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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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. 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.
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