There are various difficulty settings in Diablo 4. They impact our adventures traversing the world seeking treasure and challenging content alike. Expect to run for your life in the highest of difficulties. Let's look over them and see how they work in the latest installment.
Starting Difficulties
After creating your character, you choose what Difficulty (World Tier) you want to start with. These are designed to be manageable while leveling.
Adventurer (World Tier I)
- Recommended for new players of Diablo
- Levels 1-50
- Enemies are easy to defeat
Veteran (World Tier II)
- Recommended for Diablo veterans who want to be tested
- Levels 1-50
- Enemies are more challenging.
- Monsters give 50% increased Experience.
- Monsters drop 20% more Gold.
- Monsters drop more items.
These two difficulties are great. For battle-tested Diablo players, Veteran serves to make sure your leveling experience is not dull and keeps you on your toes. Adventurer difficulty allows new players to get their feet wet and eases them into ever challenging content in the future.
Veteran offers on average more and better drops during your leveling experience compared to Adventurer, while Adventurer is more manageable, especially for Boss fights. Also, some builds that take longer to come online (need more Skill Point/gear investment) to function may require you to play on Adventure for a better quality of life.
Endgame Difficulties
After reaching level 50 you can move up through more difficulty ranges. These require certain milestones to be achieved and offer more exclusive rewards the higher you go. Once unlocked, you can change the difficulty at the character select screen. You can also change it in game via the Inarius Statue, located in the heart of Kyovashad.
Nightmare Difficulty (World Tier III)
- Unlocked by completing the Campaign and Cathedral of Light Capstone Dungeon in Kyovashad, World Tier 2: Veteran (Recommended Levels 50-70)
- Sacred items and Unique items can drop.
- Nightmare Sigils can drop to unlock Nightmare Dungeons.
- Helltides grow in danger and rewards.
- Champion monsters with damage resistance auras can appear.
Enemy Details
- Enemies are more formidable.
- Monsters give 150% increased Experience.
- Monsters drop 20% more Gold.
- Monsters overcome 25% Resistance.
Nightmare requires you to complete a specific Capstone Dungeon to prove you are ready. Nightmare brings Champion enemies with Damage Resistance auras. You want to kill these enemies off quickly, as they share this effect with nearby enemies and Elites!
Nightmare Dungeons are now available and require Nightmare Sigils to open them. Lastly, Helltide can now spawn across the world. These events are great to take advantage of for farming and are the only source to obtain Forgotten Soul and Fiend Rose!
Starting in this World Tier, you can start to farm summing materials for Endgame Bosses. The two you can attempt are Echo of Varshan and Grigoire, The Galvanic Saint. Each Boss requires you to do a specific activity in the world. Once you have completed the activity, you can get the summoning materials required to summon and defeat them.
To learn more about how to fight these Bosses, read our full Boss Guides.
Like in previous Diablo iterations, extra effort rewards more experience and drops, the latter being a new item type - Sacred items! Lastly, the game doesn't let you go full glass cannon, as you need to start overcoming resistance penalties.
Torment Difficulty (World Tier IV)
- Unlocked by completing the Fallen Temple Capstone Dungeon in northeastern Dry Steppes, World Tier 3: Nightmare (Recommended Level 70+)
- Ancestral items and new Unique items can drop.
Enemy Details
- Enemies are more fearsome.
- Monsters give 250% increased Experience.
- Monsters drop 20% more Gold.
- Monsters overcome 50% Resistance.
Torment requires you to complete a second Capstone Dungeon to prove you are ready for the highest difficulty. You gain a huge bonus in experience. Ancestral items, yet another item class, start dropping along with new Uniques! Lastly, the game ups the resistance penalties once again.
Moving up to this Wold Tier, you can farm summing materials for four more Endgame Bosses. You can attempt The Beast in the Ice, Lord Zir, Duriel, and Anderial. Each Boss requires you to do a specific activity in the world. Once you have completed the activity, you can get the summoning materials required to summon and defeat them.
To learn more about how to fight these Bosses, read our full Boss Guides.
Summary
- Difficulty in Diablo 4 is a hybrid between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3.
- There are 2 starting difficulties for new players, Adventurer for New Players and Veteran for Pros.
- Each Difficulty (World Tier) is a good stepping stone towards the next, filled with a sense of accomplishment.
- The game challenges you with more monsters, activities, and resistance penalties. However, it also rewards you in experience and treasure alike.
Happy exploring, just don't die while doing it!
Credits
Written by Dredscythe.
Reviewed by DiEoxidE.