Season 12 of Diablo 4 quietly introduces something the game has never really had before: a meaningful step beyond Torment 4. It’s not labeled “Torment 5” in the menu, but in practice, that’s exactly what it is.
Through new Bloodied Sigils and Infernal Horde Compasses, Blizzard has effectively added a difficulty tier that sits one full notch above current endgame content. And based on early PTR footage and testing, this jump is not subtle.
This article breaks down what Torment 5 actually means, how it changes farming and build balance, and why many players may end up skipping it entirely.
What Is “Torment 5” in Season 12?
Season 12 adds Bloodied versions of existing endgame activities:
- Bloodied Nightmare Dungeon Sigils
- Bloodied Lair Boss encounters
- Bloodied Infernal Horde Compasses
In the patch notes, Blizzard describes these as “one difficulty higher” than Torment 4. In reality, the scaling is extreme.
From observed gameplay:
- Monster health appears to increase by roughly 10×
- Monster damage feels closer to 2×
- Boss fights that were instant kills now take real time and execution
If Torment 4 currently feels like a speed-farming playground, Bloodied content flips that on its head.
Infernal Hordes Become the New XP Meta
The biggest immediate impact is on Diablo 4 experience farming.
Bloodied Infernal Hordes are shaping up to be the fastest XP source the game has ever had. The reason is simple: Relentless Butchers.
In Torment 5-level Hordes:
- Up to four Butchers can spawn per wave
- Each Butcher can grant ~3.5–4 million XP
- A full 10-wave Horde can give an entire level, even past level 250
That puts Infernal Hordes well above Season 11’s Lair Boss XP farming, which has been heavily nerfed in Season 12. Early testing suggests Lair Boss XP is down by roughly 70%, making it a secondary option at best.
If Bloodied Compasses are reasonably available, Infernal Hordes will dominate leveling strategies.
The Reality Check: Most Builds Can’t Handle It
Here’s the catch: Torment 5 is not designed for average builds.
Even strong, well-known setups struggle:
- A top-tier Death Trap Rogue can clear Pit 100 comfortably
- That same build still takes 10–15 seconds per Butcher in T5 Hordes
- Missed kills mean less Aether, fewer rewards, and lower efficiency
For many builds, Torment 4 Bloodied content is already borderline. Torment 5 pushes things into “only the best builds need apply” territory.
As a result, many players will likely:
- Farm Bloodied content on Torment 3 instead
- Accept a ~10–15% XP loss per hour
- Gain smoother clears, more consistent rewards, and less frustration
Given how small the reward increase is, this tradeoff makes sense.
Lair Bosses: A Challenge, Not a Farm
Bloodied Lair Bosses are no longer loot pinatas.
Even builds capable of:
- Pit 90–100 clears
- High single-target damage
- Strong boss-specific uniques
will not instantly delete Torment 5 bosses.
They’re doable, but slow. For weaker or off-meta builds, they’re mostly a novelty or personal challenge rather than an efficient activity.
Nothing exclusive is locked behind Torment 5 bosses, which further reduces the incentive to engage with them regularly.
Build Balance Gets Exposed
Season 12’s difficulty spike highlights a long-standing issue: build power is extremely front-loaded.
Most characters gain:
- Huge multipliers early from aspects and paragon nodes
- Major power spikes from key Diablo 4 uniques
- Much smaller gains from late-game min-maxing
That makes Torment 1–4 trivial for experienced players, but scaling another 10× beyond that requires very specific builds.
On the PTR, viable Torment 5 candidates are limited:
- Several Paladin builds perform exceptionally well
- A handful of standout builds from other classes can manage
- Many archetypes simply hit a wall
The result is low build diversity at the very top, something Blizzard has struggled with for multiple seasons.
The Seasonal Theme Doesn’t Help (Yet)
Season 12’s kill-streak bonuses currently provide:
- Minor crit chance
- Small movement speed buffs
- Early-game quality-of-life stats
At the endgame, these effects are almost meaningless. Most builds are already crit-capped and resource-stable.
Unless Blizzard significantly improves late-game kill-streak bonuses before launch, the seasonal theme won’t meaningfully offset Torment 5’s difficulty.
The Bigger Problem: Difficulty Scaling
The most concerning takeaway is systemic.
Each Torment tier increases monster health by roughly 10×. That means:
- Torment 1 → Torment 4 ≈ 1,000× HP
- Torment 1 → “Torment 5” ≈ 10,000× HP
Rewards, meanwhile, increase by only a few percentage points.
This mismatch explains why Torment 5 feels optional at best and pointless at worst. When difficulty scales exponentially but rewards scale linearly, players naturally gravitate toward the most efficient middle ground.
Final Thoughts: A Good Idea, Rough Execution
Torment 5-style content is a step in the right direction. Diablo 4 needed something beyond Torment 4 that actually challenged optimized characters.
But right now:
- The difficulty jump is too large
- The rewards are too small
- The viable build pool is too narrow
Unless Blizzard adjusts scaling, improves seasonal power, or adds meaningful incentives, most players will treat Torment 5 as optional challenge content and farm one tier lower.
That’s not necessarily a failure, but it is a missed opportunity.
Season 12 could still change significantly with the final patch notes. If Blizzard smooths the curve and rewards effort appropriately, Torment 5 might become the aspirational endgame Diablo 4 has been missing.
