Diablo 4 is adding a wave-based survival mode in Season 5

Infernal Hordes will be available after completing the latest quest line

Blizzard has revealed details about Diablo 4’s fifth season, which will feature a wave-based survival mode.

The studio detailed some of its plans for Season 5 in a Campfire Chat video, which is viewable above, and a blog post, ahead of this week’s launch of the second Diablo 4 Public Test Realm (PTR).

The new PTR, which will let players test upcoming changes and features for Season 5, will be available from June 25 to July 2 for users with a PC Battle.net account.

It will introduce a new questline set after the events of the main campaign, which will be available on both Seasonal and Eternal Realms.

Completing it will unlock Infernal Hordes, a wave-based survival mode coming with Season 5.

“The Infernal Hordes is an activity where you slay hordes while earning Burning Aether to unlock powerful weapons and rewards,” said Blizzard, which provided the following rundown of how the mode will work.

Infernal Hordes

  • Infernal Hordes has time-limited waves, lasting 90 seconds each.
  • Collect Burning Aether during a wave to spend at the end of a successful Infernal run.
  • At the end of the 90 seconds, kill the remaining enemies and decide between three Infernal Offers. Once selected, the next wave will begin.
  • Successfully slay all waves in the Tier you are attempting to advance to the Well of Hatred then battle the Fell Council. Upon defeating the Fell Council, spend your Burning Aether on Spoils of Hell.

Infernal Offer

Upon defeating each wave, Hell will tempt you with an Infernal Offer.

  • The Infernal Offer gives you a choice of three different Boons & Banes that modify your run. Select one!
    • Ex: Elite damage increased, Elites grant increased Burning Aether
  • Choose wisely—Infernal Offers will stack across the duration of your Infernal Hordes run. Many can be active at the same time!
  • Infernal Offers are your chance to increase the difficulty in order to earn more Burning Aether, or select a more modest Infernal Offer if the intensity is too great.

Burning Aether

  • Earn Burning Aether by slaying Aether Fiends and Aether Lords, or by destroying Soulspires and Aetheric Masses.
  • Burning Aether is earned individually, regardless of playing solo or in a group. This lets you decide how to spend it at the end of your run.

Spoils of Hell

  • On a successful run, you’ll use Burning Aether to unlock Spoils of Hell. There will be four different Spoils of Hell available on completing your Infernal Hordes run.
    • Spoils of Equipment
    • Spoils of Materials
    • Spoils of Gold
    • Spoils of Greater Equipment
      • This Spoil of Hell guarantees an item with a Greater Affix!

Infernal Compass

  • There are 8 Tiers of Infernal Compasses, which scale in difficulty and World Tier.
  • Each Infernal Compass Tier increases the number of waves starting at five for Tiers I-III, increasing until a maximum of 10 waves with a Tier VIII Infernal Compass. It also increases the starting difficulty of Monsters, and increases the potency of your rewards while decreasing your number of revives.
  • Abyssal Scrolls can be earned and used to upgrade your Infernal Compass by upgrading their Tier. Infernal Compasses will only drop at Tiers I-III; Abyssal Scrolls will be needed to increase their level to a Max of Tier VIII.

Infernal Compasses can be used at the following levels and World Tiers:

  • Tier I
    • Available at World Tier III
  • Tier II
    • Available at World Tier IV
    • Includes Bonus Affixes which increase crafting materials, and Legendary and Unique Drop rates!
  • Tier III
    • Available at Level 100
    • Includes Bonus Affixes
    • Includes Spoil of Greater Equipment
Diablo 4 is adding a wave-based survival mode in Season 5

Diablo 4 Season 5 has yet to be officially titled. The game’s Vessel of Hatred expansion, which is set to continue the story of Neyrelle and the Worldstone, will be released on October 8.

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