A new tower siege type game mode called Realm of Trials is now present on the PTR. Players can find a key to open one of these special areas in Greater Rifts. Once created, players face waves of progressively more powerful enemies, with bigger rewards given for how many you clear before the timer ends.

This sounds very fun, but it’s obviously a risk for Hardcore characters, (even though it’s just the PTR and death only means re-copy.) Especially since there’s a bug in the system now, and the monster difficulty starts at the equivalent of the Greater Rift level you were on, and scales up from there. It’s a known issue, at least.

When I did a regular rift on T4, I was awarded Trial Rift Token and when I entered it it was some sort of arena with 5 waves of T6 HP and damage on monsters. It would suck for a HC player if they get in that trial rift with T1 capable character but monsters are T6. Based on our performance in that Trial Rift run we get awarded GR keys it seems. … There is a new system in place on PTR for Greater rifts. It has a very good idea behind it, but it’s poorly executed on Blizzard’s end. When you drop a Greater Rift Token in a Normal Rift run, instead of starting at level 1, you will open a portal to a Trial Run Rift, where based on the number of waves you complete before the timer runs out a key of some level will be rewarded to you, but here where things become interesting – the monsters are about T6 when it comes to their damage and HP in the first wave and the more waves you clear the more damage they deal, while at Wave 9 my Barb got 1 shot by a Dark Berserker.

Araxom: This is a known issue. For the time being, it’s advised that you set the difficulty of the game to a mode you’re very confident with as ramping it up to what is considered challenging will tip the GRift difficulty inordinately out of proportion. Araxom: This is a known issue. For the time being, it’s advised that you set the difficulty of the game to a mode you’re very confident with as ramping it up to what is considered challenging will tip the GRift difficulty inordinately out of proportion.

I haven’t tried one yet, but this sounds really fun. A siege mode where you must withstand waves of enemies has been a favorite fan idea since long before D3’s release, and it’s cool that it’s finally come to the game. (Slight bugs that almost guarantee HC death aside…)

Realm of Trials: Tower Siege Mode comes to Diablo 3! Has excite?