Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes Guide: Compass, Aether, Bartuc and Rewards

Infernal Hordes is the Diablo 4 mode where you fight wave after wave of demons, grab as much Burning Aether as you can carry and then cash it in for gear, materials and gold. You can play it solo or with friends, on Seasonal and Eternal realms alike.

Below is the loop as it works in Season 15, where you can craft a Compass again: getting in, playing a run, picking offers and splitting your Aether between the Fell Council, Bartuc and the reward chests.

Hover over or tap an item name to see its tooltip. The cards show value ranges from the game data, so your own roll can differ.

Infernal Hordes at a glance

Entry: an Infernal Horde Compass. It drops in the endgame, or you craft one at the Occultist for 500 Sigil Powder.
The run: short timed waves. Between them you pick an Infernal Offering, a boon paired with a drawback.
Currency: Burning Aether. Every player collects their own.
The finale: the Fell Council, or Bartuc, Lord of Chaos, for 666 Aether per player.
Payout: whatever Aether is left buys reward chests: gear, materials or gold.

How to get into Infernal Hordes

You get in with an Infernal Horde Compass. Use it and the game takes you straight to the Realm of Hatred, so there is no entrance to walk to. The Compass shows how many waves the run has, and the monsters scale with the Torment difficulty you're playing on. Read it before you use it, because a longer run asks more of your build.

Way in	What it takes	Good to know
Compass as loot	Endgame on Torment: bosses, Helltide, Nightmare Dungeons, Whispers	No fixed drop rate. Belial's Hoard is one boss reward that doesn't include them.
Craft a Compass	500 Sigil Powder at the Occultist	Salvaging a Compass you don't want gives back 100 Sigil Powder.
War Plans	Lord of Hatred, finished campaign, Command Table in Temis	Put Infernal Hordes into your plan and it can supply the missing Compass for that step.

Sigil Powder comes from salvaging dungeon sigils and similar items, so if you run Nightmare Dungeons anyway, crafting is the easy way to keep Compasses coming. War Plans are optional: a plain Compass run is still the core of the mode.

When the mode launched, Blizzard tied the first run to a short introduction quest, The Eyes of the Enemy. Since Lord of Hatred, players report mixed results: some never saw the quest and entered with a Compass right away. If a Compass won't open for you, check your quest log for that quest first.

How a run works

Standard waves last about a minute. Demons pour in, and your job is to kill the ones that carry Aether and break the objects that hold it, while staying alive. Once a wave ends, you pick an Infernal Offering from the choices on screen. Each offering gives the run something good and something bad, and every pick stays active until the end, boss fight included.

Aether source	What to do
Aether Fiends	Kill them. They are scattered through every wave.
Aether Lords	Kill them too. They are rarer and tougher, so save a cooldown for them.
Soulspires	Smash them as they appear on the field.
Aetheric Masses	Smash them like the Soulspires.
Chaos Waves	Special waves you can pick as an offering: much harder, with much more Aether if you survive.

Aether is personal. In a group each player collects their own, and your Pet helps you pick it up. Dying doesn't cost you Aether, but revives are limited (community guides count four for the group). Run out and the run is over before the reward chests, so a death late in the run hurts far more than a missed Fiend.

Which Infernal Offerings to take

Blizzard reworked the offerings so that no single one is a must. Older guides pushed one wave type above everything else, and that advice is out of date. A simpler rule works now: build around one Aether source and keep feeding it.

If an earlier pick added Soulspires or Aether Lords, offers that add more of the same pay off best.
Read the objective before you take a Chaos Wave. It can mean dodging projectiles from rifts, chasing Aether Goblins or killing a rampaging Hellwyrm. Take it when your build handles that kind of fight.
Take tougher enemies only when your damage and defenses have room to spare. The drawback also applies to the final boss.
When the run already feels tight, a calmer offer that keeps you alive beats a greedy one that costs revives.

Exact numbers on offers change with patches, so trust the text in your game over any list you find online.

Season 15: Diablo's Splinter

Splinter of Terror: Diablo's Splinter adds modifiers to Helltide and Infernal Hordes, and its power gives extra Aether in Hordes.
One at a time: only one Prime Evil track is active. If you farm Hordes a lot, Terror is the natural pick. More in our Season 15 guide.

Season 15: fast Paragon leveling in a group

Right now Infernal Hordes is the fastest way to finish Paragon, as long as you have at least one friend. Players around Paragon 270 are reaching 300 in a few runs, and the trick is a split of roles built on two Soul Splinters.

The players who level (one to three of them) socket a Splinter of Damnation, and a Splinter of Lies for even more experience. Every Elite pack that dies pushes the monster level up for them, and higher monster level means far more experience. Many put both into Leoric's Crown to make them stronger.
The killer uses neither Splinter. Monsters scale to each player, so for the killer they stay at normal Torment XII strength and die fast, while everyone else gets experience as if they were fighting much stronger monsters.

Play Torment XII until you're offered a Chaos Wave, then take Goblin or Aether Lord waves, because they're packed with Elites. Hellborne and Aether events count as Elites as well. Whoever opens the Horde can carry Diablo's Splinter of Terror for more Chaos Waves and Aether events. The killer should be tanky, since players report that a death in a Chaos Wave resets it.

You need a group, so this doesn't work in Solo Self-Found. Your gains also depend on which waves you get, which is why nobody can promise a fixed time to 300. The Aether you collect still counts toward the Season Rank objective for 66,666 Aether on Torment XI or higher.

No group, or no time for the grind? Our Diablo 4 Paragon Leveling takes you up to 300, and you play your own character the whole time.

Fell Council or Bartuc: plan your Aether

After the last wave you choose the final fight. The Fell Council is the classic ending: on Torment you face three of its five corrupted priests, and one of them is the Council Speaker, who gets stronger abilities. Bartuc, Lord of Chaos, is the harder ending, and he costs Aether before the fight even starts.

Your plan	Aether you need	What you get
Council, then Spoils of Greater Equipment	400	The equipment chest: gear, plus Obducite and gold
Bartuc only	666 per player	Bartuc's own loot, which drops on the ground for free
Bartuc, then Spoils of Greater Equipment	1,066 per player	Both of the above

These numbers are what you spend, not what a run gives you. In a group, the first player who picks Bartuc picks him for everyone, and everyone pays their own 666. So agree before the last wave ends, or the friend with the thin Aether stack loses out.

A player fighting members of the Fell Council in the red arena of the Infernal Hordes in Diablo 4 — The Fell Council, the classic final fight of a run. In-game screenshot

The reward chests

Once the boss is down, the chests take the Aether you have left. The materials and gold chests come from community guides, so check their labels in your game.

Spoils of Greater Equipment (400 Aether): an Ancestral Legendary with a Greater Affix, plus Obducite and gold. The best pick when you're still chasing gear.
Spoils of Materials (the rest of your Aether): Masterworking materials and Scrolls of Restoration.
Spoils of Gold (the rest of your Aether): turns leftover Aether into gold.

Buy the chest you need first, then dump the remainder into materials or gold.

How to beat Bartuc

Bartuc fights with fire, lightning, poison and shadow, and his arena keeps closing in on you. Your main tool is the set of Chaos Portals in the middle: step into one and you come out of the portal across from it. Blizzard doesn't publish boss manuals, so this table follows what players and guide writers describe:

Attack	What you see	What to do
Blood beam	A solid beam splits the arena in two	You can only cross it through a portal
Lightning beams	Two beams close in from the sides toward the middle	Take a portal or use an immunity skill before they meet
Fire beams	Beams spin around Bartuc, sometimes two at once	Move with the rotation, and port out if you get boxed in
Homing fireballs	Small fireballs that follow you	Keep moving in wide circles and don't run into a corner
Shadow waves	Six dark waves circling the arena, turning both ways	Watch their paths and slip through the gaps
Chaos orbs	Rifts on the sides fire shadow orbs across the arena	Stay mobile and don't stand in the lane between them

Before you pick Bartuc

Resistances: fire, lightning and poison come up the most. Cap them, and bring an elixir if you're short.
Movement: a dash, teleport or skill with immunity frames saves you when beams cross.
Staying power: lots of small hits add up, so healing or barriers matter more here than in the waves.
Mind the offers: every drawback you took in the waves is still active in this fight.

What Bartuc drops

Bartuc has his own Unique pool: one item every class can use, plus two to four for each class. His loot lands on the ground, so it costs nothing beyond the 666 to fight him. Three Season 15 loot tables agree on the 24 Uniques below:

Class	Uniques from Bartuc
All classes	(sword)
Barbarian	(pants) (amulet) (helm)
Druid	(ring) (boots) (ring)
Necromancer	(gloves) (ring) (helm)
Paladin	(pants) (two-handed axe)
Rogue	(gloves) (sword) (amulet)
Sorcerer	(pants) (amulet) (chest)
Spiritborn	(helm) (helm)
Warlock	(focus) (gloves) (pants) (amulet)

is the pick for any class that freezes enemies: once the freeze ends, they take extra damage based on everything you dealt to them while they were frozen. Barbarians who build around damage over time want , and Sorcerers running Chain Lightning want , which can make the spell fire several extra times.

Community loot tables also list Mythic Uniques for Bartuc. Blizzard hasn't published the odds, so pay the 666 for the pool above and count a Mythic as a bonus.

Farm smarter

Pick your goal first: gear from the pool means Bartuc; gold and materials mean the Council and more Aether left for chests.
Turn spare Sigil Powder into Compasses before a session so you never stop to look for one.
Stay on a Torment you clear cleanly. A run you finish beats a harder one you lose on the last wave.
Kills go faster in a party, but agree on the boss before anyone clicks.

Quick plan for an Infernal Hordes session

Keep the Compasses that drop and craft more from Sigil Powder at the Occultist.
Pick a Torment where your build survives every wave without using up revives.
Hunt Fiends and Lords for Aether, smash Soulspires and Masses, and stay close to your Pet.
Stack offers around one Aether source, and take Chaos Waves when your build handles them.
Still climbing Paragon? Bring a friend and use the Splinter setup: they kill, you collect the experience.
Choose the finale by your goal: Council for a cheaper chest, Bartuc with 666 Aether for his Uniques.
Spend the rest on the chest you need, then turn the remainder into materials or gold.

Conclusion

Infernal Hordes goes best with a plan you settle early. Keep Compasses coming through drops and crafting, build your offers around one Aether source, and decide before the last wave whether your Aether goes to Bartuc or the chests.

Missing one specific Unique from Bartuc's pool? Our Diablo 4 Unique Items page lets you order it directly.

FAQ

How do I get into Infernal Hordes in Diablo 4?

Use an Infernal Horde Compass. It drops from endgame activities on Torment, you can craft one at the Occultist for 500 Sigil Powder, and Lord of Hatred owners can also reach the mode through War Plans.

Can I craft an Infernal Horde Compass?

Yes. The Occultist crafts one for 500 Sigil Powder in Season 15. Salvaging a Compass you don't need gives back 100 Sigil Powder.

Where do Infernal Horde Compasses drop?

From endgame activities on Torment: bosses, Helltide, Nightmare Dungeons and Whispers. There is no fixed drop rate, and Belial's Hoard doesn't include them.

What is Burning Aether for?

It is the currency of the run. You spend it at the end on reward chests with gear, materials or gold, and Bartuc takes 666 of it as his entry price. Every player collects their own.

How much Aether does Bartuc cost?

666 per player. The first player in a group who picks Bartuc picks him for everyone, and each player pays their own share. His loot drops on the ground; the reward chests after him cost extra Aether.

Fell Council or Bartuc: which is better?

Pick Bartuc when you want Uniques from his pool. Pick the Fell Council when you want gold and materials, because more of your Aether is left for the chests.

Which Infernal Offerings are best?

None is a must since Blizzard's rework. Build around one Aether source, take Chaos Waves when your build can handle their objective, and only accept tougher enemies when you have damage and defense to spare.

Do I lose Aether when I die?

No. But revives are limited, and if the group runs out the run ends before the reward chests, so the Aether is lost anyway.

What is the fastest way to level Paragon in Infernal Hordes?

Play in a group on Torment XII. The players who level carry a Splinter of Damnation and a Splinter of Lies, while one strong player without either Splinter does the killing. Goblin and Aether Lord waves after a Chaos Wave give the most experience. It needs at least two players, so it does not work in Solo Self-Found.