- Farm the stage that gives your character the most experience over a complete, repeatable run. A higher map level is not automatically a better result if the boss is slow or kills you.
- Start by comparing your highest reliable boss stage with a nearby easier stage. Keep the setup and consumables the same, then compare experience gained against total time.
Use experience per minute as your comparison
The most useful answer in the October 4 XP-farming discussion is simple: run stages you can comfortably beat and compare experience with clear time. Another player favors the highest boss stage they can repeatedly clear without dying. Use the first principle to test the second recommendation instead of treating it as a universal best map.
Choose two realistic candidates
Start with the highest boss stage you already finish reliably and one nearby easier stage. Do not spend the comparison repeatedly failing a progression wall.
Keep the conditions the same
Use the same build, character mode and consumables. Record whether you intervened during either run.
Record start and finish
Note experience gained and elapsed time across several complete runs, including travel and the boss. If you level up, account for the completed experience bar too.
Compare the averages
Divide experience gained by elapsed minutes. Include deaths and recovery time if they are part of the farming session you would actually repeat.
Repeat after a meaningful upgrade
A new weapon, ability or defensive improvement can change which stage is worth farming.
Compare several complete runs rather than judging a stage by its best result. Include failed runs and interruptions: they can turn a rewarding individual clear into a slower farming session.
Keep a farm from turning into a failed push
Patch 1.0.1 added Auto Next Stage alongside auto-rerun. For an XP farm, check that the selected behavior matches your goal: repeating a chosen stage is different from advancing into the next encounter. Watch the transition before leaving the session unattended.
If you are losing an active XP buff when you die, replace the unstable farm before replacing the potion. Dragonrb reported losing an EXP potion effect after death and seeing the same result when repeating the situation. Another player describes moving back from a progression wall to auto-replay a safer stage with XP and attack-speed potions.
Do you need Nightmare immediately?
Not necessarily. The October 3 XP thread includes an archer farming the last boss or the preceding map on Normal, while another player reports using Tazan Waste for XP. These are useful places to compare if you have reached them, not a measured ranking or a promise to reach level 70 in one day. The players had different gear and progression.
Before moving up for experience alone, compare a full run on both difficulties. If the harder version adds a long boss fight or repeated deaths, its larger individual rewards may not make up the difference. If your actual bottleneck is replacing weak equipment, use a loot farm for that purpose, then repeat the XP comparison after the upgrade makes a harder stage reliable.
Travel time and potion choice
Movement speed deserves a fresh check after patch 1.0.2: the developer reduced spawn delays and increased spawn distance, explicitly making movement speed more useful. That does not establish one best potion for every class. An older October 1 discussion contains conflicting reports about movement-speed benefits and an unverified cap.
| What consumes the run | What to compare |
|---|---|
| Travel between short fights | Whether added movement speed shortens the complete run |
| Long fights with continuous attacking | Whether your damage setup reduces clear time |
| Deaths or emergency recovery | A safer stage or better survivability before spending XP buffs |
| An easy, stable route | XP-focused consumables against the alternatives under the same conditions |
Treat Mythic Rift as its own comparison
The official 1.0.2 notes increased Mythic Rift’s tier experience bonus to +3% per tier. A higher tier still needs a complete-run comparison; the bonus alone does not identify the best tier for your character. Keep entry-resource spending separate from the XP measurement so you can decide whether the improvement is worth sustaining.
Sources and scope
Steam PC material retained on 10 October 2026, including official hotfix 1.0.2a where relevant. Community observations are attributed; no current-client gameplay test.
- Review status
- Source-reviewed
- Game version
- Steam PC; 1.0.2a baseline, older observations identified in the text.
- Checked
- Method
- Individual retained-text review, first draft and editorial revision; no gameplay verification. Retained source bundle checked for this release; no current-client gameplay test.
- Steam discussion: choosing an XP farming stage community
A direct recommendation to compare EXP with clear time.
Checked
- Steam discussion: late Normal XP farming community
Late Normal farming examples with different gear and progression.
Checked
- Steam discussion: XP potions and death community
Active XP buff loss and repeating a safer stage.
Checked
- Steam discussion: XP, gold and movement potions community
Disagreement over priorities and movement-speed cap.
Checked
- Deskrawl official progression updates first-party
Auto Next Stage, movement changes and current Mythic tier XP bonus.
Checked