Diablo 4 opens the Tower and leaderboards, but they’re in beta (and they aren’t for farming loot, so is this even Diablo?)

The Tower recently launched in Diablo 4, adding the long-awaited leaderboard system to the game. If you enjoy running timed experiences, trying to complete higher and higher tiers with faster times so you can climb to the top ranks of the leaderboards, then the Tower is for you. But before you start your run, you do need to keep in mind that the Tower went live in beta, and so it remains as Blizzard works out the kinks (and, hopefully, makes sure that the finished product meets player expectations). So be aware there could still be bugs or other problems.

The Tower also doesn’t exist for farming loot the way activities like The Pit of Artificers or Kurast Undercity do, but there are cosmetic rewards available and a few surprise rewards for clearing a new difficulty tier… or at least that’s what I’ve been told. So far, I haven’t gotten any rewards but I admit I’m not great at timed event runs.

And the faster you can run a Tower and the higher tier of difficulty you can clear in it — so far 35 is my personal best, but heck I’m legally blind so I think solo clearing any tier is pretty good — the better your score on the leaderboard will be. There are leaderboards for solo runs for every class, two player groups, three player groups, and four player groups. So far, it looks like Paladins are doing pretty well, based on my admittedly cursory scan of each class’ boards.

It’s easy to start a run of the Tower: just visit the Artificer’s Obelisk in Cerrigar, the same place you start a Pit run. Click on the Obelisk, then select the game mode and difficulty level that you want. Once you’re in, the gameplay is relatively straightforward… and fairly familiar. Ultimately, if you remember Greater Rifts from Diablo 3, or the Pit or Kurast Undercity in Diablo 4, the Tower isn’t vastly different. It’s timed almost exactly the same as the Pit, but without power-based rewards — but it’s not like Diablo 4’s endgame doesn’t have enough places to farm gear already. The entire goal is to farm gear elsewhere, get your build set, and then run the Tower as fast as you can to climb the ranks and get yourself on those leaderboards.

So if you’re hungry for loot, the Tower is of limited appeal. But if you’re looking for bragging rights, the Tower is exactly what you want.

Blizzard intends to continue developing the Tower based on player feedback, so submit your feedback on the forums for the Tower and the leaderboards.