Does Diablo 3 get hard?

As an avid Diablo player and guide writer since the Lord of Destruction days, I can definitively say Diablo 3 becomes toe-curlingly difficult at the highest ends of play. When first starting out, the Normal and Hard difficulties ease players in fairly gently. But reaching max level and diving into the endgame is a wake-up call, demanding expert gear and precision play.

Torrent Levels: Where enemies become lethal

As you progress through the story and hit the max level cap of 70, Torment difficulty levels unlock, ranging from I to XIII. Each Torment cranks up monster stats dramatically:

As you can see, the curve is exponential. By Torment XIII, enemies have over 9000% increased damage. They can detonate even robust heroes in just one or two blows. This makes gameplay extremely methodical, as any misstep or lapse in defensive abilities means instant death. Only perfectly-tuned builds with endgame gear can withstand hits.

“Pushing past Torment 10 feels like repeatedly punching yourself in the nuts. Enemies one-shot you if your toughness game isn’t on point,” says /u/RaxonRacks, a regular on the Diablo subreddits.

Greater Rifts: Infinitely scaling dungeon challenge

Reaching level 70 also unlocks the endgame Greater Rift system – infinitely scaling dungeons where you race against the clock to clear levels and defeat bosses. And yes…that “infinite” is literal.

The Greater Rift level corresponds to increased monster stats. And there is no cap to how high these can scale. On the Chinese servers, the current world record (set by player Luffy) is Greater Rift level 157, which has a whopping 17,000% increased monster health and damage.

Surviving these intense Greater Rifts requires perfect situational awareness, combat movement, resource management and crowd control. One wrong step gets you swallowed by dozens of hard-hitting enemies. Only a handful of builds in the game can withstand this kind of punishment to push the leaderboards.

Hardcore mode for the truly masochistic

Think these difficulties sound insane already? Try Hardcore mode, where if you die even once, your character stays dead permanently. This mode essentially doubles the tension, since every combat engagement becomes a careful battle of attrition and sustain. Survival trumps all.

Hardcore is the way I personally enjoy Diablo, as it creates very real consequences for sloppy play. Some quick Hardcore survival tips:

• Health and resistances are king. Prioritize high vitality gear.
• Bring defensive and crowd control skills to disengage. Illusionist passive is great.
• Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Pay attention to elite combos that wreck you.
• Logout macro can save you from server lag deaths.

In Summary

Diablo 3 can be a relaxed monster-slaying romp on lower difficulties. But for veterans seeking a real challenge, the game becomes a brutal test of min-maxing and nerdy game knowledge. Building the perfect skill loadout and gear set for high Torment and Greater Rifts takes hundreds of hours. But it offers a satisfying difficulty curve that is almost infinite in its ceiling.

I didn‘t come here to make friends. I came here to be #1 on the leaderboards.