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How To Change Difficulty Level in Diablo 4

Adjust the difficulty of your game using our guide below on how to change your difficulty in Diablo 4.
How To Change Difficulty Level in Diablo 4

Diablo 4 is gearing up to be a challenging game for all players on all skill levels, but that doesn't mean you can't use the difficulty settings to ramp it up if you need a bigger challenge to overcome or scale it down for a more casual experience similar to previous Diablo titles. Diablo 4's difficulty or "World tier" difficulty system works slightly differently than it did in Diablo 3, and if you need some insight into how it works then we have you covered. 

Below we'll explain how the difficulty system works in Diablo 4 as well as how to change the difficulty in the game to either lower or raise it, depending on what you want. So let's dive right in. 

Update on 19 July 2023: We've updated this article with the latest info on changing World Tier difficulty levels in Diablo 4.

How To Change Difficulty Level in Diablo 4

Unlike Diablo 3, where players would need to use the menu to change the difficulty of their session, Diablo 4 employs an in-game method of changing difficulty. After completing the Prologue chapter, you will arrive at Kyovashad, after which you can travel north to find what is known as the statue of Inarius, also called the World Tier Statue.

How To Change Difficulty Level in Diablo 4 World tier statue
To change your difficulty, you need to find the statue of Inarius, or the World Tier statue in Kyovashad. (Picture: MapGenie.io)

Once you click on the statue, you'll be able to see the various levels of World Tier difficulties available in Diablo 4 and choose the one you want to play on. The game's difficulty can then be changed without needing to start a brand-new session; however, the higher difficulties do have some prerequisites that must be accomplished to access them. 

Completing certain Dungeons connected to Story Quests on a particular difficulty is included in this. By default, the game will become harder as you increase the difficulty, but players will receive higher prizes, including gear drops with a higher rarity, more experience gains, and other priceless goods.

How To Change Difficulty Level in Diablo 4 Difficulty changes rewards
Higher difficulties will give you more valuable rewards and more XP, making it worth the challenge. (Picture: Blizzard)

This ultimately means that you can change the difficulty to give yourself more of a challenge or if you're looking to farm for more valuable or rare items. Naturally, you can also change the difficulty for your party, allowing everyone to join in on the looting, or to just save you when an enemy hits harder than you expected. 

One thing to keep in mind is that if you are partying with other players and want to change the difficulty; for it to work for everyone in your party, all of you must be in the city where the World Tier Statue is located. Also, any portals you may have opened to return to town will close if you adjust the game's level. Meaning if you've used a portal to travel somewhere like a dungeon and head back to change the difficulty, the portal will be closed when you return. 

 


For more Diablo 4, be sure to check out our dedicated section or some of our Guides & Tutorials just below:

Diablo 4 Class Builds - Best Barbarian Build |  | Best Necromancer Build | Best Sorcerer Build | Best Druid Build | Best Rogue Build | All Classes Tier List | Best Class For Beginners | Build Calculator

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General D4 Guides: Legendary & Gold Farming | Town Portal | Inventory Size | Stash Size | Beat Lilith's Lament | Beat Den Mother Boss | Beat Lord Avitus Boss | Beat Blood Bishop Boss | Reset Dungeons | Gathering Legions Guide | The Butcher Boss | Leave Dungeons | All Stronghold Locations | Hardcore Mode | Change Difficulty | Unlock/Launch Time | Balance Changes | Patch Notes

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