Torment is the ultimate test of skill and gear in Diablo 4. Compared to the Nightmare difficulty, enemies hit even harder, have more life, and utilize more devastating abilities. It's important to properly prepare before entering Torment to avoid becoming overwhelmed.

This survival guide will provide tips on reaching level 70, acquiring gear, optimizing builds, farming encounters, and using co-op to improve your chances of conquering Diablo 4's hardest difficulty.

Reach Level 70 First

There is no minimum level required to enter Torment, but enemies will all be level 70 or higher. Attempting it below level 60 is extremely risky. Ideally, reach the Nightmare level cap of 70 before progressing.

The additional 10 levels provide more skill points to refine your build, increased health and stats, and access to new skills and rune effects. Grinding high XP areas like Champion's Demise in Nightmare can quickly get you to 70.

The 200% XP bonus in Torment may tempt under-leveled players, but the risks likely outweigh the faster progression. Ensure your character has the stats and skills needed to survive before rushing in.

Acquire the Best Nightmare Gear

While levels help, gear makes a bigger impact in Torment. Weapons, armor, gems, and elixirs found in late Nightmare provide a considerable boost.

Replaying dungeons and targeted farming of elite enemies and bosses will eventually yield top-tier Sacred items. Timed Helltide events also offer chests of powerful gear for completing their challenges.

If your current character is struggling to acquire D4 items for sale, consider trading with other players. While Legendary gear is bound, quality Rare and gem items can be bartered.

Optimize Your Build

All classes can complete Torment, but your skill selection greatly impacts difficulty. Lean into either heavy damage or maximum survival. Popular damage-focused builds include the Sorceress' Twilight Soul Shards and the Rogue's Shadow Realm.

Tankier options like the Druid's Briarthorn and the Barbarian's Juggernaut prioritize sustain and resilience. Ensure your build is refined and synergistic before taking it into Torment.

Practice in Softcore First

Torment is available in both Softcore and Hardcore modes. In Hardcore, death permanently deletes your character. The higher stakes incentivize attempting Hardcore Torment for bigger rewards.

For your first Torment run, play in Softcore mode to learn the increased difficulties. Mimic your planned Hardcore character's build to get ability timing and strategies down before the real thing.

Farm Easier Encounters

It's tempting to skip past enemies in Torment, but slower and more thorough is safer. Completing side objectives and clearing areas fully gives more chances for Diablo 4 gold and items. It also provides more incremental practice against the amped-up enemies.

Farming early dungeons can be highly profitable. The Scosglen Stronghold respawns when revisiting games, allowing endless farming of the easier enemies leading up to the first boss.

Utilize Ancestral Items

Ancestral items are the new top tier of gear in Torment, significantly stronger than Sacred items. They can drop from any source, even normal enemies, and are a priority for equipping.

Compare Ancestral item stats closely, as their basic forms may still outweigh more advanced Sacred gear. A basic Ancestral sword could beat an Elite Sacred one. These D4 items for sale can propel your strength forward massively.

Adopt Defensive Strategies

The risks and incoming damage of Torment often require more nuanced approaches to fights. Charging headfirst into crowds or tanking hits will get you killed quickly.

Utilize mobility and positioning to avoid attacks and isolate smaller groups. Retreat fully when at risk instead of pushing forward at all costs. Bring plenty of health and defense-boosting elixirs to counter dangerous situations.

Run Co-op with Friends

Co-op allows up to four players to unite against Torment's challenges. A diverse party covers each other's weaknesses and multiplies damage and survivability.

Public groups can be hit or miss for synergy. For best results, build a pre-made group of complementary classes and skills amongst trusted allies. Even just one high-level partner can carry and empower a newer Torment character.

Prioritize Resistance Stats

Enemies in Torment hit extremely hard and often inflict dangerous elemental ailments. Ensure your gear provides ample resistance against these effects.

Check your Fire, Cold, Lightning, and Poison resist levels and aim for at least 50% in each. Components that raise all resistances globally are ideal. Prioritizing resistance helps counteract the inflated enemy damage.

Collect Health Globes

Health globes appear frequently from fallen foes in Diablo 4 but are often ignored. In Torment, regularly grabbing globes provides a crucial flow of sustained healing between battles.

Health globes instantly restore a portion of life on contact. Make collecting them habitually, even at high health. Some items even boost globe potency or trigger additional effects when picked up.

Complete the Story Quests

It can be tempting to skip quest dialogue and linear objectives to focus just on combat and Diablo 4 gold farming. However, completing the full story quest chains unlocks permanent bonuses.

Finishing the Scosglen arc grants a 30% crowd control resistance bonus, for example. The cumulative rewards help offset Torment's inflated enemy stats and are worth the time invested.

Unlock the PvP Vendor

After finishing the main story, an additional PvP-focused vendor named Gernese will appear in Helltide Ridge. She sells unique items tailored for player vs player combat.

Several of her wares including the Deck of Pain trinket work excellently against PvE enemies as well. Having access to her inventory provides some nice gear options not found elsewhere.

Complete All Secondary Tasks

Take on all bonus objectives, events, and side activities in each zone. Defeating these additional challenges awards Diablo 4 gold, crafting materials, and loot at far better rates than normal enemies.

Prioritize artifact hunts, infected creature slaying, rescuing survivors, and eliminating wanted targets. Being thorough nets big rewards plus clears areas for faster subsequent runs.

Upgrade Your Camp

Your personal camp offers critical services including gear enhancement, PvP training, and free healing. However, these stations must be unlocked through crafting upgrades.

Max out the Woodworking station first for health restores between battles. Smithing and Jewelcrafting boost gear. Unlocking every camp upgrade makes surviving Torment much smoother.

Complete Dungeons in Full Groups

Instanced dungeons allow up to four players to enter together. Tackling these long gauntlets solo is very risky, so fill your party.

Dungeons contain multiple named bosses and tons of elite enemies, so the added firepower and synergies of a full team make them far easier. The same loot drops for each member, so there are no downsides.

Stay Mobile in Combat

Footwork and positioning are vital in the faster and deadlier fights of Torment difficulty. Standing still or getting surrounded quickly leads to death.

Use movement abilities frequently to sidestep projectiles and ground effects. Melee characters should dash between targets to avoid being swarmed. Keep escape routes open so you can retreat if needed.

Stack Defensive Buffs

Layered defensive abilities help mitigate the heavy damage from Torment foes. Combine personal buffs like Barbarian's War Cry with external ones such as Necromancer's Bone Armor.