NOTE: These are general guidelines, and are MOST OFTEN TRUE, but not always.
1. The first key to finding your way to the next area is to follow the walls in a counter clockwise pattern. This is most often the fastest path. Remember this rule, it will help you immensely as you usually start in a corner, not in the center. Exceptions: Arcane Sanctuary, and Catacombs Level 3.
2. The Maggot Lair is usually found on the upper ridge not on the lower ridge, and maggot lair three will almost always start you in the lower left, if you head directly up and to the right, this is where Coldworm is most often.
3. As you have already been to Far Oasis, it will be marked on your map, follow the wall in areas farthest away from Far Oasis when looking for Claw Viper Temple.
4. This tip gets me accused of maphacking most often, as I am in the True Tomb before someone tells me it. If you look at the symbols shown near the Summoner, they are not the true tombs symbol.
So use process of elimination and single out the true tomb, then head directly there. This is much quicker than waiting to be told it. Once you arrive in the Canyon, the symbols from left to right are in this order:
circle, half circle, square, spiral, arrows, triangle, circle and a half
5. When Finding Mephisto in: normal mode, check immediately by the wp first, this will be where level 3 is.
Nightmare mode, use rule #1, this is the longest part of a rush for me, since 1.10 they beefed up the map size for level 2, and I spend little time doing nightmare rushes.
Hell mode, the stairs down are found most often in the lower parts of the map, search those places first.
6. Finding the Hellforge, take the first branch. Most often the left branch where he is found almost immediately.
7. Any places without specific directions, follow rule #1.
Extra areas to mention....
Finding Nihlathak is one more thing I will mention. Some people refuse to get the waypoint for Halls of Pain, this is actually a bad idea, unless you are planning to do only Pindle runs on this character.
If you get the waypoint, and kill Nihlathak the portal will close, making it more difficult to get to pindle, however I feel its still simpler to get to pindle with the portal closed, than trying to do Nihlathak with the portal open.
The stairs up leading to pindle from the waypoint, are always in the center, ALWAYS. Also, there is only 3 variations of maps from the waypoint to Halls of Vaught. Once you have done a few of these runs from the waypoint, you notice this pattern and can do these runs with ease.
Once in the Halls of Vaught, there is the trouble of finding Nihlathak. Everyone say thank you to Blizzard by the way for this next one.
The above is the image you are looking for, it is kind of a graffiti on the wall. This shows that Nihlathak will be in the lower left.
If this image is not on the first section of that center wall then it is not the correct path.
Edited by Bob, 19 February 2006 - 05:00 PM.