Difficulties: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 19:28, 10 March 2025

Difficulties determine how challenging the game is from monster level and intelligence to the quality of items that can drop as loot or are rewarded for completing tasks. These replace World Tiers. These difficulties will apply to Diablo 4 with or without Vessel of Hatred.

There are two tiers of difficulty, Standard Difficulties where the character leveling up happens, and Torment Difficulties when you venture into the much more challenging endgame activities. Rising through the ranks of difficulty will reward you with more gold and experience and the higher you progress through the Torment difficulties the better your chances of getting Ancestral item drops.

Standard Difficulties

Normal - Slower-paced for those looking for a lighter challenge.
Hard - Increased challenge and pace which is unlocked by default.
Expert - Increased challenge and pace, unlocked after completing Diablo IV's prologue.
Penitent - Much more difficult and only unlocks when reaching character level 50.

Torment Difficulties

Torment difficulties are endgame difficulties and the rise through them is tied to The Pit and require that you venture down through their levels. You need to be level 60 (max level) before you can enter The Pit to begin with.

Torment Difficulties

Torment 1 - Requires that you beat a Tier 20 Pit and be level 60.
- The handicap of T1 is -250 Armor and -25% to all your resistances.
- Ancestral items can now drop.
Torment 2 - Requires that you beat a Tier 35 Pit.
- The handicap of T2 is -500 Armor and -50% to all your resistances.
Torment 3 - Requires that you beat a Tier 50 Pit.
- The handicap of T3 is -750 Armor and -75% to all your resistances.
Torment 4 - Requires that you beat a Tier 65 Pit.
- The handicap of T4 is -1000 Armor and -100% to all your resistances.

Difficulty progression is tied to The Pit to standardize difficulty throughout the game. So for example, if you are playing in Torment 1 difficulty, The Pit, Infernal Hordes, Boss Ladder, Whispers, Helltides, Dark Citadel will feel a uniform difficulty and therefore open up the options for challenging gameplay. Once you reach max level (60) you have an entire smorgasbord of viable activities where the monster health, damage, intensity*, and rewards feel more consistent.

Intensity determines monster:

Aggressiveness - Faster attacking, shorter cooldowns, and moving faster.
Intelligence - Predicts your movement more, faces you more, and tracks you with their attacks more accurately.

Monster level will no longer be displayed as now their difficulty scales with the difficulty level that you are playing on.

Smart keys (Infernal Hordes Compasses and Nightmare Dungeon Sigil) follow the current difficulty you are on. So, using a Compass whilst on Torment 3 will take you to a Torment 3 Infernal Horde arena.

No activity should feel like the poor man's version of endgame gameplay.

Changes to Difficulties

Patch 2.0, October 7, 2024

Difficulties replaced World Tiers in Season 6.

Patch 1.4.0, May 14, 2024

A version of Helltide has been introduced for World Tiers I and II, with the following adjustments:
- All Tortured Gifts are Mystery chests.
- No roaming bosses.
- Monster density adjusted to match expected difficulty of World Tier III and IV.
The bonus experience for World Tiers II, III and IV have been increased.
- World Tier I: Unchanged.
- World Tier II: Increased from 20% to 50%.
- World Tier III: Increased from 100% to 150%.
- World Tier IV: Increased from 200% to 250%.

Patch 1.2.0, October 17, 2023

World Tiers III & IV now apply a -25% and -50% penalty to Resistance to All Elements instead of a multiplier.

Patch 1.1.0a, July 18, 2023

World Tier II has had the following bonuses added:
- Bonus Gold: Increased from 15% to 20%.
- Monsters now drop 15% more items.
Level scaling inside dungeons and most overworld territories has been adjusted in World Tiers III and IV. Monsters will begin to trail behind the player in Level after a certain point (up to a maximum of 5 Levels behind). This change does not affect World Bosses, Legion Events, Fields of Hatred, Helltide, or Nightmare Dungeons.

Archive Difficulties

Sweeping changes to the difficulty system were made in Season 6. Before that we had World Tiers and all that old information is in the drop down below.

+ Expand to see the Archive of Difficulties.

World Tiers are levels of game difficulty. Their are four Tiers.

When You Start

When you load the game for the first time, it will prompt you to chose Adventurer or Veteran. If you are new to the game and have no idea about Diablo then take the easy route and pick Adventurer. Pick Veteran if you have played a Diablo game before.

Select your starting tier

Diablo 4 World Tiers (Difficulty Levels)

Torment levels detailed below are correct as of the Diablo 4 Beta test.

World Tier 1: Adventurer

Recommended for new players to Diablo or want a light challenge

Enemies are easy to defeat
Drops are average

We don't recommend starting on this tier, it will be a lot less of a challenge.

World Tier 2: Veteran

Recommended for Diablo veterans who want to be tested

Enemies will challenge you.
Monsters give 50% increased Experience.
Monsters drop 20% more gold.
Monsters drop more items.

World Tier 3: Nightmare

For players who desire more challenge.

Unlocked by completing the Cathedral of Light dungeon in Kyovashad (Map) in World Tier 2: Veteran.
Recommended Level: 50
Champion monsters with damage resistance auras can appear.
Sacred items and new Unique items can drop.
Nightmare Sigils can drop which unseal Nightmare Dungeons.
Monsters 150% more experience.
Monsters drop 20% more gold.
Your Resistances to All Elements are reduced by 25%

World Tier 4: Torment

Even stronger challenges await in the dark.

Unlocked by completing the Fallen Temple dungeon (Map) in World Tier 3: Nightmare in the Dry Steppes.
Recommended Level: 70+
Ancestral items can drop.
Enemies are more fearsome.
Monsters give 250% increased Experience
Monsters drop 20% more gold.
Your Resistances to All Elements are reduced by 50%

When can you access a new World Tier?

Players have to complete and end-cap dungeon to progress to a new World Tier. These dungeons are larger and more deadly than other dungeons on the game and will prove a real challenge.

How do you select World Tiers?

In the centre of Kyovashad there is a World Tier statue which if you click will pop up this interface.

Changing your World Tier terminates all active portals and resets all incomplete Whisper progress. Players will need to be on the same World Tier to form a party.

How will the game become more challenging?

Higher World Tiers will be more challenging with monsters being tougher and new monster mechanics come into play.

Changes to World Tiers

Blizzard had changed the difficulty levels by the time the the beta launched. Previously there had been five levels with Hell being the fourth level and Torment the fifth. The Hell naming was removed and changed to Torment making only four World Tiers as of the Diablo 4 Beta.

Old screenshot of World Tiers pre-beta.

World Tier 4: Hell

Even stronger challenges await in the dark.

Unlocked by completing the Fallen Temple dungeon in World Tier 3: Nightmare.
Recommended Level: 60 [PH]
Sacred items drop more frequently.
Rare Nightmare Sigils unsealing more difficult challenges are unlocked.
Non-Physical resistances are reduced by 30%.

World Tier 5: Torment

Fight the strongest, most fierce demons in all of Sanctuary.

Unlocked by completing the Archives of Issalia dungeon in World Tier 4: Hell.
Recommended Level: 100
Ancestral items have a low chance of dropping.
New Unique items can be found.
Non-Physical resistances are reduced by 40%.

Previous Diablo Games

Diablo 1 / Diablo 2

Diablo1 and Diablo 2 gave players the options of Normal, Nightmare and Hell.

Diablo 1

Hellfire supported Nightmare and Hell difficulty for single player characters, this is not a feature in the regular Diablo. In regular D1, you can only play NM and Hell with multiplayer characters. (You must be level 20+ to create a Nightmare game, or level 30+ to create a hell game.

Nightmare and Hell can be enabled for single player characters with this trick .

Start a multiplayer game on Nightmare or Hell, exit it (after however long), and then
AStart a new game with a single player character.
The single player game will be whatever difficulty the last multiplayer game was.
You must do this in the same play session (i.e. without closing and restarting Diablo)

Multilayer monsters will now have have double the hit points and other elements of the game are increased in difficulty as well.

Diablo 2

Normal, Nightmare and Hell returned in Diablo 2. See Diablo 2 Difficulties page for full details on how they differ from each other.

Diablo 3

Diablo 3 changed the difficulty settings from the previous two games. Monsters changed in the following ways^[1]:

Normal: 100% Health, 100% Damage, 0% extra gold bonus, 0% extra XP bonus
Hard: 200% Health, 130% Damage, 75% extra gold bonus, 75% extra XP bonus
Expert: 320% Health, 189% Damage, 100% extra gold bonus, 100% extra XP bonus
Master: 512% Health, 273% Damage, 200% extra gold bonus, 200% extra XP bonus
Torment I: 819% Health, 396% Damage, 300% extra gold bonus, 300% extra XP bonus
Torment II: 1311% Health, 575% Damage, 400% extra gold bonus, 400% extra XP bonus
Torment III: 2097% Health, 833% Damage, 550% extra gold bonus, 550% extra XP bonus
Torment IV: 3355% Health, 1208% Damage, 800% extra gold bonus, 800% extra XP bonus
Torment V: 5369% Health, 1752% Damage, 1150% extra gold bonus, 1150% extra XP bonus
Torment VI: 8590% Health, 2540% Damage, 1600% extra gold bonus, 1600% extra XP bonus
Torment VII: 18985% Health, 3604% Damage, 1850% extra gold bonus, 1900% extra XP bonus
Torment VIII: 41625% Health, 5097% Damage, 2150% extra gold bonus, 2425% extra XP bonus
Torment IX: 91260% Health, 7208% Damage, 2500% extra gold bonus, 3100% extra XP bonus
Torment X: 200082% Health, 10194% Damage, 2900% extra gold bonus, 4000% extra XP bonus
Torment XI: 438669% Health, 14416% Damage, 3350% extra gold bonus, 5000% extra XP bonus
Torment XII: 961759% Health, 20387% Damage, 3900% extra gold bonus, 6400% extra XP bonus
Torment XIII: 2108607% Health, 28832% Damage, 4500% extra gold bonus, 8200% extra XP bonus
Torment XIV: 2889383% Health, 40774% Damage, 5200% extra gold bonus, 10500% extra XP bonus
Torment XV: 6334823% Health, 57664% Damage, 6050% extra gold bonus, 13400% extra XP bonus
Torment XVI: 13888770% Health, 64725% Damage, 7000% extra gold bonus, 17000% extra XP bonus

↑ Difficulty Levels

[1] Difficulty Levels

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 '''Difficulties''' determine how challenging the game is from monster level and intelligence to the quality of [[items]] that can drop as loot or are rewarded for completing tasks.  These replace World Tiers.  These difficulties will apply to Diablo 4 with or without [[Vessel of Hatred]].
-There are two tiers of difficulty, Standard Difficulties where the character leveling up happens, and Torment Difficulties when you venture into the much more challenging [[endgame]] activities.
+There are two tiers of difficulty, Standard Difficulties where the character leveling up happens, and Torment Difficulties when you venture into the much more challenging [[endgame]] activities.  Rising through the ranks of difficulty will reward you with more gold and experience and the higher you progress through the Torment difficulties the better your chances of getting Ancestral item drops.
+[[File:Standard Difficulties.webp|alt=Standard Difficulties|thumb|Standard Difficulties]]
 ==Standard Difficulties==
@@ Line 9: / Line 11: @@
 * Expert - Increased challenge and pace, unlocked after completing Diablo IV's prologue.
 * Penitent - Much more difficult and only unlocks when reaching character level 50.
 ==Torment Difficulties==
-Torment difficulties and the rise through them are tied to [[The Pit]] and require that you venture down through their levels.  You need to be level 60 before you can enter The Pit to begin with.
+Torment difficulties are [[endgame]] difficulties and the rise through them is tied to [[The Pit]] and require that you venture down through their levels.  You need to be level 60 (max level) before you can enter The Pit to begin with.
+[[File:Torment difficulties.jpg|alt=Torment Difficulties|thumb|Torment Difficulties]]
+* Torment 1 - Requires that you beat a Tier 20 Pit and be level 60.
+**The handicap of T1 is -250 Armor and -25% to all your resistances.
+**Ancestral items can now drop.
+* Torment 2 - Requires that you beat a Tier 35 Pit.
+**The handicap of T2 is -500 Armor and -50% to all your resistances.
+* Torment 3 - Requires that you beat a Tier 50 Pit.
+**The handicap of T3 is -750 Armor and -75% to all your resistances.
+* Torment 4 - Requires that you beat a Tier 65 Pit.
+**The handicap of T4 is -1000 Armor and -100% to all your resistances.
-* Torment 1 - Requires that you beat a Tier 20 Pit. The handicap of T1 is -250 Armor and -25% to all your resistances. Ancestral items can drop.
+Difficulty progression is tied to The Pit to standardize difficulty throughout the game.  So for example, if you are playing in Torment 1 difficulty, [[The Pit]], [[Infernal Hordes]], [[Boss Ladder]], [[Whispers]], [[Helltides]], [[Dark Citadel]] will feel a uniform difficulty and therefore open up the options for challenging gameplay. Once you reach max level (60) you have an entire smorgasbord of viable activities where the monster health, damage, intensity<nowiki>*</nowiki>, and rewards feel more consistent.
-* Torment 2 - Requires that you beat a Tier 35 Pit. The handicap of T2 is -500 Armor and -50% to all your resistances.
-* Torment 3 - Requires that you beat a Tier 50 Pit. The handicap of T3 is -750 Armor and -75% to all your resistances.
-* Torment 4 - Requires that you beat a Tier 65 Pit. The handicap of T4 is -1000 Armor and -100% to all your resistances.
-Difficulties progression is tied to The Pit in order to standardize difficulty throughout the game.  So for example, if you are playing in Torment 1 difficulty, [[The Pit]], [[Infernal Hordes]], [[Boss Ladder]], [[Whispers]], [[Helltides]], [[Dark Citadel]] will feel a uniform difficulty and therefore open up the options for challenging gameplay. Monster level will no longer be displayed as their difficulty scales with the difficulty level that you are playing on.
+:Intensity determines monster:
+:# Aggressiveness - Faster attacking, shorter cooldowns, and moving faster.
+:# Intelligence - Predicts your movement more, faces you more, and tracks you with their attacks more accurately.
+<span class='white'>Monster level</span> will no longer be displayed as now their difficulty scales with the difficulty level that you are playing on.
+<span class='white'>Smart keys</span> ([[Infernal Hordes Compass]]es and [[Nightmare Dungeon Sigil]]) follow the current difficulty you are on.  So, using a Compass whilst on Torment 3 will take you to a Torment 3 Infernal Horde arena.
 No activity should feel like the poor man's version of endgame gameplay.
@@ Line 28: / Line 46: @@
 [[Patch 2-0|Patch 2.0]], October 7, 2024
-* Added to the game in [[Season 6]].
+* Difficulties replaced World Tiers in [[Season 6]].
+{{Patch Date Season 4}}
+*A version of Helltide has been introduced for World Tiers I and II, with the following adjustments:
+**All Tortured Gifts are Mystery chests.
+**No roaming bosses.
+**Monster density adjusted to match expected difficulty of World Tier III and IV.
+*The bonus experience for World Tiers II, III and IV have been increased.
+**World Tier I: Unchanged.
+**World Tier II: Increased from 20% to 50%.
+**World Tier III: Increased from 100% to 150%.
+**World Tier IV: Increased from 200% to 250%.
+[[Patch 1-2-0|Patch 1.2.0]], October 17, 2023
+*World Tiers III & IV now apply a -25% and -50% penalty to Resistance to All Elements instead of a multiplier.
+[[Patch 1-1-0a|Patch 1.1.0a]], July 18, 2023
+*World Tier II has had the following bonuses added:
+**Bonus Gold: Increased from 15% to 20%.
+**Monsters now drop 15% more items.
+*Level scaling inside dungeons and most overworld territories has been adjusted in World Tiers III and IV. Monsters will begin to trail behind the player in Level after a certain point (up to a maximum of 5 Levels behind). This change does not affect World Bosses, Legion Events, Fields of Hatred, Helltide, or Nightmare Dungeons.
+<hr>
+== Archive {{PAGENAME}} ==
+Sweeping changes to the difficulty system were made in [[Season 6]]. Before that we had World Tiers and all that old information is in the drop down below.
+{| class="skillfeatures mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width: 100%;"
+!<big>+</big> Expand to see the Archive of Difficulties.
+|-
+|
+'''World Tiers''' are levels of game difficulty.   Their are four Tiers.
+== When You Start ==
+When you load the game for the first time, it will prompt you to chose Adventurer or Veteran. If you are new to the game and have no idea about Diablo then take the easy route and pick Adventurer. Pick Veteran if you have played a Diablo game before.
+[[File:Select your starting tier.jpg|alt=Select your starting tier|center|thumb|Select your starting tier]]
+== Diablo 4 World Tiers (Difficulty Levels) ==
+Torment levels detailed below are correct as of the Diablo 4 Beta test.
+[[File:World-Tier-1-1.png|alt=World Tier 1|right|frameless]]
+=== World Tier 1: Adventurer ===
+Recommended for '''new''' players to Diablo or want a light challenge
+* Enemies are easy to defeat
+* Drops are average
+We don't recommend starting on this tier, it will be a lot less of a challenge.[[File:World-Tier-2-2.png|alt=World Tier 2|right|frameless]]
+=== World Tier 2: Veteran ===
+Recommended for Diablo veterans who want to be tested
+* Enemies will challenge you.
+* Monsters give 50% increased Experience.
+* Monsters drop 20% more [[gold]].
+* Monsters drop more items.
+[[File:World-Tier-3-3.png|alt=World Tier 3|right|frameless]]
+=== World Tier 3: Nightmare ===
+For players who desire more challenge.
+* Unlocked by completing the [[Cathedral of Light]] dungeon in Kyovashad ([https://www.purediablo.com/diablo4/map/#id=ffc80839-5f48-4b6d-9113-731e81c6ad2f Map]) in World Tier 2: Veteran.
+* Recommended Level: 50
+* Champion monsters with damage resistance auras can appear.
+* Sacred items and new [[Uniques|Unique]] items can drop.
+* Nightmare [[Sigils]] can drop which unseal [[Nightmare Dungeons]].
+* Monsters 150% more experience.
+* Monsters drop 20% more gold.
+* Your Resistances to All Elements are reduced by 25%
+[[File:World-Tier-4-4.png|alt=World Tier 4|right|frameless]]
+=== World Tier 4: Torment ===
+Even stronger challenges await in the dark.
+* Unlocked by completing the Fallen Temple dungeon ([https://www.purediablo.com/diablo4/map/#id=6d681e4c-96b6-4871-b2ef-fa4271e3a04f Map]) in World Tier 3: Nightmare in the [[Dry Steppes]].
+* Recommended Level: 70+
+* Ancestral items can drop.
+* Enemies are more fearsome.
+* Monsters give 250% increased Experience
+* Monsters drop 20% more gold.
+* Your Resistances to All Elements are reduced by 50%
+== When can you access a new World Tier? ==
+Players have to complete and end-cap dungeon to progress to a new World Tier. These dungeons are larger and more deadly than other dungeons on the game and will prove a real challenge.
+== How do you select World Tiers? ==
+In the centre of [[Kyovashad]] there is a World Tier statue which if you click will pop up this interface.
+Changing your World Tier terminates all active portals and resets all incomplete Whisper progress.  Players will need to be on the same World Tier to form a party.
+== How will the  game become more challenging? ==
+Higher World Tiers will be more challenging with monsters being tougher and new monster mechanics come into play.
+== Changes to World Tiers==
+[[Blizzard]] had changed the difficulty levels by the time the the beta launched. Previously there had been five levels with Hell being the fourth level and Torment the fifth. The Hell naming was removed and changed to Torment making only four World Tiers as of the Diablo 4 Beta.
+[[File:World Tiers.jpg|alt=World Tiers selection interface|870x870px|Old screenshot of World Tiers pre-beta.|none|thumb]][[File:World-Tier-4-4.png|alt=World Tier 4|right|frameless]]
+=== World Tier 4: Hell ===
+Even stronger challenges await in the dark.
+* Unlocked by completing the Fallen Temple dungeon in World Tier 3: Nightmare.
+* Recommended Level: 60 [PH]
+* Sacred items drop more frequently.
+* Rare Nightmare Sigils unsealing more difficult challenges are unlocked.
+* Non-Physical resistances are reduced by 30%.
+[[File:World-Tier-5-5.png|alt=World Tier 5|right|frameless]]
+=== World Tier 5: Torment ===
+Fight the strongest, most fierce [[demons]] in all of [[Sanctuary]].
+* Unlocked by completing the Archives of Issalia dungeon in World Tier 4: Hell.
+* Recommended Level: 100
+* Ancestral items have a low chance of dropping.
+* New [[Unique Items|Unique items]] can be found.
+* Non-Physical resistances are reduced by 40%.
+== Previous Diablo Games ==
+=== Diablo 1 / Diablo 2 ===
+Diablo1 and Diablo 2 gave players the options of Normal, Nightmare and Hell.
+==== Diablo 1 ====
+Hellfire supported Nightmare and Hell difficulty for single player characters, this is not a feature in the regular Diablo. In regular D1, you can only play NM and Hell with multiplayer characters. (You must be level 20+ to create a Nightmare game, or level 30+ to create a hell game.
+Nightmare and Hell can be enabled for single player characters with this trick .
+*Start a multiplayer game on Nightmare or Hell, exit it (after however long), and then
+*AStart a new game with a single player character.
+*The single player game will be whatever difficulty the last multiplayer game was.
+*You must do this in the same play session (i.e. without closing and restarting ''Diablo'')
+Multilayer monsters  will now have have double the hit points and other elements of the game are increased in difficulty as well.
+==== Diablo 2 ====
+Normal, Nightmare and Hell returned in Diablo 2.  See [https://www.purediablo.com/diablo-2/diablo-2-difficulty-levels/ Diablo 2 Difficulties page] for full details on how they differ from each other.
+=== Diablo 3 ===
+Diablo 3 changed the difficulty settings from the previous two games. Monsters changed in the following ways<ref>[https://eu.diablo3.blizzard.com/en-us/game/guide/gameplay/game-difficulty Difficulty Levels]</ref>:
+*'''Normal:''' 100% Health, 100% Damage, 0% extra gold bonus, 0% extra XP bonus
+*'''Hard:''' 200% Health, 130% Damage, 75% extra gold bonus, 75% extra XP bonus
+*'''Expert:''' 320% Health, 189% Damage, 100% extra gold bonus, 100% extra XP bonus
+*'''Master:''' 512% Health, 273% Damage, 200% extra gold bonus, 200% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment I:''' 819% Health, 396% Damage, 300% extra gold bonus, 300% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment II:''' 1311% Health, 575% Damage, 400% extra gold bonus, 400% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment III:''' 2097% Health, 833% Damage, 550% extra gold bonus, 550% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment IV:''' 3355% Health, 1208% Damage, 800% extra gold bonus, 800% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment V:''' 5369% Health, 1752% Damage, 1150% extra gold bonus, 1150% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment VI:''' 8590% Health, 2540% Damage, 1600% extra gold bonus, 1600% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment VII:''' 18985% Health, 3604% Damage, 1850% extra gold bonus, 1900% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment VIII:''' 41625% Health, 5097% Damage, 2150% extra gold bonus, 2425% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment IX:''' 91260% Health, 7208% Damage, 2500% extra gold bonus, 3100% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment X:''' 200082% Health, 10194% Damage, 2900% extra gold bonus, 4000% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment XI:''' 438669% Health, 14416% Damage, 3350% extra gold bonus, 5000% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment XII:''' 961759% Health, 20387% Damage, 3900% extra gold bonus, 6400% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment XIII:''' 2108607% Health, 28832% Damage, 4500% extra gold bonus, 8200% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment XIV:''' 2889383% Health, 40774% Damage, 5200% extra gold bonus, 10500% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment XV:''' 6334823% Health, 57664% Damage, 6050% extra gold bonus, 13400% extra XP bonus
+*'''Torment XVI:''' 13888770% Health, 64725% Damage, 7000% extra gold bonus, 17000% extra XP bonus
+<references />
+[[category:Basics]] [[category:Mechanics]]
+__NOEDITSECTION__
+|}
 [[Category:Basics]]
 [[Category:Mechanics]]