I'm using the same screenshot as before.

Look at that xp growth for Bao: it was basically extremely slow up until level 56, then spiked up and at level 90 outpaced the other top players.

This is because Bao switched to a Mosaic build right on time.

Patch 2.6 introduced the Mosaic runeword (https://diablo2.io/runewords/mosaic-t1282119.html). It is a level 53 runeword and the center piece of the Mosaic Assassin: the strongest, fastest, density destroyer AND boss killer in the game.

Given the almost flat growth rate in early levels, it's very likely that Bao was playing solo with 7 fillers. The player then acquired runes and bases for two Mosaic runewords and smashed the xp run.

Mosaic is not prohibitively expensive to make but self-finding two Mal and two Gul runes around level 53 is close to impossible due to how #d2r drop tables work.

This is a indicator that they likely bought the material off the secondary marketplace - which is very well part of how this game works.

4/x

The top 3 paints two different pictures!

Here's another D2Emu screenshot so we can dig into the details.

Glitch and ThatGuy are self-found as well. Look at that xp growth: they are going pretty much in unison with a similar shape to what us MQT were doing.

I am not sure if they were playing together but given the extremely similar clearing speed at the end of the curve it looks like so.

But, wait a minute, that xp growth line is for 8-players games. Not for 2-players games for sure. Where are the other six?

I don't have enough information to answer that question. The only thing I know is that they could've been fillers idling in their games or other humans pushing these two top players. Basically the other six players would clear Throne at slower speed than MQT while these two players were going for Terror Zones.

Bao, instead, is where things get wild.

3/x

The first story is that of MQT, the "musquetters": we're a group of players that still love and cherish #d2r

Every reset, we gather a full team of 8 players and we start the ladder run. We've a house rule to not buy or trade anything in the first 24ish hours (or more appropriately as long as our first day stamina lasts). We go group self-found and we climb the ladder.

Screenshot below is taken from https://d2emu.com/ladder and it shows our group xp growth. As you can see we move pretty much in unison.

But what about the top 3?

2/x