Every now and then, a Diablo 4 event accidentally breaks the leveling curve, and Gift of the Tree might be one of the most dramatic examples yet. What began as a simple seasonal bonus has evolved into a full-blown power-leveling exploit that can potentially let players take an alternate character from level 1 to 60 in under a minute if they do it right. Again, leveling methods like this have been around for a while, but it nonetheless remains a fast way for players to level their characters quickly in Diablo 4.
At the heart of the exploit is the Whisper Cache, which is especially beneficial during the Gift of the Tree event. Players who stockpile these caches at higher difficulties and then open them on a new alt are able to rapidly level up those characters until they are basically endgame ready. It's fast, it's easy, and it's arguably the most efficient way to skip the early-game grind of Diablo 4. The core mechanic of sharing caches with other characters to level them isn't new, but the scaling offered by the current Gift of the Tree event makes the process feel unusually fast.
Players Are Turning Bonus Whisper Caches Into Instant XP Machines
During Diablo 4's Gift of the Tree event, completing Whispers grants bonus Whisper Caches. These are endgame loot boxes designed to scale with the difficulty tier at which they were earned, and when opened by a fresh character, the XP and loot remain tied to that high-tier value. That combination is what makes the current event such a big deal.
The method involves players farming on Torment IV, stashing the caches, then opening them on a brand-new alt to jump straight into the midgame. One widely shared PSA on Reddit by user Echo-Sunray claims about 14 T4 caches is enough to push a character to roughly level 60, but even if the method doesn't take players all the way to level 60, they can still get to 60 with a few quick activities. While the results are going to vary by cache mix and RNG, the loop is clearly working — for now, at least.
Here's how the method works during the October 2025 Gift of the Tree event:
- Farm Whispers on Torment IV. Players receive the normal cache plus a bonus Gift of the Tree cache per turn-in during the event.
- Stash the caches on a main. Their rewards retain the tier at which they were earned.
- Create an alt and move the caches through shared storage. Open them one by one to avoid hiccups some players report with bulk opening.
- Open around 13–14 T4 caches to land near level 60, then finish with quick content if needed.
Blizzard's Hands-Off Approach Changes the Narrative on Progression
Again, this method has been possible in past Diablo 4 seasons, but Gift of the Tree has pushed it into the spotlight in an unprecedented way. At this point, it no longer feels like an exploit but more like a feature that Blizzard simply hasn't addressed. With so many community videos and guides openly walking Diablo 4 players through the process, the exploit has blurred the line between what's considered a clever use of mechanics and what's technically unintended.
The fact that the same Reddit post mentioned earlier begins with "just a friendly reminder" shows just how normal the exploit is at this point, which suggests the narrative on progression and buildcrafting in Diablo 4 is far different now than it ever has been. With the ability to level alts so quickly during the current Gift of the Tree event, players can experiment with builds without spending dozens of hours grinding just to get to the point that they can. Whether Blizzard eventually intervenes or not really doesn't matter, as time is of the essence one way or another and the Gift of the Tree buff will eventually end.
Diablo 4
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