D2R Speedrun Categories and the Fastest Times to Beat
Every plan in our speedrun planbook with its comp, end point and time, worded as each sheet words it. Learn what separates 8-Man Norm, Taxi Strat 3.0, NG+, Classic and Ubers, and which numbers need a caveat before you chase them.
Our planbook lists D2R speedrun times from 34:03 for the Normal-only 8-Man Norm to 2:10:54 for the 3 Pally Strat, with Taxi Strat 3.0 at SC 1:20:14, HC 1:32:26. These are different categories with different end points, so compare a time only with its own comp.
Every plan comes from the speedrun planbook of jymnasium (twitch.tv/jymnasium). The times below are the planbook's figures, worded the way each sheet words them, and they may have been beaten since. Where a sheet records no time, the table says so.
Who Made These Plans
Each sheet carries its own credit, quoted here as the sheet words it:
- Taxi Strat 3.0: created by jymnasium (twitch.tv/jymnasium) with the help of the 8Man Speedrunners.
- 8-Man Norm and 8-Man Ubers: created by jymnasium (twitch.tv/jymnasium) with the help of the speedrunners.
- NG+ 8-Man Speedrun: created by jymnasium (twitch.tv/jymnasium) with the help of the Speedrunning Community.
- Classic Strat: from jymnasium's (twitch.tv/jymnasium) speedrun planbook, created with the help of the speedrunners.
- Old Taxi (Legacy): the original taxi route by jymnasium (twitch.tv/jymnasium).
- Old Route: from jymnasium's (twitch.tv/jymnasium) 8-man speedrun planbook, built with the help of the speedrunners. The sheet itself carries no credit line.
- 3 Pally Strat: created by jymnasium (twitch.tv/jymnasium).
- 3 Sorc 2 Sin Route: created by jymnasium (twitch.tv/jymnasium), in memory of Unsullied13, who helped create this route.
D2R Speedrun Times by Category
| Plan | Comp | Ends at | Time, as the sheet words it |
|---|
| 8-Man Norm | Main XP Sorc, two progression Druids, progression Pally, three level-1 Amazon boosters, a level-8 Sorc | Baal Normal, in three games | 34:03, current fastest time for this category |
| NG+ 8-Man Speedrun | Tele Sorc, Assassin, Barb, two Taxi Sorcs, plus three pre-leveled level-60 characters (FoH/Conviction Pally, Amazon, Nova Sorc) | Hell Baal | 1:11:22, "NG+ first run" |
| Taxi Strat 3.0 | Tele Sorc, Shockwave Druid, Salvation Pally, Limo Sorc, Conviction Pally, BO Barb, Conc Pally, Cold Sorc | Hell Baal | SC 1:20:14, HC 1:32:26, fastest known time for this comp |
| Old Taxi (Legacy) | The Taxi Strat 3.0 comp | Hell Baal | SC 1:33:18, HC 1:57:44, fastest known time for this comp |
| Classic Strat | Three Sorcs, three Pallies, BO Barb, Corpse Explosion Necro, no Druid | Hell Baal | 1:48:46, fastest known time for this comp |
| 8-Man Ubers | The Taxi Strat 3.0 comp | Uber Tristram | 1:59:32, current fastest time for Ubers (no HC attempt yet) |
| 3 Pally Strat | Tele Sorc, Fissure Druid, three Hammer Pallies, Fire Trap into Death Sentry Assassin, BO Barb, Cold Sorc | Hell Baal | 2:10:54, fastest known time for this comp (estimated it could come down to about 1:50) |
| Old Route | Tele Sorc, two Trap Assassins, Fire Sorc, Conviction Pally, BO Barb, Fissure Druid, Orb Sorc | Hell Baal | No time recorded; level goals are estimates |
| 3 Sorc 2 Sin Route | Tele Sorc, two Fire Trap into Death Sentry Assassins, Fire Sorc, Conviction Pally, BO Barb, Fissure into Shockwave Druid, Cold Sorc | Hell Baal | No recorded time |
For the step-by-step version of the flagship, see how to speedrun D2R with the Taxi Strat.
What Differs Between the Categories
Where the clock stops. The Norm sheet ends at Baal Normal. Most others run all three difficulties to Baal in Hell. Ubers starts from a finished Hell run, with Hell Baal or Diablo dead at 60+, then covers quest cleanup, Hell Chaos leveling, key farming, the red portals and Uber Tristram.
Who starts the run. NG+ is the only category that brings three pre-leveled level-60 characters. Norm uses three level-1 Amazons as XP boosters that must not gain XP: they pad the game's player count for bigger monster XP and stay out of the Main Sorc's XP range.
How the team levels. The taxi sheets send a Tele Sorc ahead to drop XP portals on boss groups. Classic and 3 Pally split into Team Tele and Team Harvest, and harvest portals just need a decent boss group within about 90 seconds. Old Route and 3 Sorc 2 Sin lean on cow waves and Baal runs instead, and 3 Pally chains Pindleskin into Baal runs in Nightmare and Hell.
Softcore or Hardcore. Taxi Strat 3.0 and Old Taxi list HC times. The Ubers sheet says no HC attempt yet. No other sheet lists one.
The recording rule. Classic, 3 Pally, Old Route and 3 Sorc 2 Sin say that for the run to count, everyone must be recording their point of view. The Taxi Strat 3.0 sheet doesn't say either way, so check with whoever runs the category before you assume.
Reading the Times Honestly
A few numbers need care before you chase them. Every plan here is built for a full 8-man group working from a written plan, which is the same preparation the streamers and unfair advantages post credits for how fast top groups look.
NG+ says "first run", not "fastest known", and the sheet says parts of the plan are still being refined, with several columns carrying builds inherited from the Taxi comp. Its 1:11:22 also starts with three level-60 characters, so it can't sit next to Taxi Strat 3.0's fresh-start 1:20:14.
The Ubers sheet doesn't say whether 1:59:32 includes the Taxi run that comes before it. We wouldn't read it as a standalone two-hour category until someone confirms.
Old Taxi's listed times are 13:04 slower on SC and 25:18 slower on HC than 3.0's. The sheets say 3.0 evolved from Old Taxi, but they don't split that gap into route and execution. And the 3 Pally "about 1:50" is the sheet's estimate, not a result.
None of the sheets says which patch a time was set on. That matters for Season 16, since Patch 3.4 changes some item stats on Reign of the Warlock Online Ladder and Offline, and it is why the Patch 3.4 post asks for a fresh baseline.
FAQ
What is the fastest D2R speedrun time?
Among the plans with fresh characters through Hell Baal, Taxi Strat 3.0's SC 1:20:14 is the shortest listed. The 8-Man Norm's 34:03 stops at Baal Normal, and NG+'s 1:11:22 starts with three level-60 characters. All of it is planbook data and may have been beaten.
Is there a hardcore D2R speedrun time?
Two sheets list one: Taxi Strat 3.0 at HC 1:32:26 and Old Taxi at HC 1:57:44. The Ubers sheet says no HC attempt yet, and the rest list none.
Which speedrun category should a new team try first?
Our pick is Taxi Strat 3.0. The other sheets' headers treat it as the flagship, and Old Taxi's own sheet says to run 3.0 unless you specifically want the original. For a shorter first session, the 8-Man Norm ends at Baal Normal after three games. If your goal is a race to level 99 rather than a Baal kill, that is a separate format, covered in racing to 99 explained.
Pick a Category and Find Your Eight
Pick a plan in the strategy library, then recruit for it. Create a team and say which category you are running, or browse teams already forming and apply. With no group yet, create an account, fill in your Ladder Setup and check the free-agent pool.