[[File:Greater-rift-completion27.jpg|thumb|250px|Greater Rift Complete banner.]]Greater Rifts (GRs or GRifts, initially known as '''Tiered Rifts''') are a higher level of [[Nephalem Rift]], meant to provide a progressively greater challenge with bigger rewards as players progress to higher and higher levels. They are found added in Reaper of Souls and the console [[Ultimate Evil EditionPatch 2.1]], but not in regular Diablo 3. Greater Rifts Grifts are timed, and *must* be completed within 15 minutes designed to earn rewards. All gold and treasure in Greater Rifts drop from the [[Greater Rift Guardians|Greater Rift Guardian]] (GRG) which is provide an upgraded version of the regular [[Rift Guardiansend game]]. Normal monsters do not drop items or goldplay mode with progressively increasing difficultly, and there are no chests or destructibles in GRiftsrewards to match.
Each Greater Rift is equivalent to a Nephalem Rift in size, layout, and monster density. The difference is that Greater Rifts must be completed within 15 minutes (to advance), and are scaled to their own 1-100 levels of difficulty (GR 25 is roughly equivalent to [[File:Greater-rift-completion27Torment 6]]).jpg|left|thumb|300ps|When players complete each Greater Rift Complete banner.]][[File:by moving the progress bar to 100% and then killing the Guardian that appears, before the 15m timer runs out, they receive a token for a higher level Greater-rift-death1Rift.jpg|thumb|350px|Death (Faster clears earn bigger jumps up in a Rift = no restart at corpsethe Grift key level.]])
'''Difficulty: '''Other game aspects tied to Greater Rifts include [[Legendary Gems]], which are numbered as a measure of their difficulty. A level 1 Greater Rift is very easy, equivalent to only found and upgraded (via [[NormalUrshi]] difficulty (or less.) in Greater Rifts scale up quickly though, and will become challenging for any player ability. Level 8 is equivalent to about Torment 1, Level 15 is equivalent to about the [[Torment 3Realm of Trials]], and Level 25 is approximately the same which exists as a way for players to earn higher level [[Torment 6Greater Rift Keystones]]. The are 100 levels of Greater Rifts, and during testing players repeatedly found skill and item exploits enabling (Saving them to progress all the time over clearing multiple lower level Grifts as they work their way to the endup.)
Quick notes:
* There are very few [[shrines]] in Grifts and [[Pylons]] last only 15 seconds. There are no [[Conduit]] Pylons at all.
* [[Treasure Goblins]] are not found in Grifts. Early on the PTR they were present, and would drop [[Progress Orbs]] when killed.
* No loot or gold drops in Grifts, and there are no chests and very few destructibles.
* Respecs and gear changes are not permitted during a Grift. In early PTR testing players could return to town and change gear, but this is no longer permitted.
* Greater Rifts are found only in [[Adventure Mode]] and as such are only in [[Reaper of Souls]] or [[Ultimate Evil Edition]].
'''No Respecs:''' Characters can reallocate their [[Paragon Points]] while in an active Rift, but can not respec or make any changes to their equipment. (Skills and items can be changed only once the Guardian is dead or before entering a new Grift.) Gear could be changed in town during an active Grift, and players would exit to shift around items (such as donning one of the elemental damage immunity [[legendary amulets]]), but this exploit was eliminated in a patch on August 5, 2014.
'''Rewards: '''Items and [[gold]] do not drop in Greater Rifts, and there are no chests or other clickables. All treasure comes from defeating the Greater Rift Guardian, who drops a huge amount of stuff, about double that of a normal Rift Guardian, and has a very high probability of dropping at least one legendary item. (Note that the lack of gold and chests kills the effectiveness of legendary items such as [[Goldwrap]] and [[Harrington Waistguard]] that proc up in effectiveness via gold pickups or chest/clickables opening.)==Difficulty==
[[File:Keystone-of-trials1.jpg|thumb|320px|Enter the [[Realm of Trials]] to earn higher level [[GRK]]s.]]
Greater Rifts do not use usual Diablo 3 [[difficulty]] system. GRs are numbered from 1-100 in ascending difficulty, and as players clear rifts they will earn Greater Rift Keys (GRKs) to enter higher level Rifts.
It'''[s impossible to directly compare difficulty levels<ref>[Shrines]]http:''' There are very few [[shrines]] or [[pylons]//diablo.incgamers.com/blizzard-tracker/devthread/us/13271628029 Greater Rift Difficulty] - Blizzard CM, 04/06/14</ref> due to vagaries in Greater Rifts. Pylons are seen occasionallymonster spawn and density, but their bonuses last only 15 seconds (instead of the usual 30) and Blizzard specifically said that approximate levels agreed upon by testers are:<ref>[http://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo/comments/2942zw/ptr_early_greater_rift_tips/ Greater Rift early feedback] - Sidereel via Reddit, 27/06/2014</ref> <ref>[Conduit]] Pylons would not be found in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoN3B3T7ES4 Greater Rifts since they are so powerful they would skew the entire rift [[LeaderboardRift playthrough video]] system.- ZiggyD gaming stream, 27/06/2014</ref>
Approximate Greater Rift Level = [[Difficulty]]
* Greater Rift Level 1 = [[Normal]]
* Greater Rift Level 3 = [[Hard]]
* Greater Rift Level 4 = [[Expert]]
* Greater Rift Level 6 = [[Master]]
* Greater Rift Level 8 = [[Torment 1]]
* Greater Rift Level 12 = [[Torment 2]]
* Greater Rift Level 15 = [[Torment 3]]
* Greater Rift Level 17 = [[Torment 4]]
* Greater Rift Level 20 = [[Torment 5]]
* Greater Rift Level 25 = [[Torment 6]]
* Greater Rift Level 25+ = Harder and harder.
'''[[Treasure Goblins]]''': Early in GR30 was about the limit for a very well-equipped (softcore) character entering the Patch 2.1 testing on the PTR. Going higher than that required great gear and/or various exploits (many of which were patched during the PTR testing Goblins dropped gold after players found tricks to reach GR100) or very good teamwork. Post Patch 2.1 Blizzard expects that characters with top gear and items as usual. This was soon patched Legendary Gems will be able to make them drop only clear up into the orange orbs 30s or low 40s. Higher than that boost completion percentage, which dead Elites also drop. Further changes may be in storewill take real dedication and exceptional gear.
Greater Rifts require a balance of gear, since they must be defeated within the 15m time limit, and since dying means no restart from corpse option. Players thus can't die much (or at all solo), but players also can't be too conservative with lots of toughness but not enough killing power.
'''Progress Bar:'''The progress bar in a Greater Rift increases gradually from killing trash mobs, but jumps up by larger amounts for Elite kills. (Elites drop objects that look a bit like gooey orange health orbs, which count for big boosts in the progress bar when collected.) This is a feature designed to keep players from simply rushing past Elites to more quickly finish the rift by killing trash mobs, as can be done in normal Nephalem Rifts, and players will fill their progress bar more quickly by killing Elites than by skipping them, except in very rare long Elite battles.
==Accessing Greater Rifts==
[[File:Grift-exit-obelisk1.jpg|thumb|300px|Exit obelisk.]]'''Exit Obelisk''': The series of steps to enter Greater Rifts "end" when the Guardian is killed, and no more monsters will spawn, even if players head down to lower levels. GRifts have the same exit obelisks as normal Rifts, which will take players back to town if clicked upon.:
# Find a [[Keystone of Trials]], which can be dropped by any Nephalem Rift Guardian.
# Use the Keystone of Trials at the Nephalem Obelisk in town to enter the [[Realm of Trials]].
## In the Trial fight waves of enemies, killing as many as possible to earn a higher level [[Greater Rift Key]].
# Use your Greater Rift Key to open a Greater Rift of that level.
# Clear the Grift and kill the Guardian within 15m to earn a higher level GRK.
# GRKs are upgraded via [[Urshi]], and a higher level GRK will be created based on how fast the rift was cleared.
# Use the new GRK to enter a Grift of that level, and repeat until you can not finish a Grift in time.
==Accessing Prior to the introduction of the Realm of Trials, players simply found GRK 1 and Process==started on level one, moving up quickly to higher levels via very quick completions of the low difficulty GRifts. This was boring for well-geared characters though, having to repeatedly rush through the equivalent of Normal difficulty Grifts, hence Blizzard implemented the Realm of Trials to provide higher level GRks that could be earned fairly quickly.
# Get a Greater Rift Keystone level 1 from completing a Nephalem Rift. - {{wl|[http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/threads/drop-rate-of-greater-rift-keystones.861940/ Drop rate still being determined.]}}<ref>{{wl|[http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/threads/drop-rate-of-greater-rift-keystones.861940/ Greater Rift Keystone Drop Rate.]}}</ref>
# Use the GR Keystone to open a portal to a Greater Rift at the regular Nephalem Obelisk next to [[Orek]].
# Kill all the mobs in the Greater Rift before the timer runs out.
# No regular or champion mobs drop loot in Greater Rifts.
# The Rift Guardian will drop loot regardless if the timer has run out or not.
# If the Rift Guardian is killed before the timer runs out he will drop a Greater Rift Keystone.
# GRKs are upgraded via [[Urshi]], and a higher level GRK will be created based on how fast the rift was cleared.
# Use the new GRK to enter a Grift of that level, and repeat.
[[File:Greater-rift-progress-bar2.JPG|left|thumb|200px|Ahead of the progress time.]]
[[File:Greater-riftGrift-progress-belowbar1sml.jpgJPG|right|thumb|200px|Behind the progress time.]]
When players are battling through a Rift that's just at the limit of their killing power, they will often see their progress dropping behind, or moving slightly ahead of the timer bar, depending on the monster density and their relative sleepd. Since the Rift Guardian appears last and has very high hit points, players must be some distance ahead of the end time on the progress bar to have time to finish the Guardian as well, and most Rifts "fail" while players are locked in fevered battle with the GRG.
When characters fail to complete a rift in time they can still earn the item and gold rewards for killing the Greater Rift Guardian. They just fail to earn more [[Greater Rift Keystones]] and thus can not progress to a higher level Rift. If they have no more GRKs they must restart at a level one GR (or go clear normal Rifts until they find a GRK) and work their way back up.
==Difficulty==
[[File:Grift-orbs1.jpg|thumb|300px|Elites and Goblins drop orange orbs that boost the progress bar.]]
Greater Rifts do not use usual Diablo 3 [[difficulty]] system. GRs are numbered and are easiest at #1, with a steady progression in difficulty all the way up to rank 100. Early estimates of equivalent difficulty levels came from various sources, but tended to agree on the general difficulty range.<ref>[http://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo/comments/2942zw/ptr_early_greater_rift_tips/ Greater Rift early feedback] - Sidereel via Reddit, 27/06/2014</ref> <ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoN3B3T7ES4 Greater Rift playthrough video] - ZiggyD gaming stream, 27/06/2014</ref>
Approximate Greater Rift Level = [[Difficulty]]
* Greater Rift Level 1 = [[Normal]]
* Greater Rift Level 3 = [[Hard]]
* Greater Rift Level 4 = [[Expert]]
* Greater Rift Level 6 = [[Master]]
* Greater Rift Level 8 = [[Torment 1]]
* Greater Rift Level 12 = [[Torment 2]]
* Greater Rift Level 15 = [[Torment 3]]
* Greater Rift Level 17 = [[Torment 4]]
* Greater Rift Level 20 = [[Torment 5]]
* Greater Rift Level 25 = [[Torment 6]]
* Greater Rift Level 25+ = Harder and harder.
As Greater Rifts must be completed within the 15 minute time limit, simply surviving them is not enough to progress. Characters must be balanced to succeed on higher level Rifts, or play in parties that create balance. A character with very high [[Toughness]] but not a lot of [[DPS]], who can grind out Torment 6 in normal play, will not succeed on higher level GRs since they won't be able to kill fast enough. Likewise, characters with very high DPS but a lack of survivability will die too often, and without a "restart at corpse" option they will waste too much time running back from the start of the level.
Characters need high killing power '''and''' the ability to stay alive, to be able to finish higher level rifts quickly enough to advance.
The difficulty of higher Greater Rifts is something that will be balanced throughout the [[PTR]] process. Blizzard recently confirmed. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blizzard-tracker/devthread/us/13271628029 Greater Rift Difficulty] - Blizzard CM, 04/06/14</ref>
<blue>Torment 6 is equivalent to what level in G.rift? I know lvl 28 is harder than T6, but I am not sure the exact level where it hit the same difficulty as T6.
Nevalistis: There isn’t a direct correlation between Greater Rift difficulty and the usual difficulty modes. They are independent from one another, though you can make rough comparisons through your own experimentation.
However, we do plan on tweaking the difficulty scaling in the next PTR patch, so you may find those lines different from what you’re experiencing now and perhaps a bit easier to draw. We really appreciate the feedback we’ve received on Greater Rifts so far, and we look forward to seeing your thoughts in the next PTR patch! </blue>
All gold and item rewards in Greater Rifts are granted by the [[Greater Rift Guardian]] at the end of the level, who pops with a massive shower of gold, items, and materials, including usually at least one legendary item.
No gold or items are meant to drop (early in the PTR Patch testing some are were still being rarely found from destructibles that haven't been completely removed) from normal or Elite enemies in a Greater Rift, there are no chests or destructibles or clickables (loose floor tiles, dead bodies, armor/weapon racks, etc)and very few destructibles. Kills Monster kills do grant experience as well as Rift Progress, but the gold and item and material rewards come entirely from the Greater Rift Guardian.
Screenshots and videos from Greater Rifts.
<gallery>
File:Greater-rift-guardian-drop1.JPG|Guardian drop.
File:Grift-orbs1.jpg|Early version of progress orbs.
File:Greater-rift-death1.jpg|Death in a Rift = no restart at corpse.
File:Grift-exit-obelisk1.jpg|Exit obelisks do exist in Greater Rifts.
</gallery>
{|
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<youtube>BoN3B3T7ES4</youtube>
ZiggyD with a very informative video showing his Demon Hunter progressing from L1 up to a L27 Greater Rift in a party.
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<youtube>8oPg27IyhrQ</youtube>
Solo Barbarian Greater Rift play from Eisenheim TVfans.
<gallery>File:Greater-rift-guardian-drop1.JPG|Guardian Drop.File:Greater-rift-elite-globes.jpg|Orange orbs boost progress bar.</gallery>}