How to: 1-65 solo in 8H without serious gear investment

Today i finished "Reach lvl65 challenge". I was kinda bored in the process (despite that fact i was leveling all but main char on nemesis) so i wanna share my experience to you guys, maybe you'l find something usefull.

1. Gems
I was looking for fast and cheap (gearwise and passivewise) buildfor leveling. Ofc i cant find any better then spectral throw.
So our main ability is:
ST - LMP - Added Fire - Faster Proj
I choose faster proj because with ballistics passive our spectral thrower becomes some kinda shotgun-man. You spent less time to reach and hit mobs, its very similar to split-arrow char with boomerang.
St is not very good for single target, so i used Double Strike - Melee Phys - Added Fire - Multistrike/Faster Attacks (can replace multi with FA if you cant affort it, not a big deal) for bosses and heavy rares.
I use only 1 aura for leveling. Clarity till a3 normal, then hatred or grace (depends on your defence). You can run 2 auras if you want, its not necessary.
I played hc league so i used def combo:
cast when damage taken lvl1 - Enduring Cry lvl5 - Molten Shell lvl7 - Temporal Chains lvl 5
Guess thats the main reason i dont die a single time on nemesis. You dont rly need it on softcore (cwdt also kinda expensive for new char), but it will boost your survivability very high.
Add leap slam for jumping and thats all you need for leveling
You can easily buy all those gems except cwdt and multi for 1 alc/chaos

2. Build
Here's the basic_build for it
Its only 44 points so you can improve it with any dmg or life nods. Quite easy achievable by any class (ofc your witch will be kinda meh using it, but if you are looking for challenge only lvl its still good).
bandits:
normal - help oak
cruel - help oak
merci - kill all

3. Gear/Leveling process
My goal was reach lvl65 as fast as i can so i bought some extra items you probably not need.
So after creating a char and reaching Lioneye's Watch i grabbed this stuff and run forward:

I used spectral throw for packs and dual strike for single targets. Link added fire and faster proj on lvl12 (should be able to sustain its cost with clarity).
My usual time for complete a1n is 25min with both extra points quests done (experienced racer can easily beat it with this gear no doubt).
After reaching lvl17 i switch to 2H weapon. You can do it even on lvl13 or 14 if you have Limbsplit or Shiversting. I used Hrimnor's_Hymn because flying maces looks so cool and switched it with Quecholli.
You dont need all those uniques if you cant afford it, i recommend Quecholli because its quite cheap and usefull till middle cruel.
Ususally i run through a1-a2n without a chest. You can use whatever you want, just switch to Foxshade on lvl25 for move boost.
There is a simple rule after reaching a3n: get all your elemental resists to 75/75/75. its easy achievable using some cheap jewelery since you dont need special rings/amulets for this build (i used Ingomon just for rarity boost till lvl35).
So base line for normal difficulty: rush like crazy dont need to farm any location. You gonna be lvl31-33 on dominus. Just craft some remove bleed flask, use st for add faze and human faze, finish with doublestrike.
My usual time for doing normal dominus is 1H 55min. Here's the screenshot from last kill.

I switch a couple of items on lvl35. bought it for 1-3 chaos each. here it is:

And again, you dont need all those if you cant afford it, just make sure your resists are capped and go.
Rush through a1c, get to cruel Riverways and stop.
Here it is: Riverways is most insane leveling location ever. I was able to beat Xequi_challenge by just farming merci riverways till lvl69. Just try it.
Grind cruel riverways till lvl42, rush a2, rush a3 till docs. You gonna be like lvl44 after beating Vaal so you can finally equip your final leveling weapon

Its cheap and easy obtainable even for first character and you can using it till lvl65 and even higher.
Grind docks till lvl51 then end cruel. you should be like 2k hp with iron reflexes and capped resists and this point (or lower if you playing softcore. or just buy it for 1 fus from anyone if you dont want waste your time. i soloed all bosses and dont use any help with portals but you can save your time here).
My best time score for doing cruel dominus is 4H 59 min. Proof here. You can do it faster using portal help or not doing extra points quests (i did all on the way including sewers).

Check your resists on merci. Switch armor or rings if needed. Couple items i used when reaching merci:

Bought chest for 3 chaos, found those boots myself, but you can easuly buy similar with 2 resists hp movespeed for couple chaos. The only expensive item i used reaching this point is Terminus_Est. i dont recomend you to buy it because its expensive and dont rly boost you. Just run with rigvalds and you will be fine.
Rush a1 merci, reach riverways probably at lvl53-54 and just farm it till lvl65 or whatever you need. Dont clear whole location, just run on the road and throw ahead. On this point you'l be understand the value of faster proj gem and ballistics passive.
You dont need to change your gear more but you can use some if you got. I was able to craft a decent 5L sword so i switch to it on lvl61. you dont need to buy such expensive weapon or 5L, just boost your damage with sword passives and run with 4L, you'l be fine.
Here's my lvl65 ding mark. As you can see i did all extra points quests and played solo (well i cant proof it without stream but too lazy to run it).

TL;DR
Use spectral throw with faster proj
run riverways
???
PROFIT

Impressive.Grats dude. well played

wow. man.. you have my respect

very detailed guide.. thanks for posting it.. learn a lot from it =)

Gratz on 7! Are you close to 8 or just starting it?

Bookmarking this for later ^_^

Quite the deed! Very well done, thank you for posting this!

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Yukionna wrote:

Gratz on 7! Are you close to 8 or just starting it?

thx. well unique challenge is a real pain, have to be extremely lucky to complete it soon

kripp has lvling videos for this on high speed, and the video is nonstop, you should try making 1 to and see if you can beat his lvling rate

not bad... not bad at all! Hats off to you sir!

Can you post you final build?

Thank you =)

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DecalMan wrote:

Can you post you final build?

Something like this for ranger. my last character (templar) finished with this. Just pick more dps nodes if you're not planning to play after lvl65 and more life nodes if you do (so its just usual 2H sword based spectral thrower).