Diablo 4: How to Farm Infernal Compasses (& How to Upgrade Them)

Season 5 of Diablo 4 introduces a new endgame activity for all players and their in-game characters to enjoy: the Infernal Hordes. Not only does it name the season, but it also presents a great opportunity to farm valuable gear and consumables that will come in handy during the hardest battles and fights you will endure in World Tier 3 and 4. However, you will need to gain access to the depths where the Infernal Hordes await you, and that is where the Infernal Compasses enter the equation.

These Infernal Compasses will allow you to open the gate to this new activity in Diablo 4 and act similarly to the Nightmare Sigils the players are already accustomed to. And just like Nightmare Sigils, Infernal Compasses have different tiers that you can access and upgrade freely, as long as you have the necessary items to do so. Let’s take a trip around Sanctuary and discover how to farm Infernal Compasses and how to upgrade them for greater challenges and rewards in Diablo 4.

Updated October 20, 2024 by Marc Santos: The Diablo 4 patch that came with Vessel of Hatred and Season of Hatred Rising also brought about some significant changes to how Infernal Hordes work. It’s still the same wave-based survival mode that players have come to love, but it now offers better loot, making each run more valuable as a result. Infernal Compasses were also changed — they are no longer craftable, and players must instead farm for them now. This guide has been updated to account for that.

How to Farm Infernal Compasses in Diablo 4

Finding Infernal Compasses – and, therefore, farming them – is only possible as soon as you complete the seasonal quests named “The Eyes of the Enemy” and “To the Edge of the Abyss.” You can do this with your old Permanent Characters or your brand-new Seasonal Characters. Travel to Zarbinzet to start them, and you will get to know Locran and the peril that lies within the depths of Hell, housing the Fell Council who threatens to destroy Sanctuary once and for all.

Locran will eventually guide you towards the literal gates of Hell and hand you the very first Infernal Compass so that you can access and fight the Infernal Hordes – which is a wave-based fight against hordes of enemies and the members of the Fell Council. Once you finish the main quests, you will be able to find the Infernal Compasses in the wild by completing the following endgame activities in Diablo 4:

• Helltides: Gain Aberrant Cinders during Helltides and open Chests of Mystery and Chests of Steel, or you can also defeat Doomsayers. These Helltide sources guarantee an Infernal Compass drop, so consider them the best shot you’ve got at farming them in the field.
• Nightmare Dungeon and The Pit: Higher rarities of Infernal Compasses can also spawn after completing Nightmare Dungeon and The Pit runs.
• Whispers: You have a chance of finding Infernal Compasses inside Whispers Caches, which can serve as an alternative to Helltides if you are having trouble collecting the Cinders necessary to open the chests – although it is more time-consuming than the options above.

Previously, players could craft Infernal Compasses via Occultists, the same NPC vendors who craft Nightmare Dungeon sigils. However, this feature has since been removed in Vessel of Hatred, and players will now have to rely solely on farming to get Infernal Compasses.

How to Upgrade Infernal Compasses in Diablo 4

As of Vessel of Hatred, players are no longer able to upgrade Infernal Compasses with Abyssal Scrolls. Instead, compasses with higher wave limits now have a chance to drop on higher Torment levels. Additionally, this activity now scales based on your chosen difficulty, so make sure to brush up on how to clear Infernal Hordes before attempting a high-difficulty run.

Fighting through more Infernal Hordes waves means getting more Burning Aether. The patch that came with the expansion also significantly reworked how loot works in Infernal Hordes. The Greater Chest of Equipment now requires 200 Burning Aether to open, but it now guarantees an Ancestral Legendary item, and the Gold and Materials chests now consume all remaining Aether, giving you more rewards based on how much Aether was consumed.