How to change difficulty in Diablo 4

combat in Diablo 4.
Credit: Blizzard Entertainment

combat in Diablo 4.
Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
June 2 - Diablo 4 is now playable in early access. We have checked over everything we know.

If you've started the game, you may be wondering how to change the difficulty in Diablo 4. Diablo 4 is the latest game in the long-running series, famed for its difficulty system. Each difficulty level in the game is proportional to your experience attained and the loot you get. However, this also means an increase in enemy HP and the damage they can deal to you.

If you're up for the challenge to take on tanked-up monsters or you've realised you'd rather have a more relaxed gaming experience, changing the difficulty may help you with that. Take note that before you change your game's difficulty, be sure you've sincerely made your decision, as shifting your game's difficulty level is close to permanent. There are a lot of things you may lose if you lower or increase your difficulty level.

How to change difficulty in Diablo 4

The only time you'll be able to change difficulty in Diablo 4 is at the game's main menu, right before you get into a gaming session with your character. You won't be able to change the difficulty in-game. Instead, you'll have to exit to the main menu and change the World Tier yourself, and load back your saved game.

During its beta period, Diablo 4 only had two difficulty levels players could access. However, the game's full release will include four different difficulty levels you can choose from, to best suit your skill level and the type of playing experience you want to have.

A screenshot of the World Tier difficulties in Diablo 4.
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Credit: Blizzard Entertainment

In this instalment of Diablo, the fourth game calls its difficulty levels World Tiers. Each tier has a major impact on the difficulty of enemies, and the rewards that can be dropped when completing dungeons and slaying enemy hordes.

The Adventurer and Veteran tiers are initially available at the start of Diablo 4 when you first play it. When it comes to the Nightmare or Torment levels, these won't be unlocked until you finish the Campaign, reach level 50, and experience the Capstone Dungeon.

The rewards are definitely worth it when you reach the Nightmare tier, as it enables advanced events and activities like nightmare Dungeons and Helltides. While for the Torment Tier, you'll be able to get Ancestral Items and Unique Item drops. So be sure you grind the game so you can get access to all World Tier levels in Diablo 4!

That's pretty much it on this guide on how to change difficulty in Diablo 4. If you want to read more guides like this, you can check out our other pieces such as how to zoom out in Diablo 4 and our Diablo 4 Druid class guide.