D4 Season 10 PTR 2.4.0: Infernal Hordes Reborn, Chaos Armor, and the Season of Chaos

Diablo IV's Season 10 is about to hit the Public Test Realm, running August 19-26, and it's bringing one of the game's most ambitious seasonal reworks yet. Dubbed Infernal Hordes Reborn-though Blizzard also teased "Infernal Chaos" earlier this year-this season dials up difficulty, loot variety, and build diversity with a mix of returning modes and brand-new systems.

Here's the full breakdown of what's coming in the PTR and how it will reshape your endgame.

Infernal Hordes Reborn: A Faster, Deadlier Endgame

Infernal Hordes were already one of Diablo 4's most chaotic and rewarding activities, but this season sees a full refinement of the mode. The big changes focus on making every offering feel meaningful and increasing strategic decision-making during your run.

Starting With Power

Instead of easing into your run, you'll now begin with an Infernal Offering before the first wave even starts. This ensures early waves have more punch and lets you immediately shape your run's direction.

The Fel Council Gets Upgraded

One member of the Fel Council will now be designated as the Council Speaker, gaining enhanced abilities. Expect a tougher fight and more varied combat mechanics when these bosses appear.

Chaos Monsters and Shrine-like Buffs

A new monster family, the Chaos Monsters, emerges from purple portals. Defeating them grants powerful shrine-like buffs mid-run, rewarding aggressive play.

Chaos Waves: High Risk, High Reward

At certain points, you can opt into a Chaos Wave-a more difficult variation with unique mechanics such as:

 Deadly projectiles from Chaos Rifts

 Rampaging Hellworms

 Ether-laden goblins that must be hunted

Chaos Waves offer significantly more Ether if you survive, scaling in availability with your Infernal Compass tier.

Fight Bartuk, Warlord of Chaos

For the first time, you can skip the Fel Council entirely and instead face Bartuk, an infamous Mageclan Wars warlord reborn with chaos-infused powers.

 Bartuk uses chaos portals to launch projectiles and dangerous environmental hazards.

 Party members must collectively agree to spend Ether for the fight.

 Rewards drop directly on the ground-no extra Ether cost to loot.

Fleeting Hordes: A Mid-Game Variant

For players not yet in Torment difficulties, the Fleeting Hordes variant offers shorter runs:

 Only 4 waves

 Limited Infernal Offerings

 Culminates in a fight against two Fel Council members

Chaos Armor: A Game-Changing Gear System

While Infernal Hordes is the headline mode, the real build-defining feature this season may be Chaos Armor-a new category of unique items that reimagines how gear slots work.

What Is Chaos Armor?

Chaos Armor is a more powerful version of existing unique items, but they drop for different slots than their original versions.

For example:

 Fists of Fate normally occupy the glove slot, but their Chaos Armor variant might drop as a helm.

 This lets you pair them with another powerful glove unique for combinations that were impossible before.

Key Features

 Available for helm, chest, gloves, pants, and boots

 Always drop at maximum power with at least one greater affix

 Can't equip the same unique's Chaos and standard versions simultaneously

 Many class-specific and general uniques are eligible

The shift opens up entirely new build archetypes, freeing players from "mandatory" slot locks and encouraging hybrid setups.

Chaos Rifts: Dynamic Open World Threats

Chaos Rifts are new portals that appear both in the open world and Nightmare Dungeons, especially within Helltide zones.

 Kill demons pouring out to seal the rift and earn experience, gems, and Chaos Armor (in Torment difficulties)

 Rarely, a Mythic Chaos Rift may spawn, offering much higher rewards

 In Nightmare Dungeons, Chaos Rifts are a prime source for Fleeting Horde compasses

Chaos Perks: Kiss-Curse Build Modifiers

The season's "borrowed power" comes from Chaos Perks-skill-altering modifiers with both upsides and downsides.

How They Work

 Four rarities: Magic, Rare, Legendary, Unique

 Equip three non-unique perks and one unique perk at a time

 Each class gets access to 16 perks, with 4 class-exclusive ones

 Perks change skill functionality, encouraging experimental builds

The kiss-curse design (something powerful in exchange for a drawback) should make for interesting buildcraft, especially when paired with Chaos Armor flexibility.

New Unique Items Per Class

Season 10 also brings a fresh wave of uniques, including:

 Barbarian-Saber of Susk: Damage boost per damaging skill equipped, rewarding more offense-heavy builds.

 Druid-Kilt of Blackwing: Powers up Ravens and introduces a chance to summon an "unkindness" of three Ravens.

 Necromancer-Gospel of the Devote: Enhances basic skills with increased damage and added effects like extra corpses from Decompose.

 Rogue-Orphan Maker: Two-handed crossbow introducing the new "Reload" keyword for high-burst Marksman builds.

 Sorcerer-Galvanic Azurite: Magnetizes enemies with lightning damage, causing them to pull toward each other when hit by crackling energy.

 Spiritborn-Hessha E Kasungi: Pulls enemies inward with Gorilla skills, increasing their damage taken when knocked down.

Loot and Balance Changes

Beyond the seasonal mechanics, 2.4.0 is making significant changes to loot quality and drop sources.

 Unique drop rates increased across all difficulties

 Whispers in Torment now drop Legendaries or better, removing magic/rare filler

 Helltide rewards improved in Torment difficulties

 Infernal Hordes' material and gold chests no longer suffer diminishing returns, you can get more Diablo 4 gold and material

 Certain uniques previously locked to Infernal Hordes are now in the general loot pool

Boss Loot Pools

Greater boss loot has been reorganized so that each of the three greater bosses has two overlapping loot pools, ensuring every item can be farmed from at least two sources. Lesser bosses also had minor pool adjustments.

PTR Access and Testing Features

The PTR setup will include:

 A Kyovashad vendor offering crafting materials, gear, and max-level glyphs

 Boosts for faster testing of endgame content

 The full 2.4 patch notes, including class tuning and bug fixes

Blizzard encourages PTR participation to fine-tune balance, especially for Chaos Armor drops, Chaos Waves difficulty, and the new unique item designs.

First Impressions: What Stands Out

While Infernal Hordes Reborn adds meaningful variety-especially Chaos Waves and the Bartuk boss fight-the biggest impact may come from Chaos Armor's slot-swapping potential. Removing rigid slot restrictions could completely reshape how meta builds are formed.

The addition of Chaos Rifts also makes Helltide farming more engaging, and Chaos Perks should satisfy players who enjoy experimental, high-risk/high-reward playstyles.

If the PTR feedback is positive, Season 10 might mark Diablo 4's most successful blend of content refresh and systemic innovation since launch.

Key Takeaways for Players

 Plan builds around Chaos Armor: Unlocks new gear slot possibilities for powerful combinations.

 Expect more choice in Infernal Hordes: Offerings now matter more, and Chaos Waves reward risk.

 Target Chaos Rifts in Torment: Prime way to get Chaos Armor and big loot bursts.

 Experiment with Chaos Perks: Synergize perks with Chaos Armor for unconventional builds.

 Farm bosses strategically: Loot pool overlap means you can focus on bosses that drop multiple needed Diablo 4 items.

Season 10's PTR isn't just another seasonal theme-it's testing a fundamental expansion of Diablo 4's build and loot systems. Whether you're chasing new uniques, pushing high-tier Infernal Compasses, or experimenting with bizarre Chaos Perk setups, this season's chaos might be the most fun Sanctuary has seen yet.

MMOexp Diablo 4 Team