Wheres the best place to....

[Tybaltus]

Well I am just curious to know what you all think...

Where is the best place to just keep going back and:
Collecting items?
Going for experience?
In your opinion, for scenery?

And dont tell me the cow-level, that is too obvious...

[Stilgar]

For items
- Mephisto: easy to get there, and usually good items
- tower in act 1 at high (80+) level (forgot the name)
- arcane sanctury and fake tombs
- there is some place in the expension but i forgot

For experience
- definatly diblo's lair, just kill everything, and then diablo this should boost you a level

For scenry
- act3

[C Elegans]

@Stilgar: Act 3? You like the Jungle areas? I thought everybody hated them!

Items:

Mephisto is of course the easiest item run and he drops very well, but remember he cannot drop many of the best items in the game such as Windforce or Grandfather or Tal Rasha's armour. Also I think Meph runs are quite boring, I ususally do a few each time I play but that's it.
Baal is also a good dropper, but takes a bit longer to get to. Pindleskin is of course a favorite item run for many - if you don't kill Nihl, the red portal will always be there and thus you have immediate access to Pindle, who is also a very easy monster even in Hell. One static and one meteor and that's it, if you are a Sorc for instance. Pindle can drop every item it the game.

For XP, everybody knows the Cows and Bloody Foothills...Halls of Pain, and and the Ice caves in Chapter 5 are also very good for XP. But it depends very much on what lvl you are, after lvl 85 or so it is certainly only worth playing Chapter 5 for XP. Tal Rasha's tombs are good as well if you are lower level.

For Scenery: Arreat plateu where the Ancients are. Before you click on the book, take a walk around the area and admire the view! As soon as the Ancients have come alive, there is no time to admire the view

Personally, I prefer doing combined XP-MF runs rather than doing 100 Meph or Baal or BF runs...every Superunique has good dropping possibilities in Chapter 5, so a typical session could be like:

Hit Meph first, then go to Chap 5 and hit Frozen Tundra Waypoint (WP). Take out the Superunique Eldrich, do a BF run and you get Shenk and Dac farren (both Superuniques who can drop fairly well, I think the hubby got Tal Rasha's armour from Dac) on the way. You can as well look up Tresh Socket at the Frozen Tundra, since he can also drop well. Then go to Glacial Trail and take Icy Cellar and Frozen river. You'll get a lot of XP and several Superuniqies who drop well. Hit the Halls of Pain and run around for XP, then go to the WP in Worldstone Keep lvl 2 and do a Baal run.

This is of course if you have finished the game. For lower level charaters, there are many good areas depending on charater level. Tal rasha's tombs, Arcane Sanctuary, all the Superuniques in Chapter 1...(Chapter 1 and the Tombs are dangerous though since many monsters there spawn MSLE at Hell).

[Stilgar]

Originally posted by C Elegans
@Stilgar: Act 3? You like the Jungle areas? I thought everybody hated them!

I know, i hated it to.
But it's the most intresting chapter, with some good scenery changes.

[Robnark]

items - mephisto run as always, but I'd reccomend going from the start of lower kurast. the amount of set, rare and unique items I've found there is amazing, not to mention the gems.

experience - the first areas of act 5 are good for me. it's hardly scientific, but the difficulty, number and types of monsters in the first areas is more fun than any of the act 4 sections IMO and the experience gained is at least as good as playing the act 4 areas on 6 player difficulty. well, that's what I found.

scenery - act 5, the first area's cool, and the big fortification things are quite good, especially with all the odd little lost barbarians rampaging around. arreat plateau's nice, but a tad small and boring.

[The Z]

Originally posted by Tybaltus
Well I am just curious to know what you all think...

Where is the best place to just keep going back and:
Collecting items?
Going for experience?
In your opinion, for scenery?

And dont tell me the cow-level, that is too obvious...

Items: The enemy right before Baal (don't know his name)
XP: Hell
Scenery: Act 5

[C Elegans]

Originally posted by Stilgar
I know, i hated it to.
But it's the most intresting chapter, with some good scenery changes.

LOL

I find Chapter 2 most interesting actually, I like the Desert landscape and the Arcane Sanctuary. And I love the monsters in the Tombs!

@Robnark: Yes, it's a good item-find area...and if you are a Barb with Find Item, the Council Members are among the best monsters you can get since they leave corpses They are somewhat dangerous at Hell though...

@Z: Lister the Tormentor? The last of the Boss monsters in the group of minions Baal spawn before his throne before going downstairs?

[Tybaltus]

Originally posted by C Elegans
@Stilgar: Act 3? You like the Jungle areas? I thought everybody hated them!

Heh, I like act 3, especially the city of Kurast (not just the docks)...I only hate the Flayer Dungeon and the Durance.

Items:

Mephisto is of course the easiest item run and he drops very well, but remember he cannot drop many of the best items in the game such as Windforce or Grandfather or Tal Rasha's armour. Also I think Meph runs are quite boring, I ususally do a few each time I play but that's it.
Baal is also a good dropper, but takes a bit longer to get to. Pindleskin is of course a favorite item run for many - if you don't kill Nihl, the red portal will always be there and thus you have immediate access to Pindle, who is also a very easy monster even in Hell. One static and one meteor and that's it, if you are a Sorc for instance. Pindle can drop every item it the game.

Ouch...Mephisto...I hate that place SO much But youre right, he always has a good drop.

For XP, everybody knows the Cows and Bloody Foothills...Halls of Pain, and and the Ice caves in Chapter 5 are also very good for XP. But it depends very much on what lvl you are, after lvl 85 or so it is certainly only worth playing Chapter 5 for XP. Tal Rasha's tombs are good as well if you are lower level.

Aye, thats the place I did it too...the ice caverns and the place where Shenk stands...the siege grounds...not to mention, what Stilgar said, with Diablo's sanctuary, and his river of flame aswell.

For Scenery: Arreat plateu where the Ancients are. Before you click on the book, take a walk around the area and admire the view! As soon as the Ancients have come alive, there is no time to admire the view

Oh, you are quite right. I was just in awe the first time I saw it. But for overall, I like the deserts of Lut Gholein.

So I basically did a compromise, and never really did item hunting, mostly just hoped for the best when I was XP hunting.

@Robnark If you are talking about the place where the imps are, God help you...man that place is the most annoying place to go in the game....they are EVERYWHERE...but the ice cavarns are pretty cool (no pun intended, but its there, so feel free to rip my guts out)

[The Z]

Originally posted by C Elegans

@Z: Lister the Tormentor? The last of the Boss monsters in the group of minions Baal spawn before his throne before going downstairs?

That's the one. Though I didn't do much item hunting so he is probably not the best item dropper.

[Tybaltus]

Yeah, all he drops for me is stuff that can easily be found in Act 1...

Though he is worth a truckload of experience

[Robnark]

Originally posted by Tybaltus
@Robnark If you are talking about the place where the imps are, God help you...man that place is the most annoying place to go in the game....they are EVERYWHERE...but the ice cavarns are pretty cool (no pun intended, but its there, so feel free to rip my guts out)

uh, well, in the higher difficulty levels you do have a point...

okay then, just stick to the early first area and the underground ice cave wossnames. there aren't many imps there.