Blizzard has announced details of Diablo 4’s fifth season, which will include a wave-based survival mode.
The studio outlined some of its plans for Season 5 in a Campfire Chat video (above) and a blog post ahead of the launch of Diablo 4’s second Public Test Realm (PTR) this week.
The new PTR, where players can 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 quest line following the events of the main campaign that will be available in both Seasonal and Eternal Realms.
Completing it will unlock Infernal Hordes, a wave-based survival mode coming with Season 5.
“Infernal Hordes is an activity where you destroy hordes and earn Burning Aether to unlock powerful weapons and rewards,” Blizzard said, providing 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 Hell Run.
- After 90 seconds, kill the remaining enemies and choose one of three infernal offers. Once you choose one, the next wave begins.
- Successfully kill all waves in the stage where you wish to advance to the Well of Hatred, then fight the Cruel Council. After defeating the Cruel Council, spend your Burning Aether on Infernal Loot.
Infernal offer
After defeating each wave, Hell will tempt you with a hellish offer.
- The Hell Offering gives you a choice of three different blessings and curses that modify your run. Choose one!
- Example: Elite damage increased, elites grant more Burning Aether
- Choose wisely – Infernal Offers stack for the duration of your Infernal Horde run. Multiple can be active at once!
- Infernal Offerings allow you to increase the difficulty to earn more Burning Aether, or if the intensity is too much, you can choose a more modest Infernal Offering.
Burning Aether
- Earn Burning Aether by killing Aether Devils and Aether Lords, or destroying Soul Towers and Aether Masses.
- Burning Aether is earned individually, whether you’re playing alone or in a group, so you can decide how to spend it at the end of your run.
Prey of Hell
- On a successful run, you will use Burning Aether to unlock Spoils of Hell. After completing your Infernal Hordes run, you will have four different Spoils of Hell available to you.
- Equipment Loot
- Material loot
- Gold Loot
- Loot of great equipment
- This hellish loot guarantees an item with a larger affix!
Hell Compass
- There are 8 levels of Hell Compasses that scale in difficulty and world level.
- Each level of the Hell Compass increases the number of waves, starting at five for levels I-III, up to a maximum of 10 waves with a level VIII Hell Compass. It also increases the initial difficulty of the monsters and the effectiveness of your rewards, while the number of your revivals decreases.
- Abyssal Scrolls can be earned and used to upgrade your Infernal Compass by increasing its level. Infernal Compasses only drop at levels I-III; Abyssal Scrolls are needed to increase its level to a maximum of level VIII.
Hell Compasses can be used on the following planes and world levels:
- Level I
- Available at World Rank III
- Level II
- Available at World Tier IV
- Contains bonus affixes that increase crafting materials and drop rates of legendary and unique items!
- Level III
- Available from level 100
- Contains bonus affixes
- Includes loot of great gear
The official title of Diablo 4 Season 5 is still pending. The Vessel of Hatred expansion, which continues the story of Neyrelle and the Worldstone, will be released on October 8th.