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It has come to my attention that there is an exploit that exists in the console versions of Diablo III. In short, console players are able to achieve a Paragon level of 10,000, a feat that (based on play time requirements) is unachievable without the use of an exploit.

An analysis of the level breakdown is as follows (thanks to Redditor MightyMors for the math):

Getting from Paragon 100 to 200 takes double the amount of XP as getting from 0-100. It is like that for every next 100 levels. As you become more powerful through items you gain more XP/hour.

If you ignore the diminishing returns in item upgrades and paragon points and say you get 50% more XP/hour for the sake of easy calculations. The calculation will be unrealistically short but still show it is impossible to reach anything even remotely close to Paragon Level 10000.

If getting from 0-100 took you 20 hours getting from 100-200 will take you another 10 hours plus the original 20.

• Getting from 0-200 = 20 + (20 * 0,5) = 20 * 1,5 = hours
• Getting from 0-300 = 20 + (30 * 0,5) = 30 * 1,5 = hours
• Getting from 0-400 = 45 + (45 * 0,5) = 45 * 1,5 = hours
• Getting from 0-500 = 67,5 * 1,5 = 101 hours
• Getting from 0-600 = 101,25 * 1,5 = 151 hours
• Getting from 0-700 = 151,88 * 1,5 = 227 hours
• Getting from 0-800 = 227,82 * 1,5 = 341 hours
• Getting from 0-900 = 341,73 * 1,5 = 512 hours
• Getting from 0-1000 = 767 hours

768 hours equates to about 4.5 weeks of 24/7 gaming, and as Diablo 3 has been available on console since 2014, this is a completely achievable goal. Nobody would actually question this.

That said, following this formula and the approximate doubling of XP requirements, any paragon level outside this range can be called into question. If keeping with this formula the following numbers are staggering:

• Getting from 0-2000 = 44337 hours = ~ 5 years@24/7 gaming
• Getting from 0-3000 = 2556694 hours = ~ 291 years@24/7 gaming
• Getting from 0-4000 = 147431859 hours = ~ 16830 years@24/7 gaming

As D3 has not been available for console for five years, it’s pretty clear that anything over the 1300 paragon mark is going to raise some suspicion from me, my staff, and nearly every other D3 player on the planet.

The Way Ahead

I will always try to maintain a gaming library that provides gaming options across the full breadth of platforms. Whether you play on console or if you play on PC, I want there to be plenty of options for you.

With that said, I will not allow exploits to water down the reward structure for our gaming system. As stated in the Rites of Combat:

Falsifying Matches

This is also a major infraction in gaming, where a member tries to forge matches with someone else, and report them for personal gain of Clusters of Fire, Clusters of Earth, and/or rank up in the GMRG. The Fist will inform the Justicar of the situation and the member will be charged by the CoJ for cheating.

Moving forward, the Fist, his staff and I will closely monitor all submissions of Diablo III that are played on console. Should any erroneous submissions be made by a member or members, I will follow the guidelines set forth in the Rites of Combat and inform the Justicar of the infraction. This is not meant as a threat, but as a simple enforcement of the rules that help to govern our club and ensure a fair competitive environment for our gamers.

For our console players, I ask that you remain vigilant when joining groups that consist of players with questionable paragon levels. The above guide should help you identify players with legitimate paragon scores, and avoid those who are quite obviously exploiting the game through some kind of hack.