Like its predecessors, Diablo 4 is a massive game with tons of content to consume, loot to collect, and places to explore. It can be daunting for a first-time player to take in everything, especially when so many of these games can get lost in the minutiae or when it seems like what you get doesn’t immediately benefit you. In this guide, we’ll go over some early-game Diablo 4 tips so you can get started on the right foot.
Step 1 – Finish the prologue quickly
The Diablo 4 prologue is a relatively short introduction to the game’s core systems. Still, you won’t have access to some of the most important systems until you reach Kyovashad, particularly the gear merchants and the blacksmith. Not everything is available as soon as you arrive, but being able to offload the beginning gear for either upgrade materials or straight upgrades can be essential to smooth progression.
Do Dungeons and Cellars, even if the area reward isn’t for your class
Dungeons and Cellars are scattered throughout Diablo 4, large and small instances, respectively, that provide rewards commensurate to their scale. You’ll want to complete these as you find them to get some all-but-guaranteed upgrades, gold, and, most importantly, experience.
Not all Dungeons have a completion reward for your class, and not all Cellars have anything you can immediately use, but the extra rewards are more than worth your time.
Experiment with different abilities
While there are no doubt some busted endgame builds available in Diablo 4 unless you’re power leveling or trying to get through the campaign as quickly as possible, don’t be afraid to refund your skill points and try out different abilities if your current crop doesn’t satisfy. Refunding takes only a few gold pieces, and there are enough powerful options early that sticking to just one can be limiting.
Salvage, don’t sell
After reaching Kyovashad, you can head to the blacksmith to salvage your gear or go to any merchants to sell it. We recommend salvaging for your first several dozen levels, as gold is plentiful enough without selling and crafting and upgrading gear can get material expensive quickly.
My strategy was salvaging all the common and Magic Diablo 4 equipment I had while keeping anything Rare and up, as those items have more of a chance just to be better than everything else I would find. Of course, selling a few things now and then can be beneficial to keep your coffers topped up for the occasional upgrade or to do a complete respec if you want to.
Save Side Quests
Side quests in Diablo 4 level up as you do, meaning you can save them for a better experience, gold, and loot rewards if you choose to. You’ll gather many different side quests both in towns and out in the overworld, and while some of them take you to the same place the main story quest does, others see you going far out of your way to complete.
