World Difficulties
With the launch of Season 6: Hatred Rising, significant changes have been made to the World Tier system. The traditional World Tiers 1 through 4 have been replaced with a new set of difficulty levels. Here is a breakdown of what you can expect:
- Normal and Hard: These two modes are unlocked by default.
- Expert: Unlocks after completing the prologue of the base game.
- Penitent: Unlocks after completing the base game or by skipping the main questline. If you have played previous seasons and create a new seasonal character, Penitent will be available immediately.
- Torment I: Unlocks at level 60 after completing Pit Tier 20.
- Torment II: Unlocks after completing Pit Tier 35.
- Torment III: Unlocks after completing Pit Tier 50.
- Torment IV: Unlocks after completing Pit Tier 65.
Normal is a slower-paced experience designed for players seeking a lighter challenge. Whereas Hard and Expert increases the difficulty for those looking to progress more quickly and take on greater challenges. Penitent is extremely difficult from the start, designed to test even seasoned players.
Torment Difficulties
Once you reach Torment difficulty, the true endgame begins. Each level of Torment introduces severe penalties to both armor and resistances. At these higher tiers, strategic gameplay and careful planning become essential for survival. Additionally, monsters now scale to the difficulty you select, which ensures that each level provides a distinct and growing challenge.
| Torment | Advantage | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Torment I | Monster kills grant 300% more gold and experience. | -250 Armor and -25% All Resistances |
| Torment II | Monster kills grant 400% more gold and experience. | -500 Armor and -50% All Resistances |
| Torment III | Monster kills grant 500% more gold and experience. | -750 Armor and -75% All Resistances |
| Torment IV | Monster kills grant 600% more gold and experience. | -1000 Armor and -100% All Resistances |
How to Progress – What to Do at Max Level?
If you are not quite sure where to start or how to progress, try following these steps as a simple guideline:
- Start on Normal and move to Hard once enemies feel too easy.
- Try Expert or Penitent only if Hard feels too simple during your leveling to 60. It depends on your gear, aspects, and build.
- After reaching Level 60, focus on gathering the right endgame gear. Helltides and Infernal Hordes are great for this. You can do them on Expert or Penitent difficulty to match your progress.
- Once your gear is ready, you can then begin Torment 1 and higher. Only increase the difficulty if you are breezing through enemies. Nonetheless, Torment’s penalties can be harsh, so move up carefully. Don’t forget that to increase the difficulty, you have to unlock Pit tiers as described above. This is a good test to see if you would be comfortable running through higher Torment difficulties.
- Nightmare dungeons can be run at any time and will adjust to your selected difficulty. Some activities, like the Citadel, Infernal Hordes, and The Pit, are considered endgame.
