Difference between revisions of "Greater Rift Keystone"

ADVERTISEMENT
From Diablo Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
Line 1: Line 1:
Greater Rift Keystones (GRKs) are required to open [[Greater Rifts]], a special type of [[Nephalem Rift]] added to [[Reaper of Souls]] in [[Patch 2.1]]. These keys have a level number as part of their basic function, with level one GKRs dropped randomly by normal [[Nephalem Rift Guardians]].  
+
Greater Rift Keystones (GRKs) are required to enter [[Greater Rifts]], a special type of [[Nephalem Rift]] added to [[Reaper of Souls]] in [[Patch 2.1]]. These keys have a level number as part of their basic function, from level 1-100, corresponding to the Greater Rift Difficulty.
  
Higher lever GKRs can only be obtained by completing Greater Rifts. If a character kills the Greater Rift Guardian before the fifteen minute timer expires, another GRK will be awarded. The next key will always be at least one rift level higher, and every minute below the deadline a player finishes earns one level higher of greater rift key.  
+
[[File:Greater-rift-keys-ptr2.JPG|left|thumb|90px|GRKs.]]
 +
[[File:Grk29-trials1.JPG|thumb|300px|Level 29 GRK earned from [[Realm of Trials]].]]
 +
Initially in Patch 2.1 testing, level 1 GRKs were dropped directly by Nephalem Rift Guardians. That system was changed to have those monsters drop [[Keystones of Trials]], which enable players to endure wave events in the Realm of Trials. Defeating more waves will earn higher level Greater Rift Keys. A Greater Rift Key is also awarded by Greater Rift Guardians, if players defeat it within the 15m time limit. That GRK will always be at least 1 level higher than the Grift it was earned on, and can jump up to 9 levels higher depending on how far ahead of the 15m timer players complete it.
  
For instance, if a player in a level one Greater Rift finishes the rift and kills the Guardian with five minutes remaining, they would be awarded a level 6 Greater Rift key. The level 6 rift is harder than the level 1, and if they finished that rift with 4 minutes to spare they'd earn a level 10 GRK. Finish that one with just seconds to spare and they would earn a level 11 GRK, and so on.  
+
Level 25-27 is roughly equivalent to [[Torment 6]], so advancing beyond level 30 takes an exceptionally well-geared character. Players found various exploits to clear up through GR 100 during PTR testing of Patch 2.1, but as Blizzard adjusted the difficulty and removed exploits, the maximum Grifts cleared came down. When Patch 2.1 went live Blizzard considered GR 30 about the highest a very-well geared softcore character could handle, with pre-Patch 2.1 gear. The design is for GR 30-40 to be a considerable challenge, with only exceptionally well-geared chars or parties able to advance much beyond GR40.
  
Blizzard hasn't said what the maximum level of Greater Rift is, though there's no apparent reason there should be an upper level, since each higher level just increases monster hit points and damage by some percentage.
+
* See the Greater Rifts article for much more detail about Grifts.
 
 
Level 25-27 is roughly equivalent to [[Torment 6]], so advancing beyond level 30 takes an exceptionally well-geared character. Early in Patch 2.1 testing on the PTR the highest level GR that has been finished solo is 38, and no class other than a Demon Hunter has beaten one above level 31.
 
 
 
* See the Greater Rifts article for much more detail about GRs.
 
  
  
 
==Greater Rift Key Appearance==
 
==Greater Rift Key Appearance==
  
[[File:Greater-rift-keystone-l10.jpg|frame|Greater Rift Keystone, level 10.]]
+
At the start of the Patch 2.1 PTR, Greater Rift Keys of every level used the same icon as regular Rift Keys. Players assumed that was a temporary graphic and sure enough, a stone graphic with a big number on it was being used by the time Patch 2.1 went live. That graphic is often derided as cartoonish, so it's possible the visual will change yet again.
At the start of the Patch 2.1 PTR, Greater Rift Keys of every level used the same icon as regular Rift Keys. It's assumed that this is just a temporary graphic and that a new graphic will be added. The only way to tell a GRK from a normal rift key is to hover on it, and every level of GRK looks identical as well.
 
  
Long term there will likely be no item graphic at all, as Rift Keys will be auto-stored with just a number displayed on the Inventory window, just as [[Gold]] and [[Blood Shards]] are already.
+
<gallery>
 +
File:Grk29-trials1.JPG|GRK rank 29 seen from late in the PTR.
 +
File:Greater-rift-keystone-l10.jpg|GRK first design, reused Rift Key graphic.
 +
</gallery>
  
  

Revision as of 11:29, 26 August 2014

Greater Rift Keystones (GRKs) are required to enter Greater Rifts, a special type of Nephalem Rift added to Reaper of Souls in Patch 2.1. These keys have a level number as part of their basic function, from level 1-100, corresponding to the Greater Rift Difficulty.

GRKs.
Level 29 GRK earned from Realm of Trials.

Initially in Patch 2.1 testing, level 1 GRKs were dropped directly by Nephalem Rift Guardians. That system was changed to have those monsters drop Keystones of Trials, which enable players to endure wave events in the Realm of Trials. Defeating more waves will earn higher level Greater Rift Keys. A Greater Rift Key is also awarded by Greater Rift Guardians, if players defeat it within the 15m time limit. That GRK will always be at least 1 level higher than the Grift it was earned on, and can jump up to 9 levels higher depending on how far ahead of the 15m timer players complete it.

Level 25-27 is roughly equivalent to Torment 6, so advancing beyond level 30 takes an exceptionally well-geared character. Players found various exploits to clear up through GR 100 during PTR testing of Patch 2.1, but as Blizzard adjusted the difficulty and removed exploits, the maximum Grifts cleared came down. When Patch 2.1 went live Blizzard considered GR 30 about the highest a very-well geared softcore character could handle, with pre-Patch 2.1 gear. The design is for GR 30-40 to be a considerable challenge, with only exceptionally well-geared chars or parties able to advance much beyond GR40.

  • See the Greater Rifts article for much more detail about Grifts.


Greater Rift Key Appearance

At the start of the Patch 2.1 PTR, Greater Rift Keys of every level used the same icon as regular Rift Keys. Players assumed that was a temporary graphic and sure enough, a stone graphic with a big number on it was being used by the time Patch 2.1 went live. That graphic is often derided as cartoonish, so it's possible the visual will change yet again.