Diablo IV’s Season 5 PTR ran June 25–July 2, 2024, and the season itself began August 6, 2024. Its headline feature was Infernal Hordes, a wave-based activity built around escalating choices and rewards. The PTR is over, so its details below are a historical preview; Blizzard’s launch notes show what changed before release.
When the Diablo IV Season 5 PTR ran
Blizzard’s second Diablo IV Public Test Realm was available June 25 through July 2, 2024, to players with a PC Battle.net account. Blizzard said the test was intended to gather feedback and refine Season 5 before release. The listed PTR server regions were North America, Europe, Korea and Japan, South America, and Australia. Blizzard’s Season 5 PTR overview
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Diablo® IV (PS5) | $36.40 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
CD Diablo IV - Playstation 5 | $42.84 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Juego Sony PS5 Diablo IV | $39.20 | Buy on Amazon |
At the time, players selected Diablo IV in the Battle.net app, chose “Public Test Realm” from the game-version menu, and installed the separate PTR client. Blizzard also described access for PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate subscribers through the Xbox App’s Battle.net client flow. Those were instructions for the 2024 test, not current access steps.
Some account progress was copied to the PTR, including campaign completion, mounts and skill points, Fog of War, and Altar of Lilith stat bonuses. A boost NPC could raise a character to level 100 and provide test gear and resources. Blizzard noted that some elements were intentionally excluded so it could test particular gameplay flows.
#1 Best Overall
- Pre-order and receive:
- Light Bearer Mount in Diablo IV
- Only one code per customer
- Diablo IV is the next-gen action RPG experience with endless evil to slaughter, countless abilities to master, nightmarish Dungeons, and legendary loot.
- Embark on the campaign solo or with friends, meeting memorable characters through beautifully dark settings and a gripping story, or explore an expansive end game and shared world where players can meet in towns to trade, team up to battle World Bosses, or descend into PVP zones to test their skills against other players - no lobbies necessary - with cross-play and cross-progression on all available platforms.
What Infernal Hordes was like on the PTR
Infernal Hordes was the season’s main new activity. Players used an Infernal Compass to enter the Realm of Hatred, then fought through timed waves, collected Burning Aether, and faced the Fell Council. Blizzard’s PTR overview described waves lasting 90 seconds; that timing changed before launch.
Enter the activity and build a run
The Eyes of the Enemy questline unlocked Infernal Hordes. Compasses could come from endgame bosses, Helltides, Nightmare Dungeons, and Whispers, and the quest granted one. During and between waves, players selected from three Infernal Offers. Each offered a combination of Boon and Bane effects that stacked for the run: taking on added difficulty could increase the Aether earned.
Burning Aether was earned individually, including in group play. Players gained it by defeating Aether Fiends and Aether Lords or destroying Soulspires and Aetheric Masses.
Rank #2
- Brand: Sony
- Operating system: windows
- Format: cd
- Brand: Blizzard
Survive the waves, then choose rewards
After the waves, players fought three members of the five-member Fell Council, selected at random for each encounter. Council members had different abilities and grew more frenzied as they took damage. Survivors spent their Burning Aether on one of four Spoils of Hell:
- Equipment: gear rewards.
- Materials: crafting materials.
- Gold: a gold reward.
- Greater Equipment: guaranteed an item with a Greater Affix.
Compass tiers and access in the PTR overview
Blizzard described eight Infernal Compass tiers, with higher tiers increasing difficulty, wave counts, and rewards while reducing available revives. Tiers I–III were directly available; Abyssal Scrolls could upgrade compasses as high as Tier VIII. The detailed availability notes listed Tier I at World Tier III, Tier II at World Tier IV, and Tier III at level 100.
The questline that unlocked the Hordes
The Eyes of the Enemy was a new questline set after the main campaign and available in both Seasonal and Eternal Realms. Blizzard directed players to Hawezar in World Tier III to investigate a disturbance. Completing the quest was required once per account to unlock Infernal Hordes. Blizzard also said the questline would remain available on the Eternal realm after Season 5 ended.
Rank #3
- Juego Sony PS5 Diablo IV
Other features previewed in the PTR
Items and endgame adjustments
The preview announced new Legendary and Unique items obtainable throughout Sanctuary, with the best chance to find them in Infernal Hordes. It also listed several endgame and loot changes: summoning altars would reappear after a boss kill, Varshan would require Malignant Hearts only, and the Beast in Ice encounter would work more like a standard dungeon. Other planned adjustments covered Whisper completion time, Treasure Goblin rewards, Unique and Mythic Unique acquisition sources, and which weapons classes could use.
Navigation and accessibility features under development
Blizzard presented Auto-Pin, Audio Navigation Assistance, and Compass as work in progress and asked PTR players for feedback. Auto-Pin placed a map pin and route to a selected quest or task; Audio Navigation Assistance used spatial pings to point toward the pin; Compass added an on-screen directional marker. The options were in Settings under Accessibility. Players could adjust the audio ping’s volume and interval and change the compass arrow’s color; Blizzard recommended headphones for the audio feature.
What changed between the PTR and launch
Season of the Infernal Hordes began August 6, 2024, and Blizzard described the activity as available in both Seasonal and Eternal Realms. The dated 1.5.0 launch notes document adjustments made after PTR feedback. Most notably, the wave timer was reduced from the PTR overview’s 90 seconds to 60 seconds at launch. Launch notes also set six waves for tiers 1–3 and seven for tiers 4–5, leaving the other tiers unchanged. Blizzard additionally reported changes to monster counts, boss health, Compass acquisition, Aether drops, and pet Aether pickup. Season of the Infernal Hordes announcement · Diablo IV 1.5.0 launch notes
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
