Defenders of Sanctuary eager to face Lilith will come face to face with Mephisto’s daughter in Diablo 4. As the player's power grows, so too does the urge to prove one’s supremacy among the rest of Sanctuary’s chosen. For players who want to score some of Diablo 4's best loot, the PVP Mode in the Fields of Hatred is the place to go.
Diablo fans who enter the franchise’s latest foray into PVP may find themselves one-shot by other enemies as soon as they Mark themselves for Blood. Thankfully, newcomers to can avoid unnecessary deaths once they figure out how to work around some common PVP mishaps.
10 Don’t Rely On Crowd Control
While “getting a high attack” is common in Diablo gameplay, securing damage becomes more crucial in Diablo 4 PVP due to the tenacity of enemy players. In the Fields of Hatred, players are exposed to the “Enmity of the Fallen,” a status describing the anger of the souls who perished in its premises.
Players under this status get a 35% boost to Potion drops, a 40% reduction to time spent in crowd control effects, and an additional 20 damage over time. These numbers may seem like generic buffs, but they have massive implications for the flow of combat. Players aren’t encouraged to rely solely on crowd control specialists like the Sorcerer given the reduced effects. Bleeds and poisons become encouraged due to the emphasis on damage over time.
9 Don’t Ignore Damage Debuffs
In PVP, players need to understand how the gameplay mode alters their build’s overall performance. On top of the base effects of “Enmity of the Fallen” and “Echoes of Bloodlust,” players also get mode-specific debuffs that forces them to rethink their builds.
The rate at which Armor contributes to damage reduction against non-Physical attacks is scaled down to 65% in PVP. All Classes have an extra 93% damage reduction to all their attacks on top of existing damage reduction sources. Since this severely impedes the performance of generic Classes, players are encouraged to create builds specifically for PVP to counteract these damage debuffs.
8 Don’t Depend On Shortcuts
Gameplay in Diablo 4 takes two elements from previous games to make the PVE grind easier: the CD-based Potions for instant-access healing, and Minions and Companions for cannon fodder. This makes Necromancers and their skeleton armies seem overpowered in Diablo 4, and it’s this exploit that “Enmity of the Fallen” punishes.
The Fields of Hatred has experienced constant bloodshed, and the grudges of the dead make combat fiercer. Potion Healing becomes 35% less effective on top of an 8-second cooldown increase, forcing players to be more reliant on their Class’s natural defenses. Minions and Companions are reduced to 50% Health. This means players need to create builds that don’t open unnecessary risks.
7 Don’t Skip On Combat Incentives
Players can encounter the “Echoes of Bloodlust” status inside the Fields of Hatred. Echoes forms the crux of PVP gameplay in this area. Killing enemy players will drop their Seeds of Hatred, helping players fill their stocks much faster.
Players should also keep in mind the secondary benefits of killing another player in the Fields: it heals 15% their missing Life and gives an instant 10-second reduction to all cooldowns. While these post-kill benefits may seem minor, they need to be a consideration whenever players think of engaging an opponent.
6 Don’t Forget To Strategize Crowd Control
Considering both “Echoes of Bloodlust” and “Enmity of the Fallen,” players should modify their gameplay to accommodate its changes. In these situations, a hard-damage build suitable for PVE might not be as efficient against tougher players. Players may want to opt for crowd control setups instead, as these can ruin an enemy combatant’s flow. An example would be Rogues that focus on Poison Imbues made deadlier with PVP boosts.
Players should prioritize effects that cause slowing and stuns, as these can stop an enemy’s usual combo. Effects to keep track of include traditional Chills, Dazes, and Slows on top of more devastating effects like Freeze, Immobilize, Knockback, Knockdown, and Tether. However, players also need to remember that crowd control has reduced effects in the Fields. It's important to choose CCs carefully to maximize combo potential.
5 Don’t Ignore Survivability
In PvP, the huge reduction in players' base damage numbers means they have to compensate with high-powered builds. However, players shouldn’t forget the other side of this peculiar coin: enemies deal significantly less damage to players as well.
In turn, creating a PvPbuild may not always rely on adding more firepower. Instead, players can try boosting their survivability. Considering how tanky a player can get in the Fields of Hatred, a proper defensive build can push an ordinary PVP conflict into a war of attrition. Players who catch an aggressive enemy off guard can turn the tide with the right counter-attack, especially if they’re using a tanky Barbarian who excels in late-game comebacks.
4 Don’t Skip Out On Teams
When Diablo 4 players engage in PVP, they don’t just get access to duels against solo players. Since the game has yet to include a matchmaking queue, Diablo 4 doesn’t guarantee solo on solo fights in the Fields of Hatred. Players going solo will likely encounter an entire team trying to clear zones to get as many Shards as possible. This makes players and their own Shards easy pickings in a 4v1 spectacle.
Players are encouraged to run Fields of Hatred with a full Diablo 4 team, to avoid unnecessary deaths. Backup is also necessary given how Extraction can attract people to the player’s current location. With a full team, players should be able to defend themselves against opponents who want to try to secure more Shards through ganking.
3 Don’t Team Up With Randoms
When not playing as part of a team, players shouldn’t just accept help from randoms, or vice versa. Despite the threats of Elites and bosses in the Fields of Hatred, the way they encourage cooperative play in a PVP zone invites disaster for the unprepared.
When players help another random person fight a Diablo 4 boss, there’s always the possibility that the other person will attack the unsuspecting player. If the other person times this correctly, players can be caught in a bad spot and die immediately, making their Shards ripe for the picking. Players who find themselves helping another person fight a boss should consider just killing the latter. While this rather unsavory behavior is based on paranoia, players can justify this by the realization that they are indeed in a PVP zone.
2 Don’t Mark Until The Ritual Begins
Blizzard aims for both PVP and PVE gamers to enjoy their Diablo 4 experience, making the PVP element of the FIelds of Hatred an optional toggle. The Mark For Blood emote makes players eligible for player-killing, giving players a chance to collect Shards of Hatred from monsters alone (as PVE) or include players in the mix (as PVP). While players ordinarily Mark themselves prior to entering the Fields, a more strategic approach is to opt in only when another player starts the Purification Ritual.
Since the game notifies the mini-map when a Purification Ritual is in progress, players still have the time to Mark themselves mid-farm. That way, players can gauge whether the other person doing the Ritual may be easy pickings. Likewise, players can interrupt another PVP match by swooping in and scoring the double kill, provided they have the right timing.
1 Don’t Ignore Hatred’s Chosen
Players who enjoy being the top dog in a PVP mode will enjoy dominating the Fields of Hatred, especially since getting more PVP kills will eventually declare them as “Hatred’s Chosen.” With this status, players can siphon Seeds from enemies, and they get extracted into Red Dust throughout the 5-minute duration. However, this perk is paid with the price of everyone knowing that player’s rotation, leaving them exposed.
From the perspective of an ordinary player, being Hatred’s Chosen will likely declare someone an aggressive character, encouraging everyone to stay away. Sadly, this does mean Hatred’s Chosen can bully people away from the map and waste their time. However, players who are close to Hatred’s Chosen may want to stalk them a bit. Chances, are some other players will want a piece of their pie. If players are confident enough, they can crash this duel as a third party and perhaps secure a double kill.
Diablo 4 is available for the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S