Optimal Farming Guide
Last Updated:April 19, 2025|Changelog
This Optimal Farming Guide is your one-stop place for all farming-related information. If you are looking for the most efficient way to farm experience, check out our dedicated Paragon Experience farming guide. Each section solely focuses on where you can most optimally find whatever you are looking for. You can find more general information about these things in our General Farming Guide.
Boss Lair Keys
Boss Lair Keys not only drop from specific places, but can also randomly drop from sources like Chests and Elites. Below is a list of the farmable locations for each Boss Lair Key, listed in order of efficiency.
| Boss Lair Key | Most Optimal Farming Locations |
|---|---|
| Abhorrent Heart | 1. Undercity of Kurast (Tribute of Titans) 2. Urivar 3. World Bosses |
| Betrayer's Husk | 1. Belial, Lord of Lies ambush encounter in the Boss Lair. |
| Distilled Fear | 1. Undercity of Kurast (Tribute of Titans) 2. Nightmare Dungeons 3. Bartering 4. Tree of Whispers 5. World Bosses |
| Exquisite Blood | 1. Undercity of Kurast (Tribute of Titans) 2. Blood Maiden (Helltide) 3. Bartering 4. Tree of Whispers 5. World Bosses 6. Legion Events |
| Judicator's Mask | 1. Undercity of Kurast (Tribute of Titans) 2. Undercity of Kurast (without Tribute of Titans) 3. Bartering 4. Tree of Whispers 5. World Bosses |
| Living Steel | 1. Undercity of Kurast (Tribute of Titans) 2. Helltide 3. Bartering 4. Tree of Whispers 5. World Bosses |
| Malignant Heart | 1. Undercity of Kurast (Tribute of Titans) 2. Tree of Whispers 3. Bartering 4. World Bosses |
| Pincushioned Doll | 1. Undercity of Kurast (Tribute of Titans) 2. Beast in the Ice and Lord Zir 3. World Bosses |
| Shard of Agony | 1. Undercity of Kurast (Tribute of Titans) 2. Grigoire, the Galvanic Saint and Echo of Varshan 3. World Bosses |
Obducite
| Obducite Source | Average Obducite per Minute |
|---|---|
| Undercity of Kurast with Tribute of Harmony | - Party lead: 2224 per min - Party members: 1112 per min |
| Nightmare Dungeons | Best Options: 1. Get the Treasure and rush to the end: 650 per min 2. Clear Elites and rush to the end: 639 per min 3. Rush to the end: 591 per min 4. Clear all, rush to the end: 557 per min Average combination of all: 611 per min |
| Infernal Horde | ~ 350 per min on Average regardless of Total Waves. |
| This assumes that you are movement speed capped and playing a fairly mobile build. If you are playing a slower build, your gain per minute will be lower in both Undercity of Kurast and Nightmare Dungeons. Link to the comprehensive data collection done by Icytroll can be found here. | |
This data has been collected in Torment 4 using a build with good AoE and high mobility. Your mileage may vary. This is mostly meant to be used as a guideline. The table shows the Obducite per Minute if you only clear Elite enemies and rush to the end.
| Nightmare Dungeon | Obducite per Minute |
|---|---|
| Caldera Gate | 873 |
| Corrupted Grotto | 843 |
| Dead Man's Dredge | 828 |
| Vile Hive | 828 |
| Bastion of Faith | 819 |
| Sirocco Caverns | 802 |
| Ancient's Lament | 794 |
| Hive | 776 |
| Belfry Zakara | 767 |
| Calibel's Mine | 765 |
| Betrayer's Row | 765 |
| Hoarfrost Demise | 754 |
| Charnel House | 753 |
| Forgotten Remains | 752 |
| Mercy's Reach | 750 |
| Sarat's Lair | 745 |
| Sunken Ruins | 745 |
| Iron Cenotaph | 745 |
| Uldur's Cave | 743 |
| Remnants of Rage | 740 |
| Feeding Grounds | 736 |
| Hallowed Ossuary | 729 |
| Faceless Shrine | 721 |
| Forge of Malice | 721 |
| Putrid Aquifer | 718 |
| Shivta Ruins | 708 |
| Luban's Rest | 708 |
| Witchwater | 701 |
| Putrescent Larder | 694 |
| Maulwood | 693 |
| Bloodsoaked Crag | 692 |
| Mariner's Refuge | 683 |
| Sealed Archives | 683 |
| Forsaken Quarry | 680 |
| Oldstones | 678 |
| Beast Graveyard | 672 |
| Razak's Descent | 668 |
| Farai Cliffs | 659 |
| Forgotten Ruins | 653 |
| Deserted Underpass | 651 |
| Abandoned Mineworks | 648 |
| Garan Hold | 648 |
| Murmuring Spiral | 647 |
| Sunken Library | 646 |
| Howling Warren | 633 |
| Collapsed Vault | 633 |
| Grinning Labyrinth | 629 |
| Kor Dragan Barracks | 625 |
| Nostrava Deepwood | 622 |
| Komdor Temple | 620 |
| Sleepless Hollow | 620 |
| Lost Keep | 619 |
| Endless Gates | 618 |
| Hierophant Pyre | 616 |
| Earthen Wound | 614 |
| Blind Burrows | 609 |
| Forbidden City | 603 |
| Hallowed Stones | 589 |
| Whispering Pines | 585 |
| Akkhan's Grasp | 580 |
| Mournfield | 573 |
| Champion's Demise | 571 |
| Conclave | 570 |
| Buried Halls | 570 |
| Tomb of the Saints | 568 |
| Ruined Wild | 568 |
| Inferno | 565 |
| Leviathan's Maw | 558 |
| Seething Underpass | 554 |
| Zenith | 549 |
| Seaside Descent | 546 |
| Heathen's Keep | 531 |
| Hakan's Refuge | 526 |
| Maugan's Works | 514 |
| Light's Watch | 513 |
| Ularian Sepulcher | 513 |
| Carrion Fields | 508 |
| Derelict Lodge | 500 |
| Path of the Blind | 484 |
| Maddux Watch | 476 |
| Haunted Refuge | 469 |
| Iron Hold | 461 |
| Black Asylum | 448 |
| Ancient Reservoir | 446 |
| Domhainne Tunnels | 421 |
| Halls of the Damned | 416 |
| Oblivion | 376 |
The amount of Aether you have collected during a pit run decides how many Obducite Caches you receive from the chest. Each Obducite Cache has the following Obducite based on Torment level:
- Torment 1: 40
- Torment 2: 80
- Torment 3: 160
- Torment 4: 320
The total number of Obducite caches you obtain roughly follows the formula y = 0.288x^0569. This results in the following table:
| Aether Total | Obducite Caches |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | 0 |
| 3-18 | 1 |
| 19-44 | 2 |
| 45-80 | 3 |
| 81-125 | 4 |
| 126-178 | 5 |
| 179-239 | 6 |
| 240-307 | 7 |
| 308-383 | 8 |
| 384-466 | 9 |
| 467-555 | 10 |
| 556-651 | 11 |
| 652-754 | 12 |
| 755-864 | 13 |
| 865-979 | 14 |
| 980-1101 | 15 |
| 1102-1229 | 16 |
| 1230-1363 | 17 |
| 1364-1503 | 18 |
| 1504-1650 | 19 |
| 1651-1800 | 20 |
| 1801-1958 | 21 |
Crafting Materials
| Crafting Material | Most Optimal Farming Locations |
|---|---|
| Iron Chunk Rawhide Veiled Crystal | 1. Greater Material Cache from Tree of Whispers 2. Boss Lair 3. Nightmare Dungeons (Elite Monsters and Resplendent Chests). 4. Helltide (Elite Monsters and Salvage). 5. Bartering (Efficient if you only do it passively). 6. Tree of Whispers 7. Legion Event 8. Infernal Horde 9. Iron Nodes (for Iron Chunk) |
| Bundled Herbs | 1. Greater Material Cache from Tree of Whispers 2. Boss Lair 3. Nightmare Dungeons (Elite Monsters and Resplendent Chests). 4. Helltide (Elite Monsters and Chests). 5. Tree of Whispers 6. Legion Event 7. Infernal Horde 8. Herb Nodes |
| Abstruse Sigil Baleful Fragment Coiling Ward | 1. Greater Material Cache from Tree of Whispers 2. Boss Lair 3. Salvaging Ancestral Items 4. Bartering (Efficient if you only do it passively). 5. Helltide 6. Tree of Whispers 7. Legion Event 8. Salvaging Legendary Items |
| Forgotten Soul | 1. Greater Material Cache from Tree of Whispers 2. Boss Lair 3. Helltide (Chests). 4. Bartering (Efficient if you only do it passively). 5. Legion Event 6. Dark Citadel 7. Tree of Whispers 8. Infernal Horde |
| These are rough averages based on Season 8 PTR drop rates. | |
Legendary Gear
| Legendary Gear Source | Legendaries per 5 min |
|---|---|
| Undercity of Kurast without Tribute | ~14+ |
| Infernal Horde | ~8 |
| Helltide | ~7 |
| Legion Events | ~7 |
| Nightmare Dungeons | ~5 |
| Tree of Whispers | ~4 |
| These are rough averages based on Season 8 PTR drop rates. | |
Artificers Stones
With a mobile build, Nightmare Dungeons is your best bet in regards to farming Artificer's Stone efficiently. Helltide is a decent option if you have screen-wide damage, but you must open a chest roughly once every 1 minute and 30 seconds to beat Nightmare Dungeons. The sources are listed in order of efficiency.
| Artificers Stone Source | Average Drops per Source |
|---|---|
| Nightmare Dungeons | 7 per clear Average clear speed: 1 min 16 seconds.* |
| Helltide | Standard Chests: 7 Mystery Chest: 14 |
| Tree of Whispers | 3 for Standard and Legendary Caches. |
| Infernal Horde Undercity of Kurast | Both of these are listed as drop sources, but no drops were observed in 5 runs each. Not reliable. |
| *This assumes you are movement speed capped, playing a fairly mobile build, and rushing to the end. | |
Summary
Each material has a specific location where it can be obtained most efficiently. The following is a TLDR of the most optimal place to obtain each material:
- Boss Lair Keys: Undercity of Kurast with Tribute of Titans
- Obducite: Undercity of Kurast with Tribute of Harmony (Nightmare Dungeons for a farmable location).
- Crafting Material: Greater Material Cache from Tree of Whispers (Boss Lair for a farmable location).
- Legendary Gear: Undercity of Kurast without Tributes.
- Artificer's Stone: Nightmare Dungeons.
Credits
Written by Avarilyn
Reviewed by Icytroll, IBoilerUp