War Plans is the new endgame system in Diablo IV, introduced with the Lord of Hatred expansion and Season 13, which launched on April 28, 2026. Rather than grinding a single activity with no defined structure, War Plans lets you build a custom playlist of up to five endgame activities.
You complete these activities in sequence and collect consolidated bonus rewards at the end. The deeper layer is the Activity Skill Tree system, which gives each activity its own unlockable modifiers that permanently change how that content plays.
1. What Are War Plans in Diablo IV
War Plans
The War Plans is a structured endgame playlist system introduced in the Lord of Hatred expansion. It replaces disjointed grinding with a highly customizable loop built around these core mechanics:
- Custom Playlists: Build a sequence of up to five endgame activities to complete back-to-back for a consolidated War Chest payout.
- Activity Skill Trees: Unlock dedicated modifiers for each activity that permanently change enemy spawns, reward types, and challenge mechanics.
- Universal Perks: Activity Perks apply across the entire game. Modifying the Nightmare Dungeon tree buffs every Nightmare Dungeon you run, even outside of an active War Plan.
- Permanent Availability: War Plans is a permanent expansion feature that will remain in the game long after Season 13 ends.
This playlist system arrives alongside other permanent expansion additions, including the Warlock and Paladin classes, Echoing Hatred, the Horadric Cube, and the comprehensive Skill Tree Rework.
2. How to Unlock War Plans
Resplendent Favor
War Plans is unlocked through a specific post-campaign sequence. The Command Table in Temis remains non-interactive until all prerequisites are met. To access your first War Plan, complete these steps in exact order:
- Finish the Lord of Hatred campaign in full. The Command Table does not activate until the story credits roll.
- Accept the quest “The War for Sanctuary” after defeating the final boss. This sends you to Tyrael in Temis and formally unlocks the feature.
- Reach Torment difficulty. War Plans are an endgame system gated behind Torment access.
- Travel to Temis, the main city in the Skovos region. This becomes your permanent hub for all War Plans activity.
- Interact with the War Plans Command Table in Temis to unlock the system.
- Build your first War Plan, select your activities, and confirm the route.
- Complete each activity in the chain, then return to Temis to claim your War Chest.
When you first unlock War Plans, the Command Table starts with two activity slots. Additional slots unlock as you complete more plans, eventually reaching the full five-activity chain.
3. How the Playlist System Works
War Plans Command Table
Diablo IV‘s War Plans functions as a structured endgame playlist. You select activities, arrange them in sequence at the Command Table, and the game transitions you between each one automatically. It teleports you to the next activity and generates any missing Sigils or keys so the chain runs without interruption.
3.1. Activities Available as Playlist Slots
Six activities can occupy the playlist slots in a War Plan. Each brings a distinct purpose to your chain:
- Nightmare Dungeons: Activated with Nightmare Sigils. These are the primary source of Glyph XP for Paragon Board progression.
- Helltides: An open-world event where monsters drop Cinders. Cinders open Tortured Gift chests, offering targeted accumulation of equipment and materials.
- The Pit: A deep, randomly generated dungeon with a strict timer. The main source of Masterworking materials. Clearing Artificer’s Tier milestones unlocks higher Torment tiers.
- Infernal Hordes: An arena-based wave survival mode. Generates Burning Aether, spent on reward chests after defeating the Fell Council.
- Lair Bosses: Summoned boss encounters like Duriel and Andariel—the primary source of Unique and Mythic Unique drops.
- Kurast Undercity: A timed dungeon introduced in Vessel of Hatred. Use offerings to shape the final loot composition.
The Tree of Whispers is handled separately and does not occupy a playlist slot. See Section 6 for how it integrates with the system.
3.2. Activity Node Rarities and Reward Icons
Activity nodes come in different rarities, with rarer nodes offering meaningfully better rewards. When selecting activities at the Command Table, prioritize the highest-rarity version of each activity you intend to run. Each node also shows an icon indicating its specific reward type:
- Ring icon: Jewelry spoils
- Anvil and hammer icon: Resources and crafting materials
Connecting multiple nodes with matching reward icons across your chain is the primary method for target-farming specific item types through War Plans.
3.3. Auto-Generated Sigils and Keys
War Plans generates any Sigils or keys you are missing for the activities selected in your route. You never need to stockpile consumables in advance. The system provides what is needed so the chain runs uninterrupted from start to finish.
3.4. Rerolling Your Plan
Starting a War Plans route
The activity pool shown at the Command Table has a random element. If the available options do not match your current goal, you can reroll using the New Plan button. Rerolling has a cost, and a daily token system resets three reroll tokens per day, with each token swapping one unwanted objective for a new one.
3.5. The War Chest
The War Chest is your final payout for completing every activity in a route. You claim it at the Command Table in Temis after the chain ends. It drops a consolidated bundle of rewards that scales based on:
- The activities you selected
- The modifiers applied to the route
- Your current War Plans rank and overall progression
Bonus rewards also drop at each activity node as you complete the chain, not only at the end. The War Chest is a final layer added on top of everything accumulated during the run itself.
3.6. War Plans Ranks
War Plans has 10 ranks. Rank increases with each playlist completion. Ranking up the Command Table consistently is the core long-term progression path of the War Plans system. Each new rank provides specific bonuses:
- Increases reward output from the playlist system
- Expands the selection pool when choosing your next five activities
- Unlocks more nodes with a greater variety of rewards and objectives
4. How Activity Skill Trees Work
Lair of Rune Node
Each of the six playlist activities, plus the Tree of Whispers, has its own dedicated Activity Skill Tree. These trees do not grant passive stat bonuses.
They modify how each activity functions structurally: changing enemy spawns, replacing reward types, and creating unique challenge scenarios.
4.1. How Activity Experience Works
Activity Experience feeds into the corresponding skill tree for each activity. The rate differs significantly depending on how you earn it:
- Inside a War Plan: Completing an activity grants approximately 25 or more Activity Experience toward its tree. This is the primary and most efficient source of tree progression.
- Outside a War Plan: Completing an activity on its own grants approximately 1 Activity Experience per completion. The tree does advance, but at a dramatically slower rate.
Run the activities you want to invest in through War Plans, not as standalone sessions, if tree advancement is a priority.
4.2. Activity Perks Apply Everywhere
Activity Tree selections
Once unlocked, Activity Perks are permanent modifications that apply to the corresponding activity throughout the entire game.
A perk for Nightmare Dungeons buffs every Nightmare Dungeon you run, whether it is part of a route or a completely standalone session. Every point spent in a tree has lasting value.
4.3. Tree Size and Forced Specialization
Each skill tree has seven usable skill points, but the trees themselves contain more than double that number of nodes. This forces meaningful choices as you progress:
- You cannot max out an entire tree.
- Selecting certain nodes locks out others when their effects conflict.
- Each tree requires a decision about which modifications matter most for your current goals.
Pick the modifications that align with how you want to play that activity, and accept that other nodes will remain out of reach until you respec.
4.4. Respeccing Activity Trees
Respecting your Activity Trees is free. Swap your tree setup before each session based on what your build currently needs. Treat tree allocation as a flexible, per-session tool rather than a permanent commitment.
- Farming crafting materials: spec into resource-swapping nodes.
- Hunting Unique or Mythic drops: spec into Lair Boss spawn nodes.
- Pushing Paragon progression: spec into Glyph Upgrade nodes in the Pit tree.
5. All War Plans Tree Nodes
The node lists below represent every confirmed Activity Skill Tree node across all activities in Season 13. These are active mechanical modifications, not stat multipliers. Review each tree to determine where you want to spend your seven available points.
5.1. Tree of Whispers Nodes
Tree of Whispers Nodes
The Tree of Whispers runs concurrently with your active War Plan and has its own skill tree. Its nodes target cache quality, encounter escalation, and rare material drops:
- Tree of Plenty: The Tree offers a fourth Whisper Cache choice instead of three.
- Fortune or Famine: Whisper Caches are always at least Greater Quality or Junk — no mid-tier drops.
- Simple Gifts: Narrows the Tree to a single Cache choice, always a Material Collection or Collection of Chaos.
- Material Wealth: The Tree only offers Material Collections.
- Chaotic Favor: Completing a Whisper has a small chance to award a Collection of Chaos.
- Grim Mysteries: Collections of Chaos are replaced with Collections of Mysteries.
- Grim Retribution: Completing a Whisper triggers a Whisper Ambush. Enemies from the ambush can drop Collections of Chaos when slain.
- Colossal Foe: Whisper Ambushes can include Bosses that always drop a Greater Collection of Chaos.
- Malignant Invasion: Varshan can appear during a Whisper Ambush.
- Corrupted Roots: Whisper Caches sometimes contain Corrupted Roots. Planting them grows an Exposed Root that attracts nearby enemies and can spawn more powerful ones.
- Roots of Power: Enemies drawn to Exposed Roots gain +1 Monster Power. Planting Corrupted Roots during Helltide yields double rewards.
- Headrotten Feast: Headrotten Bosses drawn to Exposed Roots gain +1 Monster Power and always drop a Whisper Cache.
- Resplendent Favor: Each Whisper Cache has a chance to drop a Resplendent Spark.
- Wisdom of Whispers: Gain 50% more Experience Orbs from Whisper Caches.
5.2. Nightmare Dungeon Nodes
Nightmare Dungeons Nodes
The Nightmare Dungeon tree adds high-risk encounter layers, bonus reward windows, and cross-boss spawn opportunities throughout each run:
- Waking Spoils: A War’s Bounty Chest spawns after completing a Nightmare Dungeon, providing additional rewards.
- Gauntlet: Slaying an enemy while under a Shrine buff traps their soul. When the buff expires, all trapped souls re-emerge as renewed enemies.
- Nemesis: Activating a Shrine causes up to 7 Elite enemies to ambush you.
- Rewarded Faith: Grants a random additional buff when claiming a Shrine.
- Dread Revival: Bosses have a chance to revive when slain.
- Recurring Nightmare: Bosses gain +1 Monster Power and have a chance to drop an Escalation Sigil on death.
- Branching Pathways: When advancing in a Nightmare Escalation, two additional Horadric Portals appear.
- Goblinfall: Treasure Goblins have a small chance to drop a Nightmare Sigil with the Treasure Breach affix.
- Horadric Hunter: Kill 30 Elites to reveal a Horadric Altar. Activating it triggers one of five outcomes: summon Elites, summon Treasure Goblins, summon The Butcher, Gain Riches, or Terrible Misfortune.
- Cipher Maps: Revealing a Horadric Altar reveals 2 instead.
- Greed is Good: Killing a Treasure Goblin has a small chance to open a portal to the Goblin’s Retreat.
- Altar of Avarice: Horadric Altars are replaced with Goblin Altars that only summon Treasure Goblins.
- Out of the Cold: When fighting a boss in a Nightmare Dungeon, the Beast in Ice has a chance to appear. Killing the dungeon boss then has a chance to drop Unique items from Beast in Ice’s Hoard Chest.
- Dog of Astaroth: When fighting a boss in a Nightmare Dungeon, the Amalgam of Rage has a chance to appear. Killing it can drop Unique items associated with Astaroth.
5.3. Helltide Nodes
Helltide Nodes
The Helltide tree escalates the Threat system, introduces cross-boss spawns during Helltide events, and upgrades reward chest outputs:
- Tainted Shrines: While empowered by a Shrine in Helltide, slain enemies grant double progress toward your Threat Level.
- Hated Foe: Maximum Threat enemies that ambush you gain +1 Monster Power.
- Hell’s Prize: A Hell’s Prize chest now appears in Helltide. Opening it costs 666 Aberrant Cinders and drops a large burst of items.
- Nemesis Tides: Initiate Lair Bosses appear instead of Helltide Commanders after a Helltide event. Killing these Lair Bosses during Event Mastery grants random Lair Boss materials. This only occurs at Torment difficulty and above.
- Grigoire’s Gambit: After opening a Tortured Gift, Grigoire’s knights may ambush you. Killing them in Helltide can drop Unique items from Grigoire’s Hoard Chest.
- Duriel’s Invasion: When summoning the Blood Maiden in Helltide, Duriel can be summoned instead. Killing him can drop Unique items from his Hoard Chest.
5.4. The Pit Nodes
Pit Nodes
The Pit tree is built around timer-based risk/reward mechanics and cross-boss encounters during clears:
- Choron’s Haste: The Pit gains the Haste Mastery objective. Killing the Guardian grants +1 Glyph Upgrade Chance for every 5 minutes remaining on the timer at the time of the kill.
- Choron’s Shortcut: Choron’s Portal randomly appears and teleports you to an Elite, Shrine, or other Pit Objective.
- Damned Thieves: Orb Thieves spawn in The Pit. They drop a large number of Progress Orbs when killed, but leave a trail of Traps.
- Heart of Stone: Begin the Pit carrying the Heart of Stone relic. It drops after sustained damage and breaks after 10 drops. Enemies drop bonus Progress Orbs while you carry them. After slaying the Guardian, Choron’s Pedestal appears.
- Children of Zir: Lord Zir’s Bloodseekers can ambush you in The Pit. Killing them can drop Unique items from Lord Zir’s Hoard Chest.
5.5. Lair Bosses Nodes
Lair Bosses Nodes
The Lair Bosses tree constructs an escalating gauntlet through chained Nemesis encounters, while green cross-activity nodes inject boss appearances into other content at no summoning material cost:
- Lair of Penalty: Lair Bosses gain +1 Monster Power. Gain +1 Hoard Chest per Lair Boss kill.
- Exotic Armory: Hoard Chests drop one additional Unique item. The class is random, but the total number of Uniques per run increases directly.
- Golden Hoard: All equipment from Hoard Chests converts to Gold, except Unique and Mythic Unique items.
- Nemesis: After opening a Horde Chest, a portal to a Nemesis encounter may appear. Inside, two Initiate Lair Bosses must be defeated simultaneously for substantial bonus rewards.
- Greater Nemesis: After clearing a Nemesis challenge, a portal to Greater Lair Bosses may open. Players face two Duriel- or Andariel-caliber bosses simultaneously.
- Ultimate Nemesis: After defeating all bosses in Greater Nemesis, the Call of Evil altar appears. Consuming 5 Betrayer’s Husks opens a portal to the Ultimate Nemesis Lair. All enemies gain +5 Monster Power. Defeating the encounter awards 10 Hoard Chests worth of items.
- Cross-activity spawn nodes: Multiple nodes inject Lair Bosses into other activities with no key cost. Confirmed spawns include the Beast in Ice appearing during Infernal Horde boss fights, and the Amalgam of Rage (Astaroth’s mount) appearing during Nightmare Dungeons. Both drop their respective boss loot on the spot.
5.6. Infernal Hordes Nodes
Infernal Hordes Nodes
The Infernal Hordes tree focuses on Aether income, escalating the Fell Council encounter, and cross-boss appearances during wave combat:
- Devil’s Deal: At the start of Infernal Hordes, gain an Infernal Challenge. Completing it grants +200 Aether.
- Blood of Bartuc: The Fell Council gains +1 Monster Power. After defeat, the Spoils of Greater Equipment may drop Unique items associated with Bartuc.
- Exalted Council: Bartuc and the Fell Council gain +1 Monster Power and drop additional items when slain.
- Varshan’s Vengeance: Varshan and his minions can appear during a Chaos Wave. Defeating them allows the Spoils of Greater Equipment chest to drop Unique items from Varshan’s loot table.
- Infernal Bargain: Obducite: Removes Gem Fragment drops from Infernal Hordes entirely and replaces them with Obducite.
- Infernal Deception: Belial can ambush you after the completion of Infernal Hordes.
5.7. Kurast Undercity Nodes
Kurast Undercity Nodes
The Undercity tree adds Invasion Portal encounters and escalating timer-based risk/reward for fast-running players:
- Endless Swarm: Invasion Portals appear as you progress through the Undercity. Enemies from these portals grant Attunement when slain.
- Unfortunate Souls: Invasion Portals can summon Wisps that attach to you and vanish if you die. Each Wisp saved rewards Forgotten Souls and crafting materials at the end of the run.
- Gutter Filth: Activating any Beacon has a small chance to summon a Portal Prankster. Invasion Portals may sometimes summon Rats.
- Trials and Tributes: For each Portal Prankster slain, a Tribute Chest appears after killing the District Boss. Tribute Chests require an offering to open.
- Last Gasp: Time collected from slain enemies with 5 seconds or less remaining on the timer doubles the time earned from those kills.
6. How Tree of Whispers Fits into War Plans
Fortune or Famine
The Tree of Whispers operates differently from every other War Plans activity. Rather than occupying one of the five playlist slots, Whispers run concurrently alongside whichever activities are already in your chain.
Whisper objectives progress in the background as you complete other playlist entries, generating extra rewards without displacing any slot in your route. Whispers still earn their own Activity Experience during these concurrent runs.
Activity Points accumulate toward the Tree of Whispers skill tree just as they do for any other activity. Because Whispers add reward density at no opportunity cost, they function as a passive bonus layer on top of every War Plans session.
7. War Plans and the Season Challenges
Season 13’s Rank I Challenges
War Plans is directly woven into the Season 13 Season Challenges structure. Multiple Season Rank milestones require reaching specific Activity Levels across your trees. The Season Journey cannot be fully completed without engaging with the system.
Around 25% of all Season 13 objectives require the Lord of Hatred expansion, meaning the full War Plans challenge track is expansion-locked for free-to-play players. Confirmed War Plans milestones across the Season Journey ranks include:
- Rank III: Novice Strategist: Reach Activity Level 2 on any two War Plan Activities. Rewards: 1 Skill Point, Skovos Cache, Experience Tome.
- Rank III: First Battle: Complete 3 War Plans at the Command Table on Hard difficulty or higher. Rewards: 1 Skill Point, Skovos Cache, Experience Tome.
- Rank V: Realm of Influence: Reach Activity Level 3 on any three War Plan Activities. Rewards: 4 Paragon Points, Greater Skovos Cache, Ancient Memory.
- Rank VII: Battle Hardened: Reach Activity Level 4 on any four War Plan Activities.
- Rank IX: Veteran Commander: Reach Activity Level 5 on any five War Plan Activities. Rewards: Ancestral Skovos Cache, 8 Volatile Primordial Dust, 8 Pure Primordial Dust.
Plan activity priorities with these thresholds in mind. Leveling two or three trees covers Ranks III and V. Spreading investment across five separate activities becomes the priority for the final ranks.
8. How to Build Your Progression Path
Warlock gameplay
War Plans rewards players who match their route to what their character actually needs at that point in the season. Selecting boss-heavy routes before you build can push high Torment tiers, slowing progression rather than accelerating it.
8.1. Activity Purposes at a Glance
Use this as a starting reference when deciding which activities to include in your playlist:
- Nightmare Dungeons: Best source of Glyph XP for Paragon Board progression. Strong early-to-mid season priority for players still building out their boards.
- Helltides: Open-world density farming with targeted chest rewards via Cinders. Best for material accumulation and broad gear acquisition across a session.
- The Pit: The primary benchmark for measuring build power. Directly tied to Torment tier unlocks via Artificer’s Tier milestones. Best used to test survivability and damage output.
- Lair Bosses: The most direct source of Unique and Mythic Unique drops. Most efficient once your build reaches the power threshold to push higher Torment tiers comfortably.
- Infernal Hordes: Reward volume scales with wave depth. A ticket used at Torment 8 power yields substantially more than one used at Torment 4.
- Kurast Undercity: Tribute-based reward farming with strong control over final loot composition. Best for players targeting specific crafting materials.
8.2. Activity Tree Investment Principles
Follow these core principles when deciding where to spend your tree points across Season 13:
- Specialize early. With seven points per tree and more than double that in available nodes, spreading across every tree produces weak bonuses everywhere. Pick one or two activities and invest deeply before branching out.
- Match nodes to your current goal. Farming Masterworking materials requires prioritizing Pit nodes. Hunting Mythic Uniques means focusing on the Lair Boss tree.
- Use the same-icon nodes for target-farming. Connecting nodes with matching reward icons in your chain is the most direct path to specific item types.
- Leverage cross-activity boss spawn nodes. Lair Boss tree nodes inject boss encounters into Helltides, Nightmare Dungeons, and Infernal Hordes without spending summoning materials.
- Respec freely. Swap your tree allocation before each session based on your current priority. Treat the trees as flexible tools, not permanent builds.
