Endgame
The endgame path
Diablo IV's endgame is a set of activities that feed each other. This page gives you an order to approach them in, then details every activity: how to unlock it, how it works, what it pays and what Season 15 changed.
What should I do next?
CGN A suggested order, built from what each activity pays. Blizzard does not prescribe one.
Finish the campaign and reach level 70
Lord of Hatred's campaign ends in Temis, the endgame hub. Once done on any character, you can skip the story on others. Set a Loot Filter before you start.
Move up World Tiers
Torment I to XII grants more experience, gold and better drops each step. Blizzard raised bonus experience at the top (Torment XII to 1700%) and made Expert and Penitent available after the Prologue in 3.2.1. Lair Bosses need Torment I.
Establish your build's core
Get the Unique, Aspect or Charm set that defines your build. Builds lists what each one depends on; Gear explains how to make it.
Start War Plans
After the Lord of Hatred campaign, build a playlist at the table in Temis. The trees give each activity upgrades, and Season 15 shares your progress across characters. War Plans
Use the Cube and Talisman to close gaps
Aim at the stats you lack, finish your Charm set, then consider Transfiguration last. Horadric Cube · Talisman
Farm targets
Lair Bosses for Uniques and Mythic Uniques, Kurast Undercity Tributes for targeted gear, Helltides and Whispers for materials and keys. Bosses and keys
Push and test
Use the Pit and, on Seasonal, the Tower to measure your build. Echoing Hatred is the endless arena, entered with a rare Trace of Echoes.
By goal
CGN Where to spend time for what you need.
| If you need | Try | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Experience | The Pit at high tiers, Kurast Undercity, Whispers, War Plans | Blizzard raised Pit tier bonuses, War Plans experience and Whisper cache orbs in 3.2.1, and doubled Undercity's Jade Epiphany orbs. |
| Legendary and Unique gear | Kurast Undercity (Armaments Tributes), Infernal Hordes, Lair Bosses | Armaments Tributes target legendaries; Hordes' Spoils can guarantee Ancestral gear; Lair Bosses drop from their own Unique pools. |
| Horadric Cube materials | Kurast Undercity (Ingenuity Tributes), Whisper caches, Elites, War Plans | Blizzard names these as the main Cube material sources and boosted Whisper cube caches by two to three times. |
| Mythic Uniques | Lair Bosses, Belial and Echo of Mephisto, the Blacksmith's Mythic cache | Mythic odds rose from Initiate Lair Bosses and Echo of Mephisto now guarantees one. |
| Glyph levels | The Pit | Pit clears grant glyph upgrade attempts. |
| A challenge | The Tower and Echoing Hatred | Escalating tiers designed to test builds. |
Every activity
Unlocks and mechanics come from Blizzard where it says something and from dated Maxroll guides otherwise. Guides dated before September may miss 3.2.1 changes; the Season 15 line on each shows what Blizzard changed.
The Pit Base game
- Unlock
- Seasonal: clear the Hellish Descent capstone dungeon (Season Rank II). Eternal: level 70. Enter from the obelisk in the city hub.
- How it works
- A timed run of five random floors. Kill enough monsters within 15 minutes to summon a boss, then beat the boss before the timer ends to raise your glyphs and unlock higher tiers. Tiers climb to 150.
- What it pays
- Glyph upgrades (4 attempts, plus 1 if you do not die, plus up to 4 from the War Plans tree), experience, gear and materials.
- Season 15
- Mephisto's Splinter of Hatred modifies the Pit when you carry it. Bonus experience from high Pit tiers was raised (Tier 150 from 1800% to 2700%) and the Choron's Soul node now doubles progress-orb experience.
- War Plans
- Can be part of a War Plan.
Source: Maxroll: The Artificer's Pit (Jul 16, 2026) ↗. Verified September 29, 2026.
Helltides Base game
- Unlock
- Available from character creation on Seasonal realms; Normal difficulty onward.
- How it works
- An open-world event that starts at the top of every hour and lasts 55 minutes in four connected zones. Enemies are stronger, Aberrant Cinders drop, and you spend them on Tortured Gifts. Torment difficulties add roaming bosses and meteor showers.
- What it pays
- Forgotten Souls, Legendary and Unique loot, Lair Keys and experience.
- Season 15
- Diablo's Splinter of Terror modifies Helltide when you carry it. Blizzard also trimmed experience orb drops from some Helltide spawns.
- War Plans
- Can be part of a War Plan.
Source: Maxroll: Helltide Guide (Jul 16, 2026) ↗. Verified September 29, 2026.
Infernal Hordes Base game
- Unlock
- Complete the quest 'The Eyes of the Enemy' once per account. Compasses then drop from Helltide chests, Tree of Whispers caches, Nightmare Dungeons and the Pit.
- How it works
- Wave-based combat in the Burning Hells. Each wave lasts 60 seconds; between waves you pick one of three Infernal Offers that pair a boon with a bane. Collect Burning Aether and finish against the Fell Council, or Bartuc if you have 666 Aether.
- What it pays
- Spoils of Hell: materials, gold or guaranteed Ancestral equipment, spent from your Burning Aether.
- Season 15
- Diablo's Splinter of Terror modifies Infernal Hordes when you carry it.
- War Plans
- Can be part of a War Plan.
Source: Maxroll: Infernal Hordes (Jul 16, 2026) ↗. Verified September 29, 2026.
Nightmare Dungeons Base game
- Unlock
- Finish the campaign and the Seasonal Journey, then turn in a Whisper cache after 10 Nightmare-difficulty Whispers for your first Sigil.
- How it works
- Dungeons with Afflictions added by a Nightmare Sigil. You can hold one active dungeon at a time and Sigils cannot be rerolled; salvage unwanted Sigils for Sigil Powder and craft new ones at the Occultist.
- What it pays
- Glyphs, Masterworking materials such as Obducite, Legendaries and Uniques, plus more Sigils.
- Season 15
- Mephisto's Splinter of Hatred modifies Nightmare Dungeons. Blizzard adjusted Sigil Powder salvage returns and raised the Escalation Sigil return to 100.
- War Plans
- Can be part of a War Plan.
Source: Maxroll: Nightmare Dungeons (Sep 19, 2026) ↗. Verified September 29, 2026.
Kurast Undercity Vessel of Hatred
- Unlock
- Progress the Vessel of Hatred campaign to the priority quest that opens the Undercity; that unlocks the Spirit Brazier.
- How it works
- A timed, multi-stage dungeon. Killing afflicted monsters adds time and Attunement. Tributes and Bargains let you aim the rewards, and a boss waits at the end if you finish fast enough.
- What it pays
- Targeted gear, runes, Cube materials, Obducite and Mythic Tribute chances.
- Season 15
- Baal's Splinter of Destruction modifies the Undercity. Blizzard added Forgotten Souls to Tribute of Refinement rewards and doubled experience orbs from the Jade Epiphany node.
- War Plans
- Can be part of a War Plan.
Source: Maxroll: Kurast Undercity (Jul 16, 2026) ↗. Verified September 29, 2026.
Whispers and the Tree of Whispers Base game
- Unlock
- Whispers are open-world objectives; turn in Whisper caches at the Tree of Whispers.
- How it works
- Small objectives across Sanctuary that fill caches. In War Plans, a Whisper can double up with any activity you chose rather than being a node of its own.
- What it pays
- Caches of gear, gold, gems, salvage, Cube materials and keys.
- Season 15
- Blizzard raised Whisper cache rewards in 3.2.1: about three times the gold, about double the Gem Fragments, and roughly two to three times the Cube and salvage materials. Keys Caches can now contain a Mephisto Key or a Trace of Echoes.
- War Plans
- Can be part of a War Plan.
Source: Blizzard: 3.2.1 patch notes ↗. Verified September 29, 2026.
Lair Bosses Base game
- Unlock
- Torment I or higher. Boss locations are marked on the map.
- How it works
- A ladder of boss fights in three groups (Initiate, Greater, Exalted). Each boss needs its own key to open the Hoard chest after the fight. See the Bosses page for the roster and keys.
- What it pays
- Unique and Mythic Unique loot from the boss's own pool, plus keys for the next tier.
- Season 15
- Baal's Splinter of Destruction modifies Lair Bosses when you carry it. Blizzard limited Mythic Uniques from Initiate and Greater Lair Bosses and Belial's Hoard to the boss's own pool, raised Initiate Mythic odds to match Greater, and gave Echo of Mephisto a guaranteed Mythic.
- War Plans
- Can be part of a War Plan.
Source: Icy Veins: Lair Boss System Guide (Season 15) ↗. Verified September 29, 2026.
Echoing Hatred Lord of Hatred
- Unlock
- Find a rare Trace of Echoes and bring it to the seer in Temis (Blizzard's announcement calls this NPC the Sightless Eye; Maxroll's post-launch guide names Seer Nevma).
- How it works
- An endless arena. Waves of enemies grow stronger by tiers that mirror the Pit's scaling, and an Overwhelm bar fills until you are overrun. Four shrines (Artillery, Channeling, Lethal, Protection) help in the late waves. Bosses can appear in later waves, sometimes several at once.
- What it pays
- Goblin's Plunder from goblins you kill, with more for going further. Friends in the party receive the same rewards.
- Season 15
- Whisper Keys Caches now have a small chance to contain a Trace of Echoes.
- War Plans
- Not a War Plans activity.
Source: Maxroll: Echoing Hatred (Jul 30, 2026) ↗. Verified September 29, 2026.
The Tower and Leaderboards Base game
- Unlock
- Seasonal realm feature. Blizzard lists the Tower and Leaderboards among Seasonal benefits.
- How it works
- A competitive push mode that uses the same boss list as the Pit. Tiers go up to 150; the Artificer's Obelisk and the Leaderboards are part of it. Mobalytics ranks builds by their actual Tower performance.
- What it pays
- Rewards from the Artificer's Obelisk and leaderboard standing.
- Season 15
- The 3.2.2 notes fix the Obelisk not showing a rewards icon on the map, and the leaderboard button showing in Eternal on controller.
- War Plans
- Not a War Plans activity.
Source: Blizzard: Prepare for the Reckoning ↗. Verified September 29, 2026.
Waking Nightmares Base game Season 15 only
- Unlock
- Introduced by the Season 15 questline; open-world ones appear on their own.
- How it works
- Rebuilt encounters from earlier Diablo games in three sizes: multi-level Capstone dungeons, standard dungeons at fixed locations, and one-room open-world fights with past bosses.
- What it pays
- Loot, and the rare resource that lets you swap which Splinter of Evil you carry. The largest ones can be replayed as Capstones.
- Season 15
- Season 15 only. Nearly twenty bosses return, including Nihlathak and the Maggot Queen.
- War Plans
- Not a War Plans activity.
Source: Blizzard: Season of Hell's Legacy overview ↗. Verified September 29, 2026.
Fishing Lord of Hatred
- Unlock
- Early in the Lord of Hatred campaign, a priority quest called Fishing sends you to Shi Yugong on a dock in Skovos.
- How it works
- A relaxed side activity: get close to water, choose Fish on the emote wheel, and press your action key when the water splashes. There is no bait system. Blizzard says you can trade fish with other players to complete your collection.
- What it pays
- Fish to collect and trade, and occasional items.
- Season 15
- Not changed in Season 15.
- War Plans
- Not a War Plans activity.
Source: Blizzard: Lord of Hatred ↗. Verified September 29, 2026.
Where to go next
- War Plans: how the playlist system and its trees work.
- Bosses and keys: the Lair Boss ladder and how keys flow.
- Season 15: Splinters, Waking Nightmares and the seasonal modifiers.