Diablo 2 Resurrected: Best level 85 farming areas for ladder play

Diablo 2's ladder seasons continue in earnest, and with them comes a whole host of new level 85 areas where you can farm for the best gear. Since last year's second ladder season, we've also had Terror Zones which add an even simpler way to farm loot and experience in Diablo 2: Resurrected.  These were added with Patch 2.5 so we've added them to this guide. Let's take a look at the best level 85 farming spots in Diablo 2: Resurrected for different damage types and classes to get you off to a great start.

What's so great about level 85 areas in Diablo 2?

Do you ever wonder why there are so many Chaos Sanctuary and Baal runs in Diablo 2: Resurrected? These areas, previous to the Terror Zone update were pretty much the only place to farm huge amounts of experience, and they are both areas where any item can drop. If you are farming for a specific high-level item this is where you do it. The best items in the game only drop in areas over level 85, so Griffon's Eye Diadem, Windforce Hydra Bow, and Death's Web Unearthed Wand. Even if your build doesn't require these items, they are incredibly valuable for trading so can be used to get what you actually need. 

These areas should be approached with caution, and you will be punished greatly for having an underpowered build. Expect to be running back to your corpse at regular intervals. That being said the rewards for tackling the monsters here are massive, and just one high-end item can make you rich at the start of a ladder. Diablo 2 had the same level 85 areas for the lifetime of the game, and though they still have nostalgic pulling power for fans, it's a pretty dull experience revisiting the same areas time and time again. It also had an impact on build versatility, given that players needed to use specific builds just to dole out the required damage type to have any impact on the monsters and their elemental damage resistance in these areas. 

Diablo 2: Resurrected's Patch 2.4 brought with it changes that introduced 16 new level 85 areas for farming escapades. These areas are spread out through the game's five Acts and have different types of monster immunities within. This broadens the selection of builds that can effectively farm end-game Diablo 2 content, and it gives players new and old something fresh to look at.

Many of the level 85 areas also contain a super chest somewhere on the procedurally generated map. A super chest is easily spotted as they sparkle. If the area has multiple levels such as a dungeon, it will typically be located on the final floor. Occasionally you will come up against an enemy that is immune to your chosen damage type, and without a Sundering charm to counteract this, you will struggle. In these circumstances just ignore them and move on or let your mercenary kill them. To efficiently loot in Diablo 2: Resurrected you need to keep up speed, so stopping to waste time on individual enemies is a no-no. 

If you have the materials to create it, the Infinity runeword is a powerful tool for a farming build that will enable you to farm way more areas. Infinity however is very expensive to build, taking two rare Ber runes, therefore our guide concentrates on farming without it. We also recommend that you get your magic find percentage as high as you can prior to farming, to increase your chance of quality loot. 

Level 85 farming areas for cold damage

If you want to play a sorceress the no-brainer choice for best magic-finding build is the popular Blizzard Sorceress build. The Blizzard Sorceress is a great starter build that's strong out of the gate for both solo and group play.

The Ancient Tunnels in Act 2's Lost City and the Mausoleum in Act 1's Burial Grounds remain top spots for any build doing cold damage, but with Patch 2.4 there are six new spots to farm with a cold damage build. We've included them in the chart below along with the level 85 areas that have always been good for farming with cold damage.

Level 85 farming areas for lightning damage

Previous to Patch 2.4, farming with a lightning damage build was a tough slog without an Infinity runeword in your arsenal, but now there are more level 85 areas with monsters weak to lightning damage. Lightning Javazon and Assassin builds will benefit most from this change.

Level 85 farming areas for fire damage

With notable changes to Sorceress and Druid fire skills, there will no doubt be plenty of people looking for good places to magic find with fire damage. This used to be a hard sell before Patch 2.4, as there was essentially only one spot to effectively farm with fire damage. Here's a look at where you should farm with fire damage now that the patch has added new areas.

Level 85 farming areas for magic damage

The best build for dealing magic damage in Diablo 2: Resurrected is the Hammerdin Paladin, with the Fist of the Heavens Paladin closely nipping at its heels and preferred by some players.

Choosing magic damage to fight your way through Chaos Sanctuary and the Pit was already incredibly efficient prior to Patch 2.4, but now we have even more areas to flex our magic muscles. Our list below covers all the places you can farm the ultimate gear.

Level 85 farming areas for poison damage

The Rabies Druid and Poison Nova Necro are both fun choices for poison damage builds, and leaving enemies choking in your wake is an incredibly satisfying way to power through the maps and `slaughter your enemies.

Necromancers have the benefit of the Lower Resist curse to break resistance in enemies with no runewords or sunder charms necessary, but our table below includes natural resistances (without curses), and a table for areas you can tackle once you've upgraded your Lower Resist curse to 12 or higher.

Once your Lower Resist curse is leveled up sufficiently, you can farm these additional areas with your poison casting. It's possible to also purchase or farm for wands with an inbuilt Lower Resist curse, but they aren't quite as effective. 

What about physical damage?

Physical damage builds aren't quite as popular as their elemental and magic counterparts, but they do appeal to certain players wanting to mix it up a bit. Physical damage will allow you to farm in most of the level 85 areas, whether old or new in the game. You may occasionally come across monsters with immunity to physical damage, but as previously suggested just skip these or allow your mercenary to destroy them. 

Farming with a physical damage build will be at a much slower pace due to the lack of area-of-effect (AOE) damage and crowd control, but it's definitely possible and can present an interesting challenge.

Our Diablo 2: Resurrected guide to classes and abilities has more information on this topic. 

Terror Zones and how they work

Patch 2.5 added Terror Zones to the game as yet another method to farm experience and high-quality equipment. In a Terror Zone the monster level, and therefore the loot that can drop is always at least two levels above the player that created the game (the host). For Terror Zone enabled play, you must have defeated Baal in the level you are playing in whether that be Normal, Nightmare or Hell. Terror Zones can be disabled via the gameplay settings if you would rather not participate in them.

To maximize your chances of getting the perfect items, you want to be farming in the terrorized versions of the map areas we have already mentioned as they pop up. Most are capable of being selected as a Terror Zone. For example, if you are a Blizzard Sorceress farming the Mausoleum, Ancient Tunnels, Stony Tombs, Swampy Pits, and the Arachnid Lair - if you get lucky these can also become Terror Zones.

Demons will 'terrorize' a certain area in your game on an hourly basis, and only certain areas in each Act can become a Terror Zone. The in-game chat will notify you of which area is being terrorized, so you can make your way there if this is an area your build will excel in.

Sundering Charms

While farming the most efficient areas for your build and damage type is still the preferred and most effective way to play, Patch 2.5 added Sundering Charms to Diablo 2: Resurrected as yet another tool in the players' arsenal against monster resistances. As these still need to drop for you like any other piece of equipment, you can use our guide above until you manage to find a Sundering Charm for your build.

There are six charms in total, each giving -95% resistance to a particular immunity. It's worth noting however that carrying a Sunder Charm will also lower the player's resistance to that damage type, which is why they aren't a perfect answer to the resistance conundrum.

The charms must be carried in your inventory so will take up valuable space, but their power extends to pets and summons. The charms can be farmed from Terror Zone Champion and Unique monsters, and the quality of the charm can differ with each drop. 

• The Black Cleft: Reduces enemy immunity to magic. Player magic resist is reduced by  45%-65%.
• The Bone Break: Reduces enemy immunity to physical damage. Player physical damage is increased by 10%-30%. 
• The Cold Rupture: Reduces enemy immunity to cold. Player cold resistasance is decreased by 70%-90%.
• The Crack of the Heavens: Reduces enemy immunity to lightning. Player lightning resistance is decreased by 70%-90%.
• The Flame Rift: Reduces enemy immunity to fire. Player fire resistance is decreased by 70%-90%.
• The Rotting Fissure: Reduces enemy immunity to poison. Player poison resistance is decreased by 70%-90%.

Be sure to check out our roundup of the best gaming laptops if you need a new PC to handle Diablo 2: Resurrected.