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Multiplayer also has fun effects on the experience value of a monster.
Monster experience values don't just multiply for the number of players involved. Experience follows this formula:


Monster exp  = Base Exp + (# of players - 1)*((2/3)*Base Exp)


An Example -
With a five man game going, assume a monster has a base exp of 1000.

Monster exp = 1000 + (5 - 1) * ((2/3) * 1000)
= 1000 + (4) * (666.67)
= 1000 + (2666.67)
= 3666.67
= 3667 experience.


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| 4.5: Party experience                                                      |
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When you're in a party, and other members of the party are in the same area, you share experience with them. By 'same area' I mean 'same named area if you were to hit Tab and check where you're at'.

The amount that you get after sharing is determiend by a party experience calculation.


Exp gained = Monster's Exp * Exp fraction
Exp fraction = Your level / (total of all party member levels)


An Example -

A Level 40 character is playing with a Level 25, Level 35, Level 15, and a
Level 37. All of them are in the same area, so the formula applies.

Exp fraction = 40/(40 + 25 + 35 + 15 + 37)
= 40/(152)
= 26.315% = 26.32%              [after rounding up]


Exp gained = Monster's Exp * 26.32%

.. you get a little more than one-fourth what the monster itself is worth.


Next, Experience is multiplied by another percentage that's on a sliding scale, which is based on the difference between your levels - like single player exp.

Difference     |     % of exp
---------------------------------------
0 to 5 levels     -       100% 6 levels          -        80% 7 levels          -        60% 8 levels          -        40% 9 levels          -        20%
10 or more levels -         5%


Lastly, when you're in a party, the player who delivers the final blow receives an experience bonus of 10% for that kill.


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| 4.6: Full example calculation                                              |
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Taking our five-man game, let's assume that all members are partied, and that they are all in the same named area. The party comes across a single monster with a base exp of 1000, and our Level 40 character gets the killing blow. This monster will be Level 40 in order to make sure we get
100% of its experience.


First, get your exp fraction.

Exp fraction = 40/(40 + 25 + 35 + 15 + 37)
= 40/(152)
= 26.315% = 26.32%

Next, figure out what the monster's full experience is.

Monster exp  = 1000 + (5 - 1) * ((2/3) * 1000)
= 1000 + (4) * (666.67)
= 1000 + (2666.67)
= 3666.67
= 3667 experience.

Calculate how much real experience you get for the kill by applying your experience fraction to it.

Real exp     = 26.32% * 3667 experience
= 965.14
= 965 experience.

Apply the 10% kill bonus.

With bonus   = 965 + (10% * 3667)
= 965 + (367)
= 1332 experience.

And keep in mind that being more than five levels out puts you on the sliding scale. :)


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5. Leveling Techniques
______________________________________________________________________________


Everyone wants to know what the best way to level is, but there's no definitive method. The reason for this is because of the variable experience gain.

If you really want to make your life better, you'll sit down with the chart, do some of the exp calculations, and figure out what Act (and what area in that Act) gives you the best return for your time.

Another great way to learn where to level is to compare and contrast. Go to, say, Act 4 in Nightmare difficulty, hop on down to the River of Flame, and kill for five minutes. Write down the exp you've gained. Next, go to Act 1 in Hell difficulty, skip over to the Cold Plains or Dark Wood, and go wild for another five minutes. Write down your exp. See what the results are.

Keep in mind that how often you die in a given Act at a given difficulty is very important when figuring out where to level; at anything over Normal, it's better to fight a little bit longer in a lower Act than to risk a 5% or 10% experience drop due to an untimely death.

That said, here are some leveling techniques that help you make the best use of your time. :)


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| 5.1: Solo parties                                                          |
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Get into a large public game or a large private game, and party up with at least one person - and then go to different named areas. When you kill something, you'll get full points, since the rest of your party isn't around for the calculation to occur. Plus, being in a party lets you see where everybody's at, so that you don't step on anyone's toes.

Unfortunately, you don't get the 10% exp bonus unless the other party members are in the same named area as you. In addition, this system has a big downside - you have to watch monster levels more closely due to the sliding exp scale you're on. If you fight something too far out of compliance, you'll get pathetic experience as a result.


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| 5.2: The 'classic' solo method                                             |
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To get the max exp per kill, go into a large public multiplayer game. Fight monsters that are your level or higher. Higher level monsters will subject you to the experience fraction calculation, but it's better than fighting below your level, and getting 40% exp or less.

By staying solo, you get all the benefits of multiplayer exp (+ two thirds experience per player) without having to share any of it. Also, killing high level monsters may not be as much of an expeirence drain; the ratio is based only off your level, instead of the base always being the same but you only getting a portion of the total experience value.


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| 5.3: Maximum party experience                                              |
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Partying *seems* to have serious drawbacks - the percentage of exp being based off what part of the total party level you represent being the biggest.
However, if parties are used properly, they can be the fastest way to level.

Form a big game (lots of people are always a necessity!) and form a party with several other people. Have everyone go to the same named area, and then have everybody split up in a different direction.

This is more fair when everyone's around the same level, since party exp is distributed according to what percentage of the total levels you contribute. However, even when the levels aren't near one another, there are still benefits.

First, there's the 10% exp bonus for making a killing hit. This rocks the house on big monsters, especially in 8 player games, where the monster's base exp is cranked up.

Second, you get free exp from everyone else who's killing in your area.
While you may only get a percentage of the exp for what you kill, everyone else is also giving up that same percentage of their kills to you.

Third, this is speedy - four people can rock an area much faster than one can.

While one player in an 8 player game can max his exp by being solo, it takes a relatively long time to clear, say, all of Lower Kurast on through
Travincal. By comparison, four people sweeping across the city can clear it in a single pass, pooling exp and sharing it, and netting 10% bonuses on every kill they make. Party members should only gang up when a monster is too strong to take solo.

While the total experience gain is lower than that for the classic solo method, you can clear things three to four times as rapidly. If you run out of things to kill, start a new game. The net result is that while classic soloing gets you the full experience for your kills, a distributed in-area party can reach that same experience value in one third or one fourth the time, by mass-clearing large areas in short order.


Example.

Say that a warrior is able to clear all of Act IV in two and a half hours, dueling with each separate monster individually. The total experience comes out to, for sake of argument, two million.

A party of six people of similar levels starts clearing Hell. Due to the there being six people in the game, all of the monsters are worth 3.3x as much as normal:  (6 - 1) x (2/3) exp == 3.3 x exp = 330%

Each of these six people is of a similar level, and will pull in approximately
1.1mil per sweep of Hell. However, the six people can clear Hell in an hour, instead of two and a half.

Assume that the party, and the single player, just do Hell over and over and over.


==
After one hour ..
==

Single player: 400,000 exp

Six man party: 1,100,000 exp each



==
After three hours..
==

Single player: 2,200,000 exp

Six man party: 3,300,000 exp each