Blizzard wants Diablo 4's outrageous damage numbers to mean something again in Lord of Hatred, so it's letting you crank the difficulty up to near-impossible levels: 'It's going to be really f*cking hard'

Blizzard wants Diablo 4’s outrageous damage numbers to mean something again in Lord of Hatred, so it’s letting you crank the difficulty up to near-impossible levels: ‘It’s going to be really f*cking hard’ | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these RPG Blizzard is giving away access to paladins for free at the start of Diablo 4’s next season RPG Control Resonant is far more of an RPG than I expected, complete with talent trees, stats screens, and build-crafting that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Diablo game RPG A decades-old Diablo 2 easter egg has suddenly become relevant again as players hunt for the best loot in Reign of the Warlock FPS Overwatch’s grand revamp event is a suffocating blip in an otherwise successful return to form RPG Why I love Diablo 2, Act 1 RPG Diablo 4 will let you transform into its most fearsome demon, the Butcher, in an experimental mini season before Lord of Hatred drops World of Warcraft WoW’s classes were pruned for Midnight because many were ‘built in a world’ where its devs assumed they’d be using addons RPG Casting demons like they were spells with Diablo 4’s warlock rules, but now I’m dying to see how Lord of Hatred will transform the other classes RPG Grim Dawn marks its 10th anniversary with a triumphal update on its final expansion: ‘Grim Dawn will not be going out with a bang, it will be a tremendous roar’ RPG Path of Exile’s next expansion overhauls a beloved endgame system that hasn’t seen major changes for 10 years RPG Diablo 4 players still haven’t found a cow level, but they did just find the next best thing: a secret boss battle with piles of loot RPG Diablo 2 player discovers the key to immortality on the new warlock class is to use a pet demon as a shield RPG Diablo 2 gets its first expansion in 25 years, featuring a new class, and finally, decent inventory management RPG Obsidian was ‘surprised’ that Avowed players bounced off one of the RPG’s most important systems: ‘That frustration came through loud and clear’ RPG Blizzard says ‘There’s actually millions of people that still play Diablo 3’ and those players have the right idea PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!MarathonArc RaidersBest PC gearQuizzes Games RPG Diablo 4 Blizzard wants Diablo 4’s outrageous damage numbers to mean something again in Lord of Hatred, so it’s letting you crank the difficulty up to near-impossible levels: ‘It’s going to be really f*cking hard’ News By Tyler Colp published 9 March 2026 Finally, something to use those big numbers on. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 2 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. 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From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter The fun of a loot-based action RPG disappears when monsters pop in a single hit and the only thing that goes up are the damage numbers. Right now, you can upgrade your gear all you want in Diablo 4, but the majority of the game doesn’t really require it.This is a problem in a genre where incremental power gains are the carrot on the stick that keeps you chasing after more loot. I tend to quit playing every Diablo 4 season once I’m at the point where I’m only picking up items with slightly higher numbers. There’s nothing to do with that kind of power but see how fast you can clear the new speedrun dungeon for a spot on the leaderboards.Blizzard wants to fix this in the Lord of Hatred expansion when it launches next month, and it’s doing so by borrowing an idea from Diablo 3. Currently, Diablo 4 has four torment difficulty tiers, each one raising the health and damage of every monster in the game and improving the loot they drop. In Lord of Hatred, that number is getting expanded to 12—news that was revealed by associate game director Zaven Haroutunian in a recent interview with YouTuber Wudijo and explained to PC Gamer in a separate interview with two designers in January.Article continues below You may like Diablo 4’s age of reworks might finally be over with its next expansion as it plans to deliver major features players have wanted for years Thanks to Diablo 2, Blizzard might’ve found a way to fix Diablo 4’s loot fatigue in its next expansion Diablo 4 is having its best season yet, not just because of paladins, but because Blizzard has finally cracked how to make loot endlessly exciting Wudijo brought up the balance of power gained through a character’s items vers