Chaos Sanctuary Multiplayer Guide
The Chaos Sanctuary is the endgame of Classic. Chaos runs (clearing the Sanctuary, opening the seals and killing Diablo) are the main way to farm items and experience at high level. In Hell the Sanctuary has an area level of 78, the seal bosses are level 81, and Diablo is level 90. See Area Levels.
Diablo's level 90 makes him the only way to find +2 class skill amulets in Classic, other than gambling: those prefixes need an affix level of 90 (see Affixes), and no other monster in Classic is high enough to drop them.
Getting there
The nearest waypoint is the River of Flame. From there it is a short walk (or a few Teleports) to the Sanctuary entrance. The Sanctuary has no waypoint, so a town portal near the entrance or at the central pentagram lets the rest of the party join and return quickly.
The seals
The Sanctuary is a cross shape with a pentagram in the middle and a wing in each direction. The three side wings hold five seals between them. Opening the right seal in each wing summons a seal boss and its pack:
- Grand Vizier of Chaos
- Lord De Seis
- Infector of Souls
Once all three seal bosses are dead, Diablo appears at the pentagram.
Roles in the party
A typical Chaos party leans on:
- Sorceress: the speed of the run. She teleports ahead and opens a town portal at the pentagram (the "star") so the party can follow, and usually pops the seals so everyone else can keep killing. A Blizzard Sorceress who can handle the Grand Vizier alone is a big help if the party falls behind.
- Paladin (Hammerdin): the main damage, and usually the one soaking hits. One Paladin should take charge of each seal boss as it spawns, especially Lord De Seis, who tends to run off. Extra Paladins spread out and clear everything else: seal minions, champions and uniques.
- Barbarian: Battle Orders for the whole party, cast the moment the portal opens and again whenever asked. A level of Battle Orders matters more than a high one; Shout is welcome but not essential. Leap to break up a crowd at a hot portal, but not to scatter seal bosses across the room.
- Necromancer: curses (Amplify Damage, Lower Resist) and Corpse Explosion, which clears packs and gives a lot of experience to characters below the 90s.
- Amazon: Lightning Fury and Charged Strike for packs, and Valkyrie to take hits.
Every extra player counts, so a full game of 8 is the aim.
Rules of the run
- The 8th player leaves the party at Diablo. This is the most important rule. Diablo gives the most experience to a party of 7 rather than 8, so in a full game the lowest-level player must leave the party before Diablo dies.
- Don't pre-pop the last seal. Kill the last seal boss (usually the Grand Vizier) and his pack before opening the final seal. Opening it early kills them off and the party loses their experience.
- Experience shrines are for the highest level. If one turns up on the way, leave it for the highest-level player to take just before Diablo, after all five seals are open.
- Kill as much as you can. While the seal bosses go down, everyone else should clear nearby packs with area damage: Corpse Explosion, Blizzard, Fire Ball, Lightning Fury.
- Hunt Urdars and Super Venoms. Unique Urdars and Venom Lord packs give some of the best experience in the game, and are worth a detour to the River of Flame.
Ways to run it
- Taxi: the Sorceress teleports to each seal in turn and opens a portal there. The party comes out, kills the seal boss, and goes back to wait for the next portal.
- Split: the party divides and takes all three seal bosses at once, for example a Sorceress and Paladin on the Infector, another pair on De Seis, and a Sorceress alone on the Vizier. Fastest, but it costs lower-level characters a lot of experience, so it suits parties where everyone is in the 90s.
- Backdoor: a Hammerdin kills a seal boss, opens a town portal, and returns through the Sorceress's portal at the star, skipping the walk back through the monsters.
- Leap: with no Sorceress, a Barbarian leaps to the star, opens a portal, and the party clears each wing in turn.
Experience and drops
Every extra player in the game raises monster life, experience and item drops. Party members close to the action share the experience from each kill, which is why lower-level characters join Chaos runs to level (see the Levelling guide). Below level 93 most experience comes from the seal bosses, their packs and uniques along the way; from the mid-90s almost all of it comes from Diablo himself. Diablo is the highest-level monster in Classic.
After Diablo
When Diablo is killed, a timer counts down and the current game ends.