How to conquer the new Infernal Hordes event in Diablo 4 Season 5

Diablo 4 Season 5 features a new event called the Infernal Hordes. Where “Helltides were only the beginning of the horrors lying in wait,” this event sends you back to the Hells to fight against the endless waves of demonic hordes, attempting to hold back the tide. And collect some sweet rewards along the way, of course.

Here’s what you need to know to successfully run Infernal Hordes in Diablo 4 Season 5 when it launches August 6.

Step 1: Unlock Infernal Hordes

First, complete the new questline: The Eyes of the Enemy. The quest starts in Hawezar on World Tier 3 and only needs to be completed once on your account, after which the Infernal Hordes are permanently unlocked. Because Infernal Hordes are available on Eternal and Seasonal realms, you should be able to complete the unlock with your freshly moved-to-Eternal level 100 so your seasonal characters have access incredibly early. Sadly, our Hardcore friends have to perform the unlock independently.

Completing the quest provides your first (Tier 1) Infernal Compass to access the Realm of Hatred. After using that first compass, you’ll have a few methods to obtain more:

• Craft them at the Occultist with Sigil Power and Forgotten Souls
• Open Chests of Mystery and Chests of Steel or slay Doomsayers in Helltides.
• Open Whisper Caches — these are a 75% chance instead of a guarantee, but still not bad odds.
• Farm Nightmare Dungeons and The Pit — these can even be a higher tier than 3 (more below).

Infernal Compasses are the equivalent of a Nightmare Dungeon sigil but with eight difficulty tiers instead of 100. And each of these tiers changes more than just monster level! Here’s what you can expect from higher tiers:

• The number of waves you’ll need to knock out increases from five for Tiers 1-3 to a maximum of 10 for Tier 8.
• The starting difficulty of the monsters in the hordes increases.
• The potency of your rewards increases.
• Your available number of revives decreases!

You’ll only find Compass drops around the world for lower difficulty levels: Tiers 1-3. You’ll start getting Tier 1 Compasses at WT3, Tier 2 at WT4, and Tier 3 at level 100. Getting your Compass to Tiers 4-8 withouot returning to town requires Abyssal Scrolls, earned from Infernal Hordes and used solely to upgrade your Compass tier. Alternatively, you can farm end-game activities such as Nightmare Dungeons and The Pit for higher tier compasses. Remember, with the greater risk comes greater reward!

Step 2: Murder demons

All right, you’ve completed The Eyes of the Enemy, used your first Compass, and entered the Realm of Hatred. You’re good and ready for demonslaying. Now’s the time to tackle the Infernal Hordes — both the event and your target.

Killing the waves of demons is reminiscent of the wave events you see in the world or with cursed shrines. Waves are time-limited, lasting 60 seconds each, and your goal is to both  survive (you have a set number of revives like Nightmare Dungeons) and slaughter. Each wave has a few priorities: kill all the enemies from the wave and collect the Burning Aether (your currency for each run). Make sure you have your pet enabled — they’ll collect the Aether for you.

At the end of each wave, you’re presented with a choice from three Infernal Offer spires. The Offers are stacking modifiers applied to subsequent waves, including your final battle with the Fell Council. Infernal Offers consist of a Boon (in green text) and a Bane (in red text), which is part of the increasing challenge in higher tiers (having more waves). Blizzard provided an example where damage from Elites increases, but Elites also grant additional Burning Aether; this is a good example, as a lot of the Boons were focused on offering more Aether while the Banes seemed more varied in their options.

Burn through all the waves on your Compass and progress forward to battle the Fell Council, priests corrupted during the events of Diablo 2 who “became Champions of the very demon (Mephisto) they swore to oppose.” We’ve already had council-style fights in D4, like the World Tier 3 Capstone Dungeon, and this one is no different. You’re fighting three randomly-selected members of the council (out of the available five), each of whom have unique abilities. These fallen priests frenzy after you inflict enough damage, making the second half of the encounter more difficult. On defeat, they grant you Burning Aether to use for rewards, with the amount scaling based on your World Tier.

Step 3: Profit!

Yes, loot gets its own section. Remember those Burning Aether that you were collecting more and more of throughout the fight, sitting in its event currency icon in the top right of the screen? Get ready to spend it!

Starting out, you’ll have three Spoils of Hell options for spending Burning Aether: Spoils of Equipment, Spoils of Materials, and Spoils of Gold. The first two options have fixed costs of 20 Aether, while Spoils of Gold exchanges all remaining Aether for gold (so save this one for last). A fourth chest is added once you hit level 100 and unlock a Tier 3 Infernal Compass — the Spoils of Greater Equipment, which guarantees an item with a Greater Affix for 60 Aether. Frankly, this will be amazing for farming your endgame gear.

Burning Aether is earned individually (and can be collected by your pet), so whether you’re in a group or running solo, it’s up to you to spend. That said, your Aether resets between runs, so you can’t hoard it for a bigger payoff in your next run. Kind of a bummer, but very thematic for a rogue-like event — every run through the Infernal Horde is completely fresh, although you’re not losing everything when you die.

Sound like a lot? Never fear, the tl;dr is here! Here are the basics on running this new event:

• Unlock Infernal Hordes once for your account through the new eternal questline starting at World Tier 3.
• Use an Infernal Compass to open the Realm of Hatred; Compasses are earned from defeating bosses in the endgame ladder, Helltides, Nightmare Dungeons, and Whisper caches.
• Battle waves of Infernal Hordes (increasing in quantity and difficulty based on the Compass tier), accruing Burning Aether as you go. Choose wisely for your Infernal Offers between each wave, balancing Boons and Banes.
• Survive the Hordes to tackle the Fell Council for three potential Spoils of Hell (with an additional Spoils option starting at a Tier 3 Compass). Use your Burning Aether to open Spoils of Hell chests — and yes, you can technically open the same Spoils more than once!

Season 5 is pretty much here, and while it’s an abbreviated period we’re not lacking for activities prior to Vessel of Hatred. Strap on your hunting boots and face the Infernal Hordes for riches! We’ll see you in Sanctuary to tackle them starting August 6!

Originally published July 3, 2024. Updated August 2, 2024.