Paragon

The Paragon System is a gameplay feature of Diablo III. It was added to the game after release, to provide more end-game content for players who had reached the level cap.

Paragon 1.0

 * This section contains obsolete content. For the currently used system, see the Paragon 2.0 section.

In Paragon 1.0, after a player reached level 60, any further experience gained counted towards Paragon levels, of which there were 100, calculated independently and separately for each character. If one took into account every class/gender combination in the game, then a player could reach "Paragon 1000."

Every Paragon level rewarded a player with core stats such as strength, dexterity, intelligence, and vitality in amounts similar to what they'd gain from a normal level, and 3% magic and gold find. A new frame in the character's portrait was earned every 10 levels to signify their paragon progression. Two extra portraits were available at levels 98 and 99. To support the system, Nephalem Valor provided a 15% experience bonus per stack, applicable toward Paragon levels, making Ruby gems in helm useful even at level 60.

Paragon 2.0
Paragon 2.0 is an updated version of the Paragon system. It has been implemented in a pre-release patch for Reaper of Souls. It made the following changes:


 * There is no cap on Paragon levels. Players can now earn as many Paragon levels as they please. All that needs to be done is to simply fight monsters and complete quests with a hero already at lv. 60 or 70, depending upon the player's (lack of, if appropriate) access to Reaper of Souls.


 * Paragon levels are now account-wide per game type. Normal characters on an account will share a Paragon level. Similarly, all Hardcore characters on an account will share a Paragon level. Any Paragon experience a player gains on their Normal or Hardcore characters will contribute to their account’s “Normal Paragon level” or “Hardcore Paragon level.”


 * Players now earn Paragon points each time they level up. These points can then be spent to boost up various stats in four different categories: Core Stats, Offensive, Defensive, and Adventure. All characters on a player's account have their own version of the allocated points, which can be reallocated at any time.

As of the 2.0 pre-expansion patch for Diablo III, Paragon points can be spent on the following attributes:


 * A class's Primary stat, at a rate of +5 per point, no cap


 * Vitality, +5 per point, no cap


 * Movement Speed, +.50% per point, cap of 50 points (+25%, which is maximum base bonus for most classes, making +Movement Speed affixes on items useless beyond that point)


 * Class maximum resource, +1/.5/4 per point, cap of 50 points (The numbers vary on class of choice, average +20% max resource)


 * Attack Speed, Resource Cost Reduction, and Cooldown Reduction, all at +.20% per point, cap of 50 points (+10%)
 * Critical Hit Chance, +.10% per point, cap of 50 points (+5%)


 * Critical Hit Damage, Gold Find, Area Damage +1% per point, cap of 50 points (+50%)


 * Armor, Life %, +.50% per point, cap of 50 points (+25%)


 * Resistances, +5 per point, cap of 50 points (+250)


 * Life Regeneration, +33 per point†, cap of 50 points (+1650)


 * Life on Hit, +16.5 per point†, cap of 50 points (+825)

†-Values change to fit the hero's normal level. The numbers listed are for a lv. 60 hero in classic Diablo III. This is quintupled at the level cap of 70 in Reaper of Souls.

While it may seem that most stats have a cap on them that cannot be exceeded, there will always be some incentive, even if only a little, to attaining more Paragon levels. After players reach Paragon 800, they will have maxed out all the benefits offered by tabs other than Core. Each level gained afterwards will only go to the Core tab, but do not have to be necessarily placed into Primary stat or Vitality. This allows the nephalem heroes an ever growing advantage that they can make use of to help ease the burden of tackling higher difficulty levels.

When the new system is implemented, previous Paragon experience (not levels) from the 1.0 version was added from all characters and formed new levels.

Under the system, if a character dies or is deleted, the amount of Paragon experience that character contributed is not lost&mdash;Paragon experience is on the account level, not character level. Remember that Paragon levels for Hardcore and normal characters are separate.

Paragon points can be reset at any time when not in combat. There is no cooldown or fee for doing so. To allocate points faster (5 at a time), player can click them with Shift button.

Paragon experience is only added when the character is at maximum level (60 or 70). Normal experience earned while leveling does not add up to Paragon total.

As of patch 2.0.4., there are new paragon Portraits, granted every 100 levels past 100, i.e. 200, 300, 400 etc.

In a sense, Paragon 2.0 is reminiscent of the character leveling systems of the first and second games, where class stat increases were at the player's discretion (in contrast to the system of Diablo III, where stats increase in a standard manner with each increase in level for each class).