The Infernal Hordes in the Realm of Hatred is a new endgame activity in Diablo 4, introduced with the 1.5.0 Update for Season 5. Here is where you will target farm the new uniques forged in the fires of hell! While Infernal Hordes does not have a level requirement, access to it is unlocked in World Tier III, so make sure you have at least Sacred Gear at the ready before starting this activity.
To find out which builds are best suited to conquering the Infernal Hordes, head over to our Infernal Hordes Tierlist!
Unlocking The Infernal Hordes
In order to unlock The Infernal Hordes, you have to complete "The Eyes of the Enemy" questline. This is done once per account, and finishing this quest gives you an Infernal Compass that gets you started with the Infernal Hordes. One Tier 1 Infernal Compass is granted to you at the end of the quest. Further Infernal Compasses can be gathered from other Endgame activities, such as Helltide Mystery Chests, Nightmare Dungeons, and within the Infernal Hordes itself.
Infernal Compasses
Infernal Compasses are how you access the Infernal Hordes activity. These start dropping in World Tier III, and drop throughout various other endgame activities and can be crafted at the Occultist. Functionally, they act very similar to Nightmare Dungeon Sigils, including the ability to teleport you to the starting point once you are ready. There are 8 Tiers of Infernal Compasses.
Tiers 1-3 drop naturally throughout things like Helltide, Nightmare Dungeons, Pit Runs, and Whisper Caches. Tiers 4-8 also drop, but they have higher requirements. For example, Tier 4 and 5 Infernal Compasses will only drop in Caches and Whispers once a Tier 75 and Tier 100 NMD have been completed, respectively. Other Compasses may require you pushing to a certain tier in the Pit.
The other option to get higher-tiered Infernal Compasses is Abyssal Scrolls.
Abyssal Scrolls
Abyssal Scrolls are used to upgrade your Infernal Compasses. While not required to access Tiers 4-8, these are useful when you want to upgrade your existing Infernal Compasses instead of waiting for higher tier ones to drop. Abyssal Scrolls can be found primarily in the Spoil of Materials chest at the end of the Infernal Hordes activity or from salvaging an Infernal Compass. The number of Abyssal Scrolls that drops increases with the tier of the Infernal Compass, whether ran or salvaged.
The Infernal Hordes
When you enter the Realm of Hatred to run the Infernal Hordes activity, you're faced with time-limited waves of enemies that last 60 seconds each. The number of waves depends on the Tier of the Infernal Compass used to summon the Infernal Hordes. Tiers 1-3 have 6 waves, 4-5 have 7 waves, and then it increases one wave a Tier until capping out at 10 waves for Tier 8. The Monster Levels also change with the waves. Each Tier increases the level of monsters by 20 until capping out at 200 at Tier 8.
During each wave, your focus is fighting the enemies, but also on collecting the Burning Aether that spawns after the defeat of certain types of enemies. This Burning Aether is used at the end of the conclusion of the activity, so gather all you can! Be on the lookout for potential surprises and random events, such as the new Burning Butcher that can appear and attack!
Once you have completed each wave, you are faced with a choice between three Infernal Offers, each containing a boon and a curse. These Infernal Offers enhance your experience and customize your run, and it is unlikely to get the same set of offers in the same order from run to run. Infernal Offers increase the difficulty and provide greater rewards, or offer you significant temporary boosts in character power. Once you have run all of the waves successfully, you then face the Fell Council. Once you have defeated the Fell Council, you have the chance to spend your Burning Aether on Spoils of Hell.
Infernal Offers
Infernal Offers are how you customize your run through the Infernal Hordes. Pick these strategically and figure out which Offer gives you the most bang for your buck! For every upside (e.g., increased Burning Aether from elites), there is a downside (e.g., increased damage from Elites). Don't stack too many, or your run comes to a swift end as you get overwhelmed. But if you do not take the risk, you will not reap the rewards.
Be careful, as these Infernal Offers stack across your run. The Offer you take at the end of Wave 1 still apply in Waves 2 and onwards, which means you can stack some serious damage multipliers (and reward multipliers!) if you want. Stacking these Infernal Offers in a strategic way can lead to increased amounts of Burning Aether, which is how you get your main rewards from this activity.
Burning Aether
The "currency" of the Infernal Hordes, Burning Aether act a lot like Aberrant Cinders. Burning Aether only lasts as long as your run does, and if you don't spend it, you lose it when the event ends. However, if you leave or quit early, it is lost. Burning Aether is only spent at the end of the run once you have successfully defeated the Fell Council, and it is spent on the Spoils of Hell.
Burning Aether is generally earned by slaying enemies like Aether Fiends and Aether Lords, or by killing Soulspires and Aetheric Masses. Through various Infernal Offers, other enemies in the Infernal Hordes may drop Burning Aether for you or your pet to pick up. Once you defeat the Fell Council, there is a large drop of Burning Aether that scales with the Tier of the Infernal Compass used, so make sure to pick that up before scouting your rewards!
If you are playing multiplayer, have no fear, as Burning Aether is earned and spent independently. Your rewards are separate from your friends', so have fun and slay all the demons you want!
Spoils of Hell
On a successful run, you'll use the Burning Aether you collected to unlock the Spoils of Hell. As of Season 5 and the activity's introduction, there are four different types, one of which is only available in WT4:
- Spoils of Equipment
- Spoils of Material
- Spoils of Gold
- Spoils of Greater Equipment - only available in WT4, this guarantees a Greater Affix!
The Fell Council
Once you've completed all the waves, you encounter the Fell Council. While there is five members, you encounter 3 randomly at the end of each run of the Infernal Hordes. Each member of the Fell Council uses a different element to attack, so make sure that all of your resistances are capped because you don't know who you're facing until you get there!
- Geleb the Flame
- Wyand the Shadow
- Ismail the Accursed
- Maffer the Cruel
- Bremm the Maelstrom
Summary
- Complete "The Eyes of the Enemy" questline to receive an Infernal Compass, unlocking access to the Infernal Hordes in World Tier 3!
- Collect the Infernal Compasses from various endgame activities around Sanctuary.
- Battle through timed waves of enemies, collecting Burning Aether, and choose Infernal Offers for strategic boosts and increased rewards. Be careful, however - don't make things too dangerous!
- Once the waves have been defeated, battle three randomly chosen members of the Fell Council, each with unique elemental attacks, and once you've won, spend your Burning Aether on Spoils of Hell rewards.
- There are certain uniques that have higher drop chances from the Infernal Hordes, so target farm if you need them!
Credits
Written by ehtoka
Reviewed by wudijo, Dredscythe