more protection but also increase the value of those same bonuses. 

For instance, if you manage to get a Ring with Lucky Hit Chance, Critical Strike Chance, and Critical Strike Damage, and you upgrade this, you’ll raise the values of all of those affixes. So it’s important to upgrade gear with 2-3 decent bonuses. 

When it comes to the affixes for any Class, you’ll want to go full-on in the offensive, considering that the regular enemies, Elites, and Bosses you’ll face at earlier levels aren’t difficult to handle. As such, it’s best to focus on damage buffs. So the first ones you’ll be chasing after are main stat boosts. For instance, if you’re a Sorceress or Necromancer, it’s best to look for Equipment that will primarily provide you with additional Intelligence to amplify the damage of all your offensive Skills, allowing you to clear areas faster. 

Second, you’ll want to be on the lookout for those that grant specific damage buffs like Critical Strike Chance and Critical Strike Damage Bonus. There will also be damage boosts you’ll need based on your playstyle. If you’re concerned about controlling the battlefield more effectively then you’ll gravitate toward obtaining gear with Damage to Crowd Controlled Enemies as well as specific ones that are related to this like Damage to Slowed Enemies or Damage to Frozen Enemies if you’re a Frost-focused Sorcerer. These combined with Attack Speed, which is both percentage-based, will considerably improve your clear speed.

The third would be the Ranks to Skills bonuses. Having them will either let you invest in the other abilities you need or maximize the ones you’ve already unlocked, thereby contributing to effectively increasing the power of your Beginner Builds. 

Furthermore, Staves have a default bonus to Crowd Control Damage so this is extremely effective against Slowed or Chilled enemies so be sure to equip them, especially if your Build is crowd-control focused. Now if you have bonuses like Frozen Damage, which you don’t need, you can head to The Occultist, and enchant your gear. Doing so will remove this affix and replace it with a random one. It’s affordable to do for the first time but it gets crazy expensive when you do enchant gear repeatedly so I would recommend doing it only once, and doing only on your best gear.

Diablo 4 – Pay The Alchemist a Visit

In Diablo 4, it’s important to pay The Alchemist a visit from time to time in relation to your Elixirs, Incenses, and Potions. You can craft Elixirs and Incenses here as well as upgrade your Potions to heal you more using the materials you pick up from exploring.

Elixirs usually grant a defensive or offensive bonus and a 5% experience gain. But they’re level-gated so you can’t use them readily in the beginning. These will help you though, especially when you reach the endgame. By then, you’re already familiar with most of the Dungeons together with the enemies inside it. At higher levels, you’ll also need Incenses to gain bonuses based on the number of nearby players there are, making it very useful against World Bosses. 

Diablo 4 – What to Do with Gems & Gem Slots

Last but not least is Gems and gem slots. Nearly every piece of Equipment in Diablo 4 can be upgraded to have at least 1 gem slot with Helms having one, and Chest Armor and Pants having two. You can also add the number of gem slots by going to The Jeweler and providing the necessary materials. Be sure to do this on the best pieces of gear you have to avoid wasting resources and slot some gems as you’re leveling up. 

Now the gems you use will, of course, depend on the Build you’re going for. If you’re running a Werebear Druid, you’ll most likely want the Ruby to increase your Overpower Damage. Or if you have a Build that uses a lot of Basic Skills, then the Topaz, which amplifies your Basic Skill Damage, would be best for you. 

So that wraps up our Diablo 4 Beginner Guide about the 10 things you should know before going into the game. If you have other questions, please let us know in the comments below. We do have a giveaway of 5 Diablo 4 Collector Boxes so make sure to sign up for this. Remember to also bookmark our Diablo 4 Wiki and Interactive Map because you’re going to need them as you progress in the game.

---

Be sure to check out our Diablo 4 Wiki for any other questions you have about the game and the Builds page if you are looking for more Diablo IV Builds. Be sure to check out our Review if you want to know what we think of the game, and Best Class to Play Guide if you are having trouble selecting a Class.