You might need to unlock a new difficulty level to get the most from Diablo 4’s season 5

polygon.com:

Blizzard has given a fairly comprehensive picture of what to expect from Diablo 4’s fifth season in advance of a weeklong test on the game’s Public Test Realm (PTR).

The as-yet-untitled season 5, which begins on Aug. 6, will offer a new quest line that sounds as if it will lead into Vessel of Hatred, Diablo 4’s first full expansion, which launches on Oct. 8. The main new feature will be a new wave-based gameplay mode, the Infernal Hordes, culminating in an endgame boss battle with multiple variations. The Unique item tier is getting an overhaul to make it more impactful, and new combos of weapon type and character class are being opened up.

There’s a slightly higher bar to clear to access the quest line and the Infernal Hordes this time. Previous seasons have required the player to complete Diablo 4’s campaign on one character to start the seasonal quest line. For season 5, you’ll need to enter the World Tier 3 difficulty to start the quest line. This means completing the campaign, reaching at least level 48, and then beating the Cathedral of Light “capstone” dungeon on World Tier 2. Most of the game’s dedicated players will have done all this a long time ago, but newer players brought in by the recent Game Pass launch or the excellent fourth season might want to go tick it off now.

Unlike the game’s first three seasons, however, which introduced new gameplay concepts for the length of the season only, it seems Blizzard is intent on making permanent additions and changes to Diablo 4 with season 5, as it did with season 4. The new quest line will be available on both Seasonal and Eternal realms, and will remain on the Eternal Realm after the end of season 5. Blizzard’s description of season 5’s storyline — “enemies are cut-down, alliances shift, and unlikely friends emerge from the shadows” — sounds as if it might be setting the scene for Vessel of Hatred, a suspicion further supported by the quest’s permanent nature.

Infernal Hordes are unlocked at the end of the