Blizzard has revealed details about Diablo 4’s fifth season, which will include a wave-based survival mode.
The studio detailed some plans for Season 5 in a Campfire Chat video, which can be viewed above, and in a blog post, ahead of this week’s launch of the second Diablo 4 Public Test Realm (PTR).
The new PTR, which will allow players to 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 introduces 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 in Season 5.
“The Infernal Hordes is an activity where you defeat hordes while earning Burning Aether to unlock powerful weapons and rewards,” said Blizzard, who provided the following overview of how the mode will work.
Infernal Hordes
- Infernal Hordes has time-limited waves that last 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 choose between three Infernal Sacrifices. Once selected, the next wave begins.
- Successfully defeat all waves in the level you are trying to advance to the Well of Hatred and then fight the Fell Council. After defeating the Fell Council, spend your Burning Aether on Spoils of Hell.
Hellish offer
If you beat every wave, Hell will tempt you with a hellish offer.
- With the Infernal offer you can choose from three different Boons & Banes that will customize your run. Choose a!
- Ex: Elite damage increased, Elites grant increased Burning Aether
- Choose wisely: Infernal Sacrifices stack up over the duration of your Infernal Hordes run. Many can be active at the same time!
- Infernal Offerings are your chance to increase the difficulty to earn more Burning Aether, or select a more modest Infernal Offering if the intensity is too great.
Burning ether
- Earn Burning Aether by defeating Aether Fiends and Aether Lords, or by destroying Soulspires and Aetheric Masses.
- Burning Aether is earned individually, regardless of whether you play solo or in a group. This way, at the end of your run, you can decide how to spend the money.
Booty from hell
- On a successful run, use Burning Aether to unlock Spoils of Hell. There are four different Spoils of Hell available when completing your Infernal Hordes run.
- Loot of equipment
- Spoilage of materials
- Loot of gold
- Loot from bigger equipment
- This Spoil of Hell guarantees an item with a larger affix!
Hellish compass
- There are 8 levels of Infernal Compasses, which scale in difficulty and world level.
- Each Infernal Compass tier increases the number of waves, starting at five for Levels I-III, going up to a maximum of 10 waves with a Level VIII Infernal Compass. It also increases the starting difficulty of Monsters and increases the power of your rewards, while decreasing the number of revives.
- Abyssal Scrolls can be earned and used to upgrade your Infernal Compass by upgrading their level. Infernal Compasses only release at levels I-III; Abyssal Scrolls are required to increase their level to a Max of Tier VIII.
Infernal Compasses can be used on the following levels and world levels:
- Level I
- Available at World Level III
- Level II
- Available at World Level IV
- Includes bonus affixes that increase crafting resources, and legendary and unique drop rates!
- Level III
- Available at level 100
- Includes bonus additions
- Includes loot from larger equipment
Diablo 4 Season 5 does not have an official title yet. The game’s Vessel of Hatred expansion, which will continue the story of Neyrelle and the Worldstone, will be released on October 8.