Diablo 4 Season 10 Infernal Compass Farming & Aether Strategy Guide

Here’s a clear, structured guide for a player trying to optimize Infernal Compasses and Aether farming in Diablo IV Season 10.

 

How to Farm Infernal Compasses (3 Main Sources)

Helltide Chests

1. • Any chest (250 or smaller) can drop Infernal Compasses.
   • The drop rate has been nerfed, so it’s not the most efficient.
   • Good for casual collection while farming other materials.

Nightmare Dungeons with Chaos Rifts

2. • Look for sigils that mention “Chaos Rifts.”
   • These dungeons drop:
     • Greater affix Diablo 4 gear
     • Mythics
     • Infernal Compasses (2–3 per run possible)
     • Infernal Warp
   • Strong synergy with reputation farming.

Reputation Rewards: Greater Infernal Caches

3. • Max out Viz-Jaq’taar Veneration reputation using Infernal Warp.
   • Every Greater Infernal Cache guarantees:
     • 1x Infernal Compass
     • 1x Chaotic Unique (or more with Urn buffs)

 

Urns to Prioritize (Seasonal Blessings)

• Urn of Blazing Infernal:
  • Chance to drop extra 10-wave compasses.
• Urn of Chaos Nightmares:
  • Chance to drop Chaos Rift nightmare sigils from Helltide chests.
• Urn of Chaos Armor (before opening Caches):
  • Allows double chaotic unique drops.

 

Chaos Waves: When to Take and When to Skip

• Chaos Waves = Instant Aether, but:
  • Don’t give long-term boons or progress Aetheric events.

Chaos Waves Are Good When:

• You’re running 6 or 8-wave Infernal Compasses.
• You need fast Aether to reach 666 to summon Bartuc.

Chaos Waves Are Bad When:

• You’re running a 10-wave Infernal Horde.
• You want to stack boons for long-term Aether scaling.
• Skipping chaos waves allows you to get more valuable synergistic boons (e.g., Aether Lord bonuses).

 

Aether Lords & Fiends: Best Boons and Strategy

Top Boons to Prioritize:

1. Colossal Fiends (S-tier)
   • Aether Fiends become Aether Lords and drop 3x Aether.
2. Teeming Masses
   • Aetheric Masses can spawn Aether Fiends on death → now they’re Lords → big Aether.
3. Fiend Legion
   • Replaces regular elites with Aether Fiends (which are Aether Lords!).
4. Ruthless Lords
   • Aether Lords grant +5 Aether per kill.
5. Bursting Masses
   • Each wave starts with 2x Aetheric Masses, increasing Aether events.

Key Strategy: Stack these and snowball Aether income. You’ll consistently hit 666 Aether, even on 10-wave runs.

 

Hellborne – Mostly Useless, Except 2 Situational Boons

1. Ambushing Hellborne (Legendary)
   • Hellborne can ambush and spawn bonus Aether events.
   • Only take if other options are bad.
2. Summoned Hellborne
   • Hellborne spawn with Aether events.
   • Slight Aether gain increase, still outclassed by Fiend/Lord boons.

 

Soulspires – The Only 2 Worth Grabbing

1. Hungry Spires
   • Enemies killed near Soulspire have a high chance of dropping Aether.
   • Works well with AoE or pull-in builds.
2. Coveted Spires (Legendary)
   • Soulspires give 2.5x Aether, but spawn less often.
   • Useful to reduce Soulspire clutter if you prefer focusing on Lords.

 

Infernal Horde Build Tips

• Build for focused, high-target damage.
  • Necromancer: Soulrift AoE nuker. Skip minions.
  • Druid: Pulverize + Ravens for direct, on-demand burst.

Avoid passive/minion-heavy builds. You need to delete Aetheric Masses and Lords fast for consistent Aether farming.

 

Final Takeaways

• Prioritize Chaos Rift, Nightmare Dungeons, and Greater Infernal Caches for compass farming.
• Stack Fiend + Lord boons. Avoid chaos waves on 10-wave compasses unless you’re behind.
• Use Urns wisely to boost Diablo 4 drops and reward yield.
• Build for burst kill potential, not spread or passive damage.
• Don’t chase Hellborne unless you’re out of good options.