When did Infernal Hordes launch in Diablo IV?

Infernal Hordes launched with Season 5 on August 6, 2024 and runs permanently as an endgame mode. Waves are 60 seconds each; between waves you pick from 3 Infernal Offers (Boon + Bane pairs). End boss is either 3 Fell Council members or Bartuc at 666+ Aether.

Who are the Fell Council?

The Fell Council are resurrected Priests of Zakarum from Diablo II — Geleb Flamefinger, Bremm Sparkfist, Wyand Voidbringer, Maffer Dragonhand, and Ismail Vilehand. At the end of an Infernal Hordes run, three of the five spawn at random as the boss encounter.

What are Mythic Uniques?

Mythic Uniques were introduced in Season 5 as a rebrand of the former 'Uber Uniques.' Each received new effects (e.g., Tyrael's Might gained durability immunity + defensive aspects). Mythics are the rarest tier of unique and drop primarily from Greater Lair Bosses.

Diablo IV

Season 14 · Patch 3.1.2

Diablo IV Season 5 (August 2024) archive. Infernal Hordes launch, Fell Council bosses, Mythic Uniques, Lightning Spear Sorc dominance.

Season Archive Aug 6 → Oct 8, 2024

Season 5 — Season of the Infernal Hordes

The Hordes mode debut. Historical archive.

Season 5 launched Infernal Hordes — the wave-based survival mode that remains a permanent fixture. Mythic Uniques rebranded the old Uber tier with revamped effects. Lightning Spear Sorcerer dominated the meta. The season served as the final pre-Vessel-of-Hatred content drop before the Torment difficulty overhaul rolled out.

Infernal Hordes Launch

Wave-based survival mode across 8 difficulty tiers. Each wave = 60 seconds. Between waves, pick from 3 Infernal Offers (Boon + Bane pairs). Access via Infernal Compass, crafted at the Occultist with Abyssal Scrolls + Forgotten Souls. Burning Aether collected during the run spent on Spoils chests at end.

End-boss encounter: 3 Fell Council members by default. At 666+ banked Aether, Bartuc, Lord of Chaos spawns instead (added in Season 10).

Mythic Uniques Rebrand

Patch 1.5.0 renamed Uber Uniques to Mythic Uniques with new effects. Example: Tyrael's Might gained durability immunity + defensive aspects. Boss summoning was also overhauled — Stygian Stones replaced multiple individual mats for some summons.

Top Meta Builds

◆ Lightning Spear Sorcerer (overwhelming S-tier)
◆ Whirlwind Barbarian
◆ Andy's / Barrage Rogue
◆ Bone Spirit Necromancer
◆ Cataclysm Druid

Patch 2.0 Preview

Late in Season 5, Patch 2.0.0 rolled out bringing the Difficulty/Torment rework ahead of Vessel of Hatred and Season 6. World Tiers 1-4 → Normal/Hard/Expert/Penitent + Torment I-IV. The old system was retired. Paragon cap moved from 200 to 300.