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New difficulty tiers in Diablo 4.
Image via Blizzard Entertainment.

How Will Difficulty Change in Diablo 4 2.0 (Season 6)?

Double the options.

After the Season of Loot Reborn changed gear, Season 6 is set to completely change the way difficulty and progression work in Diablo 4. In this guide, we will cover how the new tiers will work and how they affect the end game when you get there.

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Standard Difficulties in the First Half of Diablo 4

Torment Difficulties in Diablo 4.
Image via Blizzard Entertainment.

With the 2.0 patch in Diablo 4, there will be eight different difficulty levels. The first four are what dictate the early game. These include Normal, Hard, Expert, and Penitent. So far, there have only been two World Tiers that span the full early game and players could just jump to World Tier 2 until getting to the Sacred section of the game. Now there is an option between those with normal. Of course, Expert will be the best way to earn more XP and loot for those who like efficiency.

To reach the Penitent level, players need to reach level 50 on their characters, which is no longer the max level. This just opens the fourth difficulty tier in the early game and is the step before Penitent. Unlike the lower three tiers, you will definitely need to prep a bit of gear before moving to Penitent for those last 10 levels.

In Season 6, level 60 becomes the maximum and this is also when The Pit opens. If you manage to take down the first part of The Pit, you can then move on to the harder difficulties in the game that define the second half.

Torment Difficulty in Diablo 4 Explained

After you complete The Pit at level 60, the Torment Difficulty tiers unlock. These are what dictate progression for the end game and there are four for players to progress through. But they need to be subsequently unlocked by proving your prowess in The Pit. So if you aren’t strong enough to beat Pit Tier 35, then you won’t be able to unlock Torment II difficulty.

World Tier 3 had become a mostly pointless jump in Diablo 4 progression and the Sacred items from that tier have even been removed in Season 6. Now players can reach Penitent and immediately start preparing for their full end-game builds. Season 6 is all about reaching the endgame sooner so that the real grind can begin with a class like the Spiritborn.

Diablo 4 is available now on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.


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Author
Image of Dan Wenerowicz
Dan Wenerowicz
Staff Writer
Dan Wenerowicz is a Staff Writer at The Escapist, where he helps lead the team's guides coverage of FPS and action games such as Call of Duty, Elden Ring, Diablo 4, and Black Myth: Wukong. He has a Bachelor's in Writing and has worked as a video game journalist for four years, having written and edited for such prominent outlets as Prima Games, Screen Rant, Sportskeeda, GINX TV, and Gfinity. His work has been read by millions of people, and his expertise has helped them better understand and complete video games.