Diablo 4 players discover you can skip the campaign when you start a hardcore run after finishing on normal

Diablo 4
(Image credit: Blizzard)

Diablo 4 players have discovered that once you've completed the campaign on normal or "softcore" difficulty, you can skip the entire campaign when you boot up in hardcore.

That's according to u/Jsemtady, who popped onto the Diablo 4 subreddit to report that after completing the campaign on normal difficulty, "you can create [a] new character on hardcore and skip the campaign, and have horses from the start… even transmog is for all normal/hardcore. Huge."

Found that u can skip campaign for HC when finish normal campaign huge from r/diablo4

They weren't the only one to think it was a big deal, either.

"Yup, much more fun for HC," added one commenter. "If you die you don't have to do the same campaign over and over, you're free to go level again however you want."

It's not quite perfect, though, as Lyioux attests… "Now, if they can just make altars and renown transfer over. I am not doing that again."

Diablo patch1.0.2d is now live, and it nerfs Barbarian shout again but gives Necromancers a huge buff.

Despite some players crashing out of early runs following glitches and bugs, it looks like hardcore Diablo 4 players will be crossing the line to be one of the first 1000 players to hit level 100 on hardcore mode later today. The highest hardcore, 87, currently sits with Wudijo, whilst five players have already hit the cap on "softcore" difficulty. 

And did you see that this Diablo 4 player has managed to beat the Butcher despite being incredibly underlevelled? The Butcher is a meat-hooking nightmare that turns up at random in dungeons and has killed off many a hardcore run. Here, however, it seemingly became stuck behind a wall of minions who beat the Butcher whilst the player idled quietly at the bottom of the screen. 

We gave Diablo 4 a notable 5 out of 5 stars in the GamesRadar+ Diablo 4 review, calling it "a diabolical assault on the senses". 

"The ARPG has come a long way since Diablo 2 set the bar for the genre, and since Diablo 3 fractured the playerbase, and there's some out there who will undoubtedly feel as if Diablo 4 hasn't gone far enough in its expansion – that its class-balance and endgame could be more distinct, particularly given the strength of contenders like Grim Dawn, Pillars of Exile, and Torchlight 2," Josh wrote. "But the truth is, there's simply nothing quite as entertaining as Diablo 4 when it's firing on all cylinders."

Diablo 4 will be available to all players on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S on June 6.

Here are some games like Diablo to play until Diablo 4 launches for all.

Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter. 

Read more
Diablo 4's new merc using his shield to help someone
Diablo 4 Season 7 faces new competition: the original Diablo, which is coming to Xbox Game Pass just a week earlier
Diablo 4
10 Games like Diablo to play after Diablo 4
Diablo 4 season 8 boss
Diablo 4 season 8 is revamping the boss ladder system with new mechanics and bosses, including one of the best from Diablo 3
Diablo 4 lunar event
Blizzard came up with Diablo 4's most powerful item modifiers at the last minute: "Literally, we had 2 weeks left in the development schedule"
Diablo 4 season 7 screenshot
Diablo 4 season 7 all but revives the Diablo 3 class I've been wanting Blizzard to officially add since launch
Diablo 4 season 7 screenshot
Blizzard disables Diablo 4 season 7 Witchcraft power that was being used to deal "very egregious numbers" and plans to bring it back "next week"
Latest in RPG
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
A Dragon Age character stares out against a blue background.
BioWare makes a return to Dragon Age: The Veilguard with a surprise PC update, months after layoffs and a seemingly final patch
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
"I believe in experiencing life and art through human expression, not software": Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor calls for proper AI regulation
Yasuke riding through a village looking for Knowledge in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows' prologue is the most gripping in franchise history, but I'm fixated on the tiny details
Naoe perched in front of a castle in Assassin's Creed Shadows
I've spent 20 hours in Assassin's Creed Shadows chasing drip and decor, and it's proving to be my biggest source of motivation in the RPG
Cabernet screenshot showing vampire protagonist Liza sucking someone's blood
Cabernet is the kind of vampire RPG I've been looking for since Masquerade Bloodlines, and I'm already plotting my next run 6 hours in
Latest in News
John Boyega in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
John Boyega was tired of "doing a lot of falling" in the Star Wars sequels, so asked director J.J. Abrams for a "level of growth" between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker
Silent Hill f screenshot showing the protagonist
Silent Hill f hasn't actually been banned in Australia, but it's not out of the woods yet
Charlie Cox in Daredevil
Daredevil star Charlie Cox says keeping his Spider-Man: No Way Home cameo a secret for two years was a "nightmare"
Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation
After four years, Disney's anime show based on hugely popular gacha game gets a proper trailer
Assassin's Creed Shadows
As Assassin's Creed Shadows overtakes Valhalla and Odyssey, Ubisoft promises "this is just the beginning" in heartfelt thanks to players
Dante in Netflix's Devil May Cry
Netflix unveils a stacked anime trailer filled with hits like Sakamoto Days and upcoming releases like Fire Force and Moonrise