Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred War Plans is brand new endgame content that allows you to obtain a large amount of Mythics and Key to Mephisto's Hoard, as well as other rich loot.
Trees of Whispers, Nightmare Dungeons, and Helltides are currently the most popular War Plans activities, each with its own unique skill tree.
This guide covers how to pick the most suitable rewards, set clear priorities within War Plans, and determine which War Plan Tree nodes to focus on for maximum gain.
Reward Selection
For Gold and Obols, you only need to pay attention to Legendary quality, since you usually already have enough Obols. Secondly, at Torment 12 difficulty, obtaining Gold is relatively easy when combined with the dungeons from Gold Reserve and Vile Splendor. Once you get a Legendary-level Gold and Obols reward, it's absolutely worth it.
The same applies to talisman and mark rewards of lower quality than Legendary. However, salvage is an exception; even a medium amount is worth acquiring. It can be disenchanted into large quantities of Veiled Crystals, Forgotten Souls, Scraps, Iron, and other materials.
These materials can then be used for upgrading and reforging equipment. As is well known, Forgotten Souls are a scarce resource consumed in large quantities for any equipment crafting or upgrading in Diablo 4.
When looting, you should pay close attention to items with Key icon. Whether they are magic, rare, or legendary is irrelevant, as they can be exchanged for many good things. They can directly yield Mythical Tributes, keys to The Pit, and even common items that can be upgraded into mythical items.
Remember to use your re-rolls every time you complete a War Plan. In Diablo 4, you get three re-rolls for each new War Plan you unlock. You should definitely take full advantage of them, as all reward types, including Salvage, Gold, Obols, and Talismans, have a chance to be upgraded to Legendary quality through re-rolls.
War Plan Trees Selection
To maximize your rewards in Diablo 4 War Plans, you'll also need to optimize your War Plan Tree selection to further enhance this benefit.
Tree of Whispers
Among Tree of Whispers options, your first choice should be Tree of Plenty, which provides a fourth Whisper Caches option, significantly increasing your chances of unlocking Whisper Caches of Dungeon Keys.
Whisper Cache of Dungeon Keys has a chance to drop not only mythic tributes of armament, but also legendary ones. If you're currently short on materials, you could theoretically choose Simple Gifts; however, given the many other easy ways to obtain materials in Diablo 4, I personally feel that not choosing Whisper Caches bonus is a waste.
Wisdom of Whispers increases the number of experience orbs you get from Whisper Chests. Choosing Chaotic Favor gives you a chance to earn extra Collection of Chaos by completing any Whisper quest in the open world, even the simplest one.
Grim Retribution affix gives you a chance to trigger Whisper Ambush events during Whisper quests, also known as ambush encounters. Enemies encountered in ambushes have a chance to drop Collection of Chaos.
You can even choose Colossal Foe affix to further enhance the rewards; it sometimes includes bosses in your Whisper Ambush, which drop higher-tier Greater Collections of Chaos. Malignant Invasion affix adds Slay Varshan to Whisper Ambush and provides Ancestral Collection of Chaos rewards.
I've tried selecting Grim Mysteries to get a Collection of Mysteries instead of Collection of Chaos; sometimes it yields good Diablo 4 Items, sometimes nothing.
Overall, I prefer farming Collections of Keys or talismans that can be dismantled. This allows me to dismantle them for more dust for reforging or recycling for Forgotten Souls. Compared to the completely random results of Collection of Mysteries, this method provides a more consistent output or a more reliable outcome in Diablo 4.
Nightmare Dungeons
In Nightmare Dungeons, you need to first select the affix on the left side of War Plan Trees. Waking Spoils grants an extra chest after completing Nightmare Dungeons, effectively doubling your loot.
Next is Gauntlet: In Nightmare Dungeons, when you kill an enemy while under Shrine buff, the enemy's soul is imprisoned within you. Once Shrine buff wears off, all the imprisoned souls surge forth, reappearing as enemies around you.
This affix is particularly useful for triggering goblin nightmare dungeons: find a Shrine, lure out a goblin, and the entire Diablo 4 Nightmare Dungeon will instantly descend into a frenzied melee.
To further enhance this effect, you can also combine it with Nemesis affix. When Shrine is activated in Nightmare Dungeons, this affix will summon up to seven additional Elites to ambush you. Elites mean extra experience and extra loot.
In the mid-lane affix options, Dread Revival gives bosses in Nightmare Dungeons a chance to revive after being killed. This happens quite frequently; on average, a boss resurrects once every three Nightmare Dungeons.
Recurring Nightmare also increases Monster Power of Dungeons, meaning you'll get more loot. After all, in Diablo 4, the higher the monster strength level, the higher the chance of Mythical gear dropping.
You can also choose Rewarded Faith and Fearless Conviction. Rewarded Faith provides an additional buff from Shrines in Nightmare Dungeons, while Fearless Conviction grants you a stack of Conviction buff after killing Elites and Champions. The higher your Conviction, the more loot you'll ultimately gain.
Helltides
In Diablo 4 Helltides, things get incredibly intense because we need to significantly increase enemy Monster Power to maximize rewards.
Let's start with the first option in the middle column: Hellmouth. When a Hellwyrm emerges, it releases Chaos Rifts, Maggots, or Bloodseekers.
Secondly, Writhe and Rot cause Hellwyrms to continuously spawn Maggots, which gain an additional +1 Monster Power. Higher Monster Power means more rewards, more XP, and an overall boost to all benefits. Pang of Duriel will also appear on the battlefield; defeating them drops Lair Keys.
The real fun lies in combining all the affixes. Hellwyrms only appear when your Threat Level reaches a certain height. To increase your Threat Level as quickly as possible, you should activate Tainted Shrines in Helltides. Once Shrines' buff is active, your Threat Level progress from killing enemies will be doubled. The faster your Threat Level increases, the more Hellwyrms will appear, and the greater the rewards will be.
Next is the second option: Hated Foe. Ambushing your most threatening enemy grants +1 Monster Power. Finally, let's look at the third option: Meat Brothers. At the end of the ambush, Hellborne, which should appear is replaced by two Butchers linked by chains of fire. Defeating these two Butchers has a prime chance of each dropping a Profane Mine Cage. This is the core item for farming in Diablo 4 Helltides.
Using a Profane Mine Cage greatly increases the strength of all monsters in the open world, and this buff lasts until you die. It's practically the most desirable item. You'll obtain numerous Cinders, especially with +1 Monster Power, which is the ultimate secret to farming in Helltides.
These are the best strategies for Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred War Plans. Bring your best gear and enjoy the thrill of reaping loot!
