It seems like every time we hit a stride with Diablo 4, something comes on the backswing and raises eyebrows the following season, and this time, it’s the new seasonal theme, really catching us by surprise; there’s no shame in saying, the Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes are so abysmal right now, and having now spent a few days hammering out our runs, we’re going to dive into what we think, and why!
Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes; What are they?
Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes are a new wave-based dungeon type, pitting our Wanderers against tides of enemies in the depths of Hell. In doing so, they are granted Boons, bolstering their strength, and Banes, punishing adventurers with the promise of greater rewards through Aether. The Aether, the currency used within a dungeon, is used to crack open chests filled with all variety of rewards to choose from: Legendries, Materials, Gold, you name it, they’ve got it!
On paper, this is a great idea, and there is some greatness beneath the the issues!
Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes; The Good:
I have to say it; a Horde Mode for a Diablo game could not feel like a better fit.
Endless tides of demons, non-stop action and testing the limits our builds against overwhelmingly powerful enemies feels great, and it honestly feels super fun to play! The density is great in most places; there are always a few patches where the density could be better, but overall it’s rarely a dull moment in Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes. Coupling that with keeping the floor empty by providing loot for the end means there’s no distractions to take away from you blasting your way through the enemies of Sanctuary.
The flurry of enemies, bosses, and roguelike Boons and Banes serve to raise you greater excitement or challenge in the name of collecting Aether and spending it to open the bountiful rewards at the end: It’s fast, it’s frantic, it’s got events, it’s got a small arena, and it’s got options for rewards and opportunities to be strengthened or punished for greater rewards in the encounters! Structurally, I think Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes are one of the most fun additions we’ve seen in a very long time, it’s a lot of good ideas!
So, why is it underwhelming?
Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes; The Bad:
When we talk about the bad, there’s a number of places that could be improved, but above all else in a game like Diablo, we have to talk about the loot, and it is seriously shocking: The rewards from doing the Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes are varied, and that does help to provide a lot of player agency in what they receive… but the rewards vs challenge are sorely lacking.
For an entire horde, it’s possible to only get three legendries, three million gold, and every material other than the most sought after one: Angelsbreath; This is a serious step backward from the Loot Reborn season, where loot-splosions were frequent, everything had a chance for upgrades, resources or money in insurmountable piles, but but had a time-sink balance. The issue here is that when you’re finishing for that perfect amulet, and you only get three pieces of gear, or no Angelsbreath to re-roll stats on anything?
It feels terrible, and could be fixed simply by just putting the quantities up to match average rewards from a Nightmare Dungeon. This makes the Hordes have the allure of choosing your reward, and the Nightmare Dungeons keeping theirs of the ability to level Glyphs.
Moreover, the currency used to open these chests, Aether, drops in way too-small quantities. If you were to get as much as possible at every opportunity, on the highest difficulty, there’s only a chance you would be able to open the Greater Affix Legendary Chest and even then, you’d only be dropped three. It really does make the entirety of Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes feel absolutely terrible, and all it requires is a bump in the numbers of items dropped, and aether found, to be good.
Unfortunately, it’s not just the loot that’s suffering in the Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes; as much as the density is great and we have events, there is way too much downtime between spawns or infrequency of these events spawning. When a run feels good, it feels great: there’s lots to do and plenty to fight, but when you’re resolved to standing still for 3-4 seconds waiting for another pack to spawn, it is, quite simply, just tedious. It’s an
The event is also styled like a roguelike in terms of it’s Boons and Banes system, providing potential buffs, and debuffs to up the ante or provide greater rewards at the cost of greater risk! Disappointingly however, many of those choices are simply rewards, flat 1 to 3 increases in Aether. It’s underwhelming, to say the least; some more creative options such as a frenzy wave, summoning mini bosses, giving players increased stats or bonuses such as the way Shrines work, could all be fun options to drive player engagement and make the moment to moment fights feel more interesting, as well as more rewarding.
Diablo 4 Infernal Horde Final Thoughts:
This new mode has a great foundation and set of ideas shown already, and I love the idea personally, but as of right now there’s no incentive in loot, or fun, to play it, due to underwhelming rewards, restrictive boons, and potential downtime in demon-slaying goodness. A lot of these reluctancies could simply be resolved by testing out greater numbers of enemies, spawn times, rewards and currencies, while looking into more interesting ways to make the core mechanic of Boons and Banes more engaging, and I absolutely believe Blizzard has the potential to do so, but for now, I’m hard pressed to recommend anyone investing any time into this until we see these changes.
FAQ:
Are Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes worth farming?
I want nothing more than to tell you yes, but as of right now, they’re not at all worth a lick of time for anyone.
Will Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes be any good?
That remains to be seen. It has a good foundation, and I’m confident Blizzard can fix these issues, but whether they will or not is a different story…
Will Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes persist after Season 5?
Yes! This new dungeon type will continue to be a part of the game, just as the Pit did, after Season 5.
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