So, I completed a 1 hour 26 minute speedrun as a level 36 wizard using ultra pure rules. There were some unfortunate mistakes made, and my overall technique was poor due to cold fingers, but it was by far my fastest run yet.
Started as a Lvl 1 Half-Orc Conjurer, leveled to 6 on Samurai. Then leveled to 10 on Ogre Lords. Then leveled to 13 on Spectre in Catacombs 3. Swapped class to Sorcerer. Leveled to 9 on Ogre Lords, then Spectre until 13.
Swapped class to Magician, leveled to 13 in Harkyn 1. While a Magician, obtained crystal sword and tried Harkyn 2. Obtained a luckshield as the first item drop in Harkyn 2, which was a huge time saver. Farmed in Harkyn 1 until level 13. The goal was to get one or more of Mithril Gloves, Mithril Scale, or Shield Ring, but none dropped unfortunately.
Swapped class to Wizard. Got a one level in Harkyn 1, then immediately went to Spectre to level up until 14. Then went to Harkyn 2 to get the silver square and to do Kylearan’s tower. Unfortunately I failed to bring the bard along, and didn’t realize that until I was at Kylearan’s Tower, so I casted DEST on myself and created a bard to resurrect me. The bard was then killed, the crystal sword equipped on him, and Kylearan’s Tower was finished. The bard was resurrected (I’m not completely mean) and left in the guild.
The Wizard then leveled to 37 on summoned Spectres and the Catacomb’s Spectre. Along the way I accidentally casted DEST on myself instead of a summoned Spectre. The bard was kind enough to resurrect me. I also ran out of mana and gold at the same time, which set me back a minute or two.
Mangar’s Tower went smoothly. The possession trap was a breeze. At the final fight, I targeted a demon lord with DEST. A demon lord opened with a breath cast. Thor then whacked the other demon lord. One vampire lord summoned a wraith, the second hit Thor, and the third wasted a spell. Mangar also wasted a spell. Then my DEST killed the demon lord. After the first round, the remainder of the biggies were disposed of with DEST. Thor eventually died to vampire lords, and a mind blade finished out two wraiths. Kylearan came and the game was over.
Overall, I lost about 7.5 minutes to mistakes and mechanical inefficiencies. And poor item drops in Harkyn also slowed things down. I think future runs using similar approaches could be just under 1:15 with an early luckshield drop. Even earlier if the Wizard is leveled to 18 instead of 36.
I was able to capture the game, find the video with audio-commentary on Youtube at ___________. (to come soon).
Ultimately, I’m targeting a speed run under one hour. To accomplish that, I’ll need a substantially different strategy. I’m actively experimenting with some, and I’ll post any successful results.