The Diablo 4 Season 5 Public Test Realm ran June 25–July 2, 2024, and tested the upcoming season’s new Infernal Hordes activity alongside balance, item, endgame, and quality-of-life changes. Its June 25 notes described a test build, not the final live configuration: in the August 6 release, Infernal Hordes waves were shortened from 90 seconds to 60 seconds, among other adjustments.
When was the Season 5 PTR, and what was it for?
Blizzard scheduled the Season 5 PTR for June 25–July 2, 2024, with access limited to players using a PC Battle.net account. The June 25 PTR notes identify version 1.5.0, build #55051 for PC. Blizzard said the purpose was to gather feedback, tune balance, and fix bugs before release. Its official PTR overview put it this way: “The feedback we receive helps us to fine-tune balance changes, eliminate bugs, and create the best experience possible.”
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The released PC notes were published August 6, 2024, for build #56339. Those notes record changes made after the PTR, so use them—not the June test configuration—for the version that shipped. Blizzard’s Season 5 PTR overview and notes and the released 1.5.0 patch notes provide the version-specific details.
How Infernal Hordes worked on the PTR
Infernal Hordes was Season 5’s central new activity: a wave-based battle in the Realm of Hatred. Players entered using an Infernal Compass, fought timed waves, gathered Burning Aether, chose between Infernal Offers, and faced the Fell Council after clearing the run.
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PTR run structure
- Use an Infernal Compass to enter the Realm of Hatred.
- Fight enemies during each timed wave. The PTR overview set each wave at 90 seconds.
- Collect Burning Aether from defeated enemies and destructible events, including Soulspires and Aetheric Masses.
- Between waves, choose one of three Infernal Offers. Each paired a boon with a bane; offers could stack, letting players accept greater danger in exchange for more Aether.
- After the run, confront the Fell Council.
The PTR overview listed endgame bosses, Helltides, Nightmare Dungeons, and Whispers as sources of Infernal Compasses, with one also granted after the new quest. These are the stated PTR sources; the release notes later describe additional acquisition changes.
What changed between the PTR and the August 6 release?
Blizzard’s release notes identify several Infernal Hordes adjustments made after PTR feedback. The most visible change was the wave timer: the 90-second PTR duration became 60 seconds in released 1.5.0. The release also set specific wave counts for lower tiers and adjusted enemy and boss populations.
| Setting | June PTR configuration | Released 1.5.0 configuration |
|---|---|---|
| Duration per wave | 90 seconds, per Blizzard’s PTR overview | 60 seconds, per Blizzard’s August 6 release notes |
| Waves at tiers 1–3 | Not stated in the cited PTR overview | 6 waves, per Blizzard’s August 6 release notes |
| Waves at tiers 4–5 | Not stated in the cited PTR overview | 7 waves, per Blizzard’s August 6 release notes |
| Other tiers | Not stated in the cited PTR overview | Wave counts remained unchanged, per Blizzard’s August 6 release notes |
| Monster counts and boss health | Not stated in the cited PTR overview | Monster counts generally increased; Council and other boss health pools were reduced, per Blizzard’s August 6 release notes |
| Infernal Compass availability | Listed sources included endgame bosses, Helltides, Nightmare Dungeons, and Whispers, plus one from the new quest | Acquisition became more frequent through additional sources, per Blizzard’s August 6 release notes |
The comparison is between Blizzard’s June PTR overview and its August 6 released patch notes. The June timing and the later live settings should not be treated as one unchanged ruleset.
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Which quests unlocked Infernal Hordes?
Two Season 5 questlines served different purposes. “The Eyes of the Enemy” unlocked Infernal Hordes; “Of Lambs and Wolves” was the seasonal progression questline for Seasonal characters.
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“The Eyes of the Enemy”
The PTR introduced this post-campaign quest in Hawezar, available from World Tier III. Completing it unlocked Infernal Hordes and was required only once per account. Blizzard’s final season overview says the quest and Infernal Hordes were available on both Seasonal and Eternal realms from World Tier III, and that the quest remained available on both realms after the season. The account completion did not apply to Hardcore characters.
“Of Lambs and Wolves”
This separate seasonal progression questline began for Seasonal characters in World Tier I or II. It was not the account-wide unlock quest for Infernal Hordes. Blizzard describes both questlines in its Season of the Infernal Hordes overview.
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What else did the Season 5 PTR include?
The PTR covered more than the new activity. Its 1.5.0 test notes included class, item, endgame, and quality-of-life changes. The categories below describe what Blizzard put forward for testing; individual test details should not be read as a promise that every setting shipped unchanged.
Items and class access
Blizzard said every Unique in the game was updated for Season 5. Its stated goal was to make build-defining Uniques better support the skills they were designed for and keep them competitive with affixes players could add through tempering. The PTR also included new Legendary and Unique items and expanded weapon-type access for additional classes. The official season overview explains Blizzard’s stated Unique-item goals.
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The PTR proposed changes including the ability to replay a boss without resetting its dungeon, adjustments to Varshan summoning materials, and making Beast in Ice function as a standard dungeon rather than requiring a crafted sigil. These are PTR proposals; consult the relevant sections of Blizzard’s PTR notes and release notes for the exact test and release wording.
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Helltides, Whispers, and experience
The PTR also included adjustments to Helltides and Whispers. Separately, Blizzard’s season overview said base monster experience could scale for monsters up to 30 levels above a character, while bonus experience remained unchanged and capped at 10 levels above. These are game-system limits, not a measured claim about how quickly players level. The same overview said completing the Season 5 seasonal progression granted one Resplendent Spark.
Accessibility and navigation tests
Blizzard offered three navigation features for PTR testing and described them as work in progress: Auto-Pin routed toward a selected quest or task, Audio Navigation Assistance used pings to help orient toward a placed pin, and an on-screen Compass indicated the pin’s direction. Their settings were in the Accessibility menu. The PTR announcement does not establish their final release status, so treat these as test features rather than assume a specific current availability.
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