With Diablo 4 Season 9 officially underway, players are diving back into Sanctuary to explore the latest mechanics, earn powerful loot, and climb to level 100 faster than ever. Season 9 introduces new systems such as Hellborn Shrines, Seasonal Rituals, and Corrupted Events, which dramatically change the leveling landscape. In this guide, we'll break down the new best way to level quickly in Season 9—from level 1 to World Tier 4 efficiency—so you can hit endgame content and Tormented bosses faster than the competition.

 What's New in Season 9?

Before diving into the strategy, here's a quick overview of what's new in Diablo 4 Season 9 that affects leveling:

Hellborn Shrines: Temporary map-wide buffs that offer massive XP bonuses when activated.

Seasonal Rituals: Events that spawn waves of enemies—completing them gives bonus XP and seasonal currency.

Corrupted Zones: Overrun areas filled with elite mobs, mini-bosses, and loot explosions. XP gains are significantly increased.

New Witch Power Buffs: Seasonal powerups that synergize with AoE-heavy builds for faster clear speeds.

With these systems in place, the optimal leveling path has shifted compared to previous seasons. Now, let's dive into the meta strategy.

 Best Class to Level with in Season 9

While all classes can reach level 100, some are just faster when it comes to AoE farming and speed-clearing content. The top classes for fast leveling in Season 9 are:

Sorcerer (Teleport Burn Build): With fire DOT stacking and Blink, Sorcerers zoom through large packs and reset cooldowns frequently.

Barbarian (Hammerquake Build): Heavy AoE from Earthquake procs and Hammer of the Ancients lets them clean up dungeons fast.

Rogue (Twisting Blades Shadow Clone Build): Extreme burst with Shadow Imbuement and clone spam—perfect for Ritual clears.

Choose one of these to maximize your leveling efficiency, especially in group or duo play.

Leveling Roadmap: Step-by-Step to 100

Level 1–15: Strongholds and Campaign Skip

Skip the campaign if you've completed it before. Start in Ked Bardu or Hawezar for access to XP-rich events.

Focus on Strongholds, as they provide huge XP, renown, and access to new waypoints.

Farm Whispers along the way for bonus Grim Favors.

Prioritize Shrines of Experience, which have been buffed in Season 9 thanks to Hellborn energy.

Tips:

Use Elixirs from alchemists (+5% XP).

Equip seasonal gear with +XP, cooldown reduction, and AoE enhancements.

Level 15–30: Seasonal Ritual Events + Dungeon Spam

Seasonal Rituals now spawn in fixed rotation every hour.

Use the Seasonal Map overlay to jump from Ritual to Ritual.

In between, run low-tier Nightmare Dungeons (Tier 1–5), which now scale better for early levels.

Hot Zones to farm:

Champion's Demise (Dry Steppes): Still the best mob density.

Uldur's Cave (Kehjistan): Fast, linear, and packed with elites.

Sarat's Lair (Scosglen): Great for DOT builds like Sorc or Druid.

Level 30–50: Corrupted Zones + Helltides

Once unlocked, Corrupted Zones are the best XP per minute source in the game.

Spawn multiple elite mobs, mini-bosses, and open portals with enemy waves.

Chain pulls with AoE and Witch Powers to level absurdly fast.

Stack bonuses:

Run with 3 other players to increase mob health (and XP rewards).

Rotate through Helltides, especially during Fire/Lightning events, where monsters are densely packed.

Level 50–70: World Tier 3 and Power Leveling in NM Dungeons

After completing your Capstone Dungeon, enter World Tier 3 and farm Nightmare Dungeons Tier 10–20.

Upgrade glyphs while raking in XP and season favor.

Focus on AoE-based glyphs and damage multipliers for speed farming.

Best Nightmare Dungeons for fast XP:

Guulrahn Canals: Circular layout, tight mob density.

Wretched Delve: Packed enemy rooms, ideal for minion Necros and chain-lightning Sorcs.

Level 70–100: Speedrunning NM Dungeons + Endgame Events

Push into World Tier 4 as soon as you feel comfortable.

Stack XP glyphs, Witch Power multipliers, and run Tier 30–60 NM dungeons.

Farm Blood Harvests, now permanently available with new modifiers.

Advanced Tips:

Use Sigil Crafting to tailor dungeons for max XP (avoid “no healing” affixes).

Equip XP on kill gear, and keep a +30% Movement Speed shrine via Elixir of Acceleration.

Activate Hellborn Shrines in rotation with your group for global XP buffs.

 Bonus: Seasonal XP Boosts & Rewards

Don't forget to take advantage of the Season Journey:

Completing Chapters 1–4 unlocks XP multipliers and seasonal gear sets.

Claim Smoldering Ashes and spend them on the Seasonal Blessings tree, prioritizing:

Urn of Aggression (+XP gain)

Urn of Endurance (More survivability for tougher NM tiers)

The Battle Pass also includes XP and resource bonuses for leveling alts or main characters faster.

 Pro Tips for Max Efficiency

Run in a group: Up to 50% more XP in multiplayer.

Stack multipliers: Elixirs, seasonal buffs, shrine bonuses, and XP glyphs.

Avoid downtime: Use town portals mid-dungeon to sell gear only when bags are full.

Speed matters: Builds with Teleport, Leap, or Dash outperform tanky slow builds when leveling.

Conclusion

Season 9 has completely changed the leveling game in Diablo 4. With the introduction of Corrupted Zones, Hellborn Shrines, and revamped Seasonal Rituals, players now have the tools to reach level 100 faster than in any previous season. By following the roadmap in this guide—targeting high-density dungeons, maximizing shrine uptime, Diablo 4 Items and building around AoE clear—you'll blaze through Sanctuary and be ready for the real endgame: Tormented Bosses, Uber Duriel, and the new Mythic loot tiers.