Diablo 4’s race to level 100 Hardcore challenge conquered by cArn after 4-day marathon

Having barely slept since Diablo 4’s early access period began on June 1, former Starcraft 2 pro Souaib “cArn_” Hanaf now holds the record of the world’s first to reach level 100 on Hardcore after a monumental effort.

Just a few days out from the launch of Blizzard’s highly-anticipated Diablo sequel, the devs announced an exciting competition. The first 1,000 players to reach level 100 in Diablo 4 on Hardcore mode will have their name forever etched on a physical statue of Lilith.

Naturally, the community has to work. Countless players have been diving head-first into the Hardcore mode where death truly means death. One mistake and your character is gone forever. Hitting the max level of 100 requires near-flawless gameplay, optimal grinding, and top-notch efficiency for hours on end.

Pushing the pace faster than anyone else, former Starcraft 2 pro cArn_ was the first in the world to conquer this daunting challenge. Not only will their name be carved into the statue, but they can forever claim they were the first to master Diablo 4’s Hardcore mode.

cArn_ becomes world’s first Diablo 4 player to reach level 100 on Hardcore

After more than 70 hours streamed over just a four-day stretch, cArn_ officially hit level 100 on Hardcore mode on June 5. With hundreds of viewers watching along live on Twitch as it happened, the experienced gamer made history upon hitting the max level in the game’s riskiest mode.

For the most part, the content creator ran as part of a group. Together they continuously blitzed through the Cairn Downfall location on World Tier 4, the optimal XP grinding method thus far. All four players in their group were above the level 90 mark when cArn_ claimed the top spot.

Thousands of regular mobs were slain out in the open world to optimize this push, as this group soared ahead of the competition, a few whole levels ahead of the next best team according to Diablo Builds.

Spending the most significant chunk of their time at World Tier 4, cArn_ managed to avoid devastation throughout the lengthy Hardcore run. Others, like shroud and his team, weren’t so lucky during the race. Even characters at high levels beyond 50 aren’t safe from insta-kills or unfortunate run-ending bugs.

With the world’s first now locked in, the clock is ticking for anyone else looking to have their name featured on Blizzard’s historic Lilith statue. Though with only a few dozen streamers currently above level 50 in Hardcore mode, it could be a while yet before the first 1,000 are decided.