Infernal Horde Optimization Guide

In this Infernal Horde Optimization Guide, you will learn how to optimize your Aether gained regardless of the RNG thrown your way. This guide assumes you are familiar with the Infernal Hordes gamemode. Make sure you have unlocked the Infernal Horde and you have Compasses ready.

Infernal Horde Optimization depends on playing a build with good AoE clear to kill as many enemies as possible. Use the Armory to create a build dedicated to playing this mode. Because you kill masses of enemies in this mode, stock up on Elixirs and Incense to increase the experience you gain passively. It is also good to get familiar with the many different Infernal Offers which you can find in the dropdown below.

List of Infernal Offerings

TLDR:

• The preferred Aether farming strategy revolves around spawning Hellborne. This can be done through the Summoned Hellborne and (less desirable) Burning Hellborne offerings. If you get this, continue on the path of Hellborne offerings.

• If you do not get Hellborne spawn offerings, you should try to scale Aether Fiends' offerings. These enemies occur naturally, but the strategy truly ramps up after getting The Surging Elite, which doubles the chance of elites spawning. This is a close second to the Hellborne strategy.

• If you get neither Hellborne nor Aether Fiends, you should focus on Flat Rewards. Infernal Offerings you choose seem to influence the frequency of associated event types. So, if your options are between a Soul Spire offering (which you want to avoid!) and Flat Rewards, pick the Flat Rewards, as that does not negatively impact event spawns.

• Offerings that do not interfere with event spawns are preferable to choices that scale less desirable event types, such as Soul Spires or Bursting Masses. The Aether Rush, the Bursting Masses, and especially the Exalted Hordes are suitable choices to advance rounds when no other desirable Offerings are available.

• Certain offerings, such as the Burning Rain, are significantly more valuable early on compared to getting them late.

The sections below are in order of efficiency, but note that the two most optimal offerings for Aether gain are the Surging Hellborne and the Surging Elite. These offerings heavily dictate which route you go.

Hellborne

Focusing on Hellborne offerings will result in the most optimal outcome in terms of Aether gained at the end of the run. The Surging Hellborne is the most impactful offering for Aether gain, and thus is a must-have if you see it. The Invigorating Hellborne does not help much despite being an Infernal Offering focused on Hellbornes, as it does not increase the Aether generation. Avoid the Bursting Fiends offering, as the explosion snipes your Hellborne kills and you lose out on Aether.

The following offerings are what you want to look out for when going for Hellbornes:

• The Summoned Hellborne
  • Hellborne are hunting you, and Hellborne grant +1 Aether
• The Burning Hellborne
  • Hellfire now spawns Hellborne, and Hellborne drops 1 additional Aether
  • Requires The Burning Rain
• The Exalted Hellborne:
  • Hellborne grant +1 Aether
• The Surging Hellborne:
  • Hellborne grant +1 Aether, and +1 Hellborne when spawned.

Aether Fiends

If you get The Surging Elite before the Hellborne-related ones, you should focus on Aether Fiends' offerings over Hellbornes going forward. This offering is in the top 2 of all offerings regarding Aether gain. This setup will result in less Aether than Hellborne, but is still fairly optimal compared to getting Hellborne offerings late in the run.

• The Exalted Elite
  • Aether Fiends grant +2 Aether
• The Surging Elite
  • Chance for Elite to spawn is doubled, and Aether Fiends grant +2 Aether
• The Unstoppable Elite
  • Elites are Unstoppable, and Aether Fiends grant +2 Aether

Flat Rewards

If you get neither Hellborne nor Aether Fiend offerings, pick rewards that give a flat amount of Aether to prevent negatively impacting event spawns.

• The Burning Rain
  • At the end of each wave, spawn 3-9 Aether
• The Enfeebled Wanderer
  • Defeating Fell Council grants +15 Aether
• The Exalted Council
  • Defeating Fell Council grants +15 Aether
• The Withered Wanderer
  • Defeating Fell Council grants +15 Aether
• The Stalking Devil
  • Slay the Infernal Butcher to gain +25 Aether

In Case of Emergency

If you get none of the above, pick options that will minimize unwanted event spawns, such as:

• The Aether Rush
  • Gathering Aether increases movement speed (8s)
• Invigorating Hellborne
  • Slaying Hellborne invigorates you
• The Bursting Masses
  • On wave start, spawn an Aetheric Mass, masses deal unavoidable damage
• The Exalted Hordes
  • Normal monsters damage +25%, killing them spawns Aether Events +50% faster,

Offerings to Avoid

These options either add unwanted events or slow you down. In other words, you want to avoid anything Soul Spire, Bursting Mass, or Aether Lord related and things that will slow down your overall clear speed.

• The Gorging Masses
  • Slaying Aetheric Mass slows you (8s), but while slowed this way, you have unlimited resources.
• The Exalted Masses
  • Aetheric Mass damage  +25%, and grants +1 Aether.
• The Corrupting Spires
  • Soulspires pull foes inward
• The Insatiable Spires
  • Soulspires grant 2x Aether, but Soulspires require 2x kills.
• The Bursting Fiends
  • Aether Fiends explode and damage foes
• The Teeming Masses
  • Aether Lords grant +3 Aether, and masses spawn an Aether Lord on death.
• The Summoned Lords
  • Aether Lords now spawn, and they grant +3 Aether

Infernal Horde is a decent source of Obducite and Scroll of Restoration. However, they are not rewarded from the same chest. To gain Scroll of Restoration, you must open the Spoils of Greater Equipment, and for Obducite, you must open the Spoils of Materials with your remaining Aether. Because Spoils of Materials eats all of your Aether, make sure you first open the Spoils of Greater Equipment.

The amount of Aether you deposit into the Spoils of Materials decides how many Obducite Caches you receive. Each Obducite Cache has the following Obducite based on Torment level:

• Torment 1: 40
• Torment 2: 80
• Torment 3: 160
• Torment 4: 320

The total number of Obducite caches you obtain roughly follows the formula y = 0.288x^0569, where x means total Aether deposited into the Spoils of Materials. For instance, 700 Aether would give you 12 Caches of Obducite, resulting in 3840 Obducite.

Obducite Cache Scaling per Aether

Summary

Infernal Horde Optimization comes down to choosing the correct Infernal Offerings to gain as much Aether as possible. This is a summary sorted in order of importance:

• You ideally want Summoned Hellborne combined with The Surging Hellborne
• If you cannot get Hellborne-related Offerings and find The Surging Elite offering, you immediately switch to an Aether Fiend-focused path.
• Flat Rewards are your best choice if you find yourself without a Hellborne or Aether Fiend offering.
• In case of emergency, you select offerings that do not affect your event spawns, such as The Aether Rush, Invigorating Hellborne, The Bursting Masses, or The Exalted Horde.
• Avoid offerings that spawn events you do not want, such as Masses or Soulspire-focused events.

Credits

Written by Avarilyn

Reviewed by Icytroll, IBoilerUp, Snail