Paragon Points in Diablo 3 are one of the most important additions to the game, especially for solo players. Players pushing Greater Rift completion and farming for Set items welcomed a way to gain new levels, increasing the power of max-level characters. With the launch of the Diablo 3 Ultimate Edition, there has been a lot of changes to the game for consoles. Let’s talk about Paragon Points and what else is coming to D3 in these new versions.
Paragon Points in Diablo 3 Explained
Paragon Points are a way to keep leveling up, and are applied in a way the player chooses. Their a great way to hyperfocus a build onto certain damage and defensive layers, offering more playtime once you get to level 70. Some long-time players reach into the thousands, but there’s no reason to go that high. You can certainly get to a pretty high Paragon level by just playing casually.
Paragon Points are earned just like normal levels. Everytime you gain a level, you get a set distribution of points to spend. Paragon points cycle through the four tabs in order, with the 1st to Core, 2nd to Offense, 3rd to Defense, 4th to Utility, 5th to Core, and so on, forever. So you get the Paragon Points in Diablo 3 in a very predictable order.
The higher the difficulty, the faster you earn XP, and thus more Paragon Points.
Paragon levels are applied in four specific areas:
- Core: Mainstat (Intelligence/Strength/Dexterity), Vitality, Movement Speed, Resource Maximum (Rage/Arcane, etc,)
- Offense: Attack Speed, Cooldown Reduction, Critical Hit Chance, Critical Hit Damage
- Defense: Life, Armor, Resist All, Life Regeneration
- Utility: Area Damage, Resource Cost Reduction, Life Per Hit, Gold Pick-Up Radius
Each tab has a set cap on certain stats. The Core Tab has only two bonuses that do not max out at 50 points. Your Mainstat for your build and Vitality can be increased infinitely. All other stats in the three remaining tabs can only have 50 points invested in each. So you can only gain a raw +25% Armor and +25% Life in the Defense tab, for example. Although it’s worth pointing out that this stacks with other bonuses.
Also, all movement speed bonuses, from both items and Paragon Points, are capped at 25% total. So you have a theoretical maximum that you can spend there to gain the most boons.
Players will want to use their Paragon Points in Diablo 3 in a way that complements their core builds. As you gain more levels, every character in that league gains the same amount of points. So if your main in a season reaches Paragon 200, all characters in that season will get 200 points to spend, starting at level 1. So you get boons for all your characters by putting the work in. This used to be tracked per character, but was changed in a later patch to RoS.
The one difference is Seasonal ladders. Players in a season start over with the same level 1 character, and zero Paragon Points. Though Paragon progression works entirely the same. When a Season ends, all Seasonal Characters are absorbed back into the main account, and all earned Paragon Experience is added to the total Paragon Experience on the account.
What are the other additions of the Ultimate Edition?
The biggest new inclusion for console versions with the launch of Diablo 3 Ultimate Edition relates to classes and acts. The new edition adds Reaper of Souls’ fifth Act to the core game, set in the region of Westmarch. Maltheal, the former angel, has returned. He has taken the Black Soul Stone from the remains of the Horadrim, and plans to end the Eternal Conflict once and for all. His plans include wiping out humanity, who he views as tainted by demonic blood. The Nephalim have returned from their war against Diablo to fight back the renewed war by the rogue angels.
So you get a fifth act on all console versions to screw around with. Although most veteran players will rush to Rifts and Adventure Mode as soon as they can. And speaking of Adventure Mode, that’s unlocked by default in certain ports, so it’s much easier to rush to it. And given how important it is to farming Set items, that’s a great change.
To unlock new build variety a Crusader class was also added. Using holy light to purge enemies, this new class is a great fusion of healer and tank. It’s a solid support choice for those looking to run in Rift groups. And with console launches refreshing the community, a lot of newer players could use the help. And speaking of new players, the Apprentice mode has also been introduced.
The new Apprentice mode allows low-level players to team up with their higher-level friends. The stats of the weaker players get boosted accordingly, but keep in mind that the effect only lasts for as long as the mode is active in a multiplayer game.
