Update 6/5/23: The hardcore winner has been crowned! Not Saturday's leader, wudijo, nor his preferred class, rogue, but Starcraft/DotA pro player cArn_, who was once again crowned with a Barbarian despite the weekend nerfs. Barbarian's Permanent Economy

Original Story As reported by PCGamesN, streamer Rob2628 was the first player in the world to reach the maximum level 100 on Diablo 4's Normal difficulty, and four more players have since reached the finish line. Meanwhile, the world's first hardcore mode level 100 is currently led by streamer wudijo at level 87.

Rob2628 was crowned with a meaty shout, a whirlwind-focused Barbarian build, and a cheeky level-reset exploit that helped him repeatedly run the XP-rich Champion's Demise dungeon with his friends. It took Rob about 54 hours to complete Rob2628's quest, but he was able to complete most of it before Blizzard sneak-dropped a hotfix that nerfed his Barb of choice.

Competitors Draelin, rengar666, KlapopjeKOP, and Willemh quickly joined Rob2628 in the 100 Club, and nine other players were already in the 90 Club. This all applies to races on Diablo 4's Normal difficulty, a difficulty unfortunately referred to as "Softcore" in Diablo Builds.

The world's first 100-player race on Hardcore is still on, with players not only competing to level up quickly, but also playing carefully. Death is permanent in Hardcore, and we have already seen Team Liquid owner Maximum and Path of Exile/WoW streamer Imexile cut off from play by a glitch; Diablo/PoE streamer wudijo is currently leading at level 87, with PoE streamer ben_ in second place at level 85. The difference is larger than it appears, as the XP requirements increase exponentially with level in Diablo 4, but the risky and unpredictable nature of hardcore means that it is still a game anyone can play.

The increasing XP demands mean that it could still be some time before the first hardcore runners reach 100 and etch their names on Blizzard's lovely statue of Lilith, the Lady Diablo, the poster child of Diablo 4. You can follow the overall progress of the race on the Diablo Builds website and on their Twitch channel. In the meantime, congratulations to Rob2628! Time for a nap and a snack.