Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes Guide

Season 5 of Diablo 4 introduced another challenge – Infernal Hordes. This guide will walk you through everything you need to succeed, from unlocking this intense mode to mastering its tiers, maximizing your rewards, and taking down the powerful bosses that stand in your way.

Getting Started With Infernal Hordes

What is Infernal Hordes

Infernal Hordes is an endgame survival mode where you face waves of increasingly difficult enemies, culminating in a showdown with a formidable boss. This mode is tailored for players who have reached World Tier 3, offering a challenging and strategic experience. Just like Nightmare Dungeons, the difficulty can be customized using items such as Infernal Compasses and Abyssal Scrolls. Ask LepreStore for help if you want your characters to be leveled up and prepared for any of your adventures.

Unlocking the Mode

To gain access to Infernal Hordes, you must complete the The Eyes of the Enemy questline. This quest becomes available once you enter World Tier 3. Here’s how to get started:

Initiate the Quest – travel to Zarbinzet in Hawezar and speak with Istel.

Complete the Questline – follow the objectives to receive your first Infernal Compass, which unlocks the initial difficulty level.

Advance to Higher Tiers – completing the first level allows you to upgrade your Infernal Compass, giving you access to more challenging tiers.

Infernal Compasses can also be found as world drops or crafted, allowing you to continue progressing through the tiers seamlessly.

Tiers And Progression: Climbing The Infernal Ladder

Infernal Hordes features eight distinct tiers, each bringing more formidable foes and higher stakes. Here’s a breakdown:

Tier	Monster Level	Number of Waves	Available Revives
1	60	5	8
2	80	5	5
3	100	5	3
4	120	6	3
5	140	7	3
6	160	8	3
7	180	9	2
8	200	10	2

Progression Tips

Infernal Compasses – essential for moving through the tiers, these can be acquired through Whisper Caches, Helltide Chests, or by completing Nightmare Dungeons.
Wave Management – each wave must be completed within a 60-second timer. Maximize your efficiency by focusing on high-damage strategies to defeat enemies quickly and collect Burning Aether.

Currency And Rewards: Managing Your Burning Aether

Burning Aether is the currency you’ll earn during Infernal Hordes runs. It’s crucial for acquiring powerful rewards that can enhance your character’s capabilities.

Spending Burning Aether – you can spend Burning Aether on Spoils of Hell chests, which offer a variety of valuable items:

Spoils of Equipment – contains Legendary, Unique, or Mythic Unique items (cost: 20 Aether).
Spoils of Greater Equipment – guarantees GA rolls on higher-tier items (cost: 60 Aether).
Spoils of Materials – provides crafting materials such as Herbs, Ores, and Abyssal Scrolls (cost: 20 Aether).
Spoils of Gold – converts all your Aether into Gold, perfect for those needing extra currency.

Strategic Spending

You can either save your Burning Aether for high-value rewards or spend it incrementally for consistent upgrades. Deciding how to allocate your Aether adds an extra layer of strategy to your gameplay.

Infernal Offers: Balancing Boons And Banes

After each wave in Infernal Hordes, you’ll be presented with Infernal Offers—choices that give you one Boon (a beneficial effect) and one Bane (a detrimental effect). These stack as you progress, making your decisions increasingly impactful.

Infernal Offer	Bane	Boon	Rarity
The Burning Rain	Hellfire rains upon you	Spawns 1-3 Aether at the end of each wave	Common
The Exalted Hordes	Normal monster damage +25%	Killing them spawns Aether Events +50% faster	Common
The Gorging Masses	Slaying Aetheric Mass slows you (8s)	While slowed, you have unlimited resources	Common
The Surging Elites	Chance for Elite to spawn is doubled	Aether Fiends grant +2 Aether	Rare
The Exalted Council	Fell Council damage +50%	Defeating them grants +15 Aether	Legendary
The Stalking Devil	An Infernal Demon has your scent	Slay it to gain +25 Aether	Unique

Decision-Making Tips

Boon vs. Bane – carefully consider how each Boon and Bane will affect your strategy. For example, if you’re confident in your ability to handle increased monster damage, choosing a Boon that boosts your Aether gain might be worth the trade-off.
Stacking Effects – as you progress, the effects of your choices will stack, making each wave more challenging but potentially more rewarding.

Boss Battles: Facing The Fell Council

At the end of an Infernal Hordes session, you’ll encounter one of five Fell Council bosses. Each run features three of these bosses, creating a variety of possible encounters that require different strategies.

The Fell Council Bosses

Bremm the Maelstrom – specializes in water and lightning attacks with significant AoE damage.
Geleb the Flame – Masters fire-based damage over time and battlefield control.
Ismail the Accursed – utilizes curses and shadow magic to weaken defenses and inflict burst damage.
Maffer the Cruel – focuses on powerful, close-range physical attacks.
Wyand the Shadow – employs shadow and poison abilities to drain health and control the battlefield.

Strategy Guide

Know Your Enemy – each boss has unique strengths and weaknesses. Study their attack patterns and plan your strategy accordingly.
Adapt and Overcome – as the bosses grow stronger with each encounter, be prepared to adjust your tactics to overcome these formidable foes.

If you want to have your character prepared for any Diablo 4 activity you can always get an Endgame Bundle and get as much assistance as you need at LepreStore.

Unique Rewards: Infernal Hordes Uniques

Infernal Hordes offers an increased chance of obtaining specific Unique items, each tailored to one of Diablo 4’s five classes. Here’s what you can aim for:

Vox Omnium (Sorcerer) – boosts elemental spells.
The Basilisk (Druid) – enhances nature-based abilities.
The Third Blade (Barbarian) – increases physical damage and attack speed.
The Mortacrux (Necromancer) – amplifies necromantic spells and summoning abilities.
The Umbracrux (Rogue) – increases critical hit chance and enhances stealth.
Shard of Verathiel (All Classes) – a versatile shard usable by any class, providing mixed bonuses.

Collecting Uniques

These powerful Uniques are crucial for optimizing your build and facing the most difficult challenges in Diablo 4’s endgame.

Top Builds for Infernal Hordes Success

Your build choice can make or break your success in Infernal Hordes. Here’s a breakdown of the best builds:

S-Tier: Lightning Spear Sorcerer (Extremely strong with decent CDR gear).
A-Tier: Andariel Barrage Rogue (High boss damage), Stormslide Druid (Great AoE and damage).
B-Tier: Whirlwind Barbarian (Good AoE but struggles against bosses), Blood Surge Necromancer (Better AoE, lacking boss damage), Bone Spirit Necromancer (High damage, lacking AoE).

Build Essentials

Key attributes for these builds include high mobility, strong crowd control, and consistent damage output. Efficient health and resource management are also critical, especially in higher tiers where the difficulty ramps up.

The Challenge Awaits: How Tough is Infernal Hordes?

Infernal Hordes is designed to push even the most experienced players to their limits. The difficulty scales with each wave, with limited revives adding to the pressure. Success in this mode requires adaptability, strategic planning, and flawless execution under stress.

Conclusion: Conquer The Infernal Hordes

With this guide, you’re now equipped to tackle the challenges of Infernal Hordes in Diablo 4 Season 5. From unlocking the mode to defeating the toughest bosses, Infernal Hordes offers a rewarding and intense experience that tests your skills and strategy. Whether you’re hunting for powerful Uniques, gathering Burning Aether, or simply enjoying the thrill of survival, this endgame content is sure to keep you engaged. Prepare yourself, refine your tactics, and may your journey in Sanctuary be filled with success. Feel free to ask for any help in Leprestore if you’re struggling or having questions.