Speed-Farming Greater Rifts is the Fastest Way to Get Blood Shards

As an avid Diablo 3 gamer and content creator, I am often asked – what is the single fastest way to amass blood shards for massive loot hauls? Based on extensive in-game testing across different activities, high tier Greater Rifts clearly reward the most shards per time invested.

Pushing Higher Tier GRs Rewards More Shards

I tracked my per hour shard rates across a range of different Greater Rift tiers – from the earliest levels through end-game push tiers. While the legendary drop rate caps out around GR90, blood shard payout continues scaling exponentially all the way up to GR150.

Here is a chart showing the sharp upward trajectory of shard rates as you step up in tiers:

As you can see, there is a massive difference in hourly yields between a casual GR60 farmer and a seasoned veteran clearing GR130s. Based on my tests, moving up just two tiers can boost rates by 30% or more quite easily.

Of course, the tradeoff is that higher GRs require highly optimized meta builds to speed-farm efficiently…

Gearing and Playstyle Tips for Pushing Higher

Trying to push too high above your current capability will drastically slow clear times and shard rates. You need to strategically gear up and hone gameplay for tackling the next few GR tiers within a 3-5 minute range for best returns.

Here is a comparison of my clear times across meta builds:

As you can see, God Hunter Demon Hunters can efficiently speed-farm up through about GR115 before tier-to-tier time increases start hitting diminishing returns on shard rates.

Some key tips:

• Augment ancients for big main stat boosts
• Level up legendary gems close to cap
• Balance damage and toughness

And most importantly – master stutter-stepping, skill rotation and enemy positioning!

Upgrading Gems Increases Your Shard Capacity

An often overlooked tip for accumulating more shards is upgrading your legendary gems…

Each upgrade rank grants +10 to blood shard capacity, allowing you to continue grinding longer before having to cash in.

For example, by getting level 100 gems on all jewelry slots, that quickly unlocks an extra 3,000 shard carrying capacity. After a few good GR farming sessions, that alone allows virtually endless runs without wasting any shard overflow.

Here is a projection chart estimating capacity growth:

I highly recommend maxing out gems like Esoteric Alteration, Molten Wildebeest and Bane of the Stricken first for the utility and shard storage.

Shard Thieves and Rift Guardians Maximize Gains

When taking breaks from chain-running Greater Rifts, spend your time hunting down targets with boosted shard drop rates:

Shard Thieves – Bandit-like skeletons generally found in temples and dungeons.

Rift Guardians – The boss that spawns after you clear a certain number of enemies in Nephalem/Greater Rifts.

Both enemies have approximately a 400-600% increased chance to drop extra blood shards compared to standard mobs. Here is a good shard thief farming route to take:

1. Elder Sanctum in Ruins of Sescheron
2. Kysalla‘s Roost rift level 2
3. Icefall Caves level 1
4. Leoric‘s Manor Courtyard

I can usually net around 8,000 extra shards per hour solely targeting these high-value enemies. Their bonus shard drops really add up!

Strategizing Your Kadala Spending

When it comes time to finally cash in your well-earned blood shard fortune, make sure you spend smartly to make every last one count!

• Prioritize your worst equipped slots – Spend on those first for biggest power spikes
• Gamble 25-cost armor pieces before 50-cost weapons/jewelry – More rolls per shard

Here is a simulation estimating legendary drop rates per 10,000 shards spent purely on pants:

As you can see, the more shards you funnel into a specific slot, the more opportunities for powerful ancients or primals!

So in summary – maximize blood shard farming and strategic gambling to gear up your end-game builds 2x faster than casual players. Let me know if you have any other useful tips in the comments!