Diablo 4’s Infernal Hordes bring the onslaught of hell itself, but what exactly is this mode about, and what is the purpose of embarking on a quest for massive bloodshed? You know, beyond the natural satisfaction.
Diablo 4’s new Infernal Hordes bring roguelike bullet hell to the game, allowing you to die over and over and over again to attempt to reign victorious. When exactly can you embark on this journey through fire, hell, and demons? Let’s discuss how we can take on the challenge and what kind of rewards await us at the end.
To take part in the new mode, you must first have access to World Tier 3 or higher, which means you must have completed the main story questline, and journeyed through the Capstone Dungeons to reach the new, intense mode. Luckily, it’s accessible through both Seasonal and Eternal Realms, so as long as you made it through the MSQ and Capstones on one of your characters on either Realm, you will have access to Infernal Hordes.
From World Tier 3, you will receive the quest “The Eyes of the Enemy” as a priority quest upon entering the world. At the end of the quest line, you will be granted the first Infernal Compass that allows you to breach the gates of hell for the very first time.
As of right now, difficulty ranges between Tier 1 and Tier 8, where Tier 1 enemies will start at level 60 and Tier 8 enemies will jump all the way up to 200. Each Tier will increase the enemies’ level by 20, and the higher the Tier, the more waves of enemies there are to slay, capping out at 10 waves max.
Infernal Offers are available after each wave ends, and as long as you survive, you can choose between three random boons and banes. These “temptations” will change the intensity of the hordes to spice things up and earn you even greater rewards for completing the waves. Infernal Offers stack throughout the entire run, so be sure to choose wisely as becoming overwhelmed and ramping the difficulty up too high can be the difference between life and death within the Realm of Hatred.
At the end of the insane 60-second waves of carnage, you will go head-to-head with the corrupted Priests known as the Fell Council to try and score some big loot. When exactly you get to see the Council will depend on what tier you’re on. For example, Tier 1 has a total of five waves of enemies to defeat before you get to meet with the council, whereas Tier 8 has 10. Burning Aether will drop throughout the entire run as well, and after the council has been defeated, you will be able to spend it on the Spoils of Hell’s Chests. The options are Spoils of Equipment, Spoils of Greater Equipment, Spoils of Materials, and Spoils of Gold.
Spoils of Equipment contain gear that can either be Legendary, Unique, or Mythic Unique, and give a chance at gaining Greater Affixes. Spoils of Greater equipment will contain the same types of loot as the regular Equipment chests but guarantee Greater Affix Rolls.
With limited revives the stakes are relatively high, and once those revives are spent you will be lost in the ether of Hell amongst the demons.
You have the ability to upgrade these Infernal Hordes the same way you would Nightmare dungeons, but instead, you can use Abyssal Scrolls to initiate the difficulty upgrade. Collecting Infernal Compasses can be done by opening chests in Helltides, opening Caches from Whisper Bounties, or completing nightmare dungeons or the Pit.
As for gaining Abyssal Scrolls, the ability to get them from Salvaging compasses is no longer an option, meaning you will need to farm them from Helltide mystery chests or loot them from Material spoils at the end of the Infernal Hordes. The drop rate is not 100 percent in the spoils though, so be warned.
If you are looking to step your game up as a Necromancer, or are curious as to what the Vessel of Hatred has to offer, check out our other Diablo 4 guides and news!