Diablo III’s Platinum Trophy Weighs on the Soul

Caught between feuding angels and demons, casualties are a part of normal life for many people in Sanctuary. Thankfully, there are a few humans with both the power and conviction to stand against evil. These heroes must do their best to protect the innocent, all while unraveling secrets about the world’s hierarchy and their place in it. Despite the earth-shattering scales weighed against them, the heroes must persevere for everyone’s sake.

Below, I discuss my trophy hunting experience in Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. Included are detailed descriptions and advice for all trophies in the base game and its DLC. To unlock the platinum trophy, like the heroes of the story, you must also persevere.

Why Diablo III: Reaper of Souls?

“Twenty years have passed since the Prime Evils were defeated and banished from the world of Sanctuary. Now, you must return to where it all began—the town of Tristram—and investigate rumors of a fallen star, for this is the first sign of evil’s rebirth, and an omen that the End Times have begun.”

— Battle.net Store

As of 2024, Diablo III is the only video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment that I’ve played. It’s not that I hold strong feelings about the company or anything like that; I simply haven’t had many opportunities to get invested in their franchises. After all, the majority of their titles focus on the PC market and I’m primarily a console player.

Titles like Diablo and World of Warcraft excel in an environment where you can quickly cycle through a vast array of skills on your computer’s keyboard or with a simple drag of the mouse. Controllers have far fewer inputs, so it’s often impossible to do a simple one-to-one transformation of control schemes. Game developers have to be highly strategic on how to implement their controls best without removing important features. In many cases, games in this style never receive console ports as the amount of effort required to do this right exceeds their expected return.

In fact, before Diablo III’s release in 2013 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the most recent console ports Blizzard Entertainment published were a selection of their oldest titles for the Gameboy Advance in 2003. Before that, it was Starcraft in 2000 for the Nintendo 64.

Although Blizzard Entertainment has historically been ambivalent toward the console market, it seems as though they may be more inclusive going forward. Recent titles such as Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 have been cross-platform releases on day one. Additionally, Blizzard Entertainment was recently acquired by Microsoft in 2023.

Despite not being familiar with the Diablo series, I decided to take a chance after seeing it on store shelves in late 2016. I was in the market for a couch co-op game for the holidays, and Diablo III seemed like a unique and mature take on the genre. Funnily enough, this sentiment was shared among my siblings, and we ended up with multiple copies!

The Trophy Hunt

Although Diablo III was originally a PC title, its developers did a fantastic job adjusting the controls and user interface for a console audience. You begin the game with only one skill and gradually learn more as you level up. This allows players to become accustomed to their kit as they go rather than becoming overwhelmed with everything at once. While there is generally a lot happening on screen, it rarely becomes a problem.

As a casual player, the game has a lot to enjoy. For trophy hunters, however, it starts to lose its sheen over time.

To earn the platinum trophy for Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, you will need to complete at least 2 full playthroughs of the game’s campaign, grind for a significant amount of experience, and undertake hundreds of missions in the Adventure Mode.

Casual Playthrough

The first thing trophy hunters need to do is play through the campaign’s 5 story chapters. You may select whichever character class most appeals to you: Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Monk, Witch Doctor, or Wizard. There is also no need to worry about higher difficulties unless you’d like a challenge.

Enjoy the narrative and learn the ins and outs of your chosen character! You will unlock a lot of trophies simply by defeating bosses and completing story arcs.

Hardcore Playthrough

Now that you’ve gotten used to the game’s mechanics, it’s time to start a new character. At this stage, you should choose a different class than you did before. More importantly, you need to enable Hardcore Mode.

Hardcore characters are permanently lost if they are defeated in battle, so it is recommended that you play on the lowest possible difficulty setting. It is also worth noting that Hardcore characters are completely separate from all non-Hardcore characters; your supply cache, vendor levels, and paragon levels are NOT shared.

Many guides recommend using safe strategies in this step such as utilizing a class with minions that can fight on your behalf, like the Witch Doctor. I personally chose to use the Wizard, who turned out to be exceptionally powerful in my playthrough with the Disintegrate secondary skill. If you’re ever in danger of being defeated, quickly exit via the menu to avoid permanently losing your hero.

Once you’ve completed the campaign with your second character, you’re ready to start the first step in a long series of grinding.

Reach Level 70 (Six Times)

The second-rarest trophy in Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is named “Dream Team,” and it requires players to level up 6 different classes to level 70. At this point, you should have 2 different characters around level 40-50. Since Hardcore and non-Hardcore characters are separate, you can start with whichever one you’d like. But be prepared, because this is going to take a while. From here on out, you should be playing in Adventure Mode.

If you plan to earn the Rise of the Necromancer DLC trophies, you may be able to skip one of the base characters in this step. You will need to level up the Necromancer class to level 70 for a specific DLC trophy and this new class reportedly also counts for “Dream Team.” I can’t personally confirm this as I didn’t own the DLC yet when working on the base game’s trophy list. I’d highly recommend reading the warning and leveling sections below before you start this character, however.

While not strictly necessary for the platinum trophy, unlocking Kanai’s Cube can be very helpful as it enables you to equip additional legendary abilities. You can begin the process anytime in Adventure Mode by speaking with Zoltun Kulle in the hub area, warping to the Ruins of Sescheron in Act 3, and then finding the cube in the next zone over: the Elder Sanctum. After you start working on bounties (more on that later), you will have the necessary ingredients to start using the cube.

There are a few important tips when it comes to grinding for experience:

• There are two main ways you can earn experience: Bounties and Nephalem Rifts. For now, you should focus solely on completing bounties.
  • Bounties are brief missions located in each act. They range from defeating bosses, rescuing NPCs, opening cursed chests and other miscellaneous tasks.
  • There are 5 bounties in each act for a total of 25 bounties across all acts. Completing all bounties in one region will grant you a special reward from Tyrael. If you’ve run out of bounties, you can refresh them by exiting and re-entering Adventure Mode.
• The amount of experience you earn scales with your difficulty level and the number of players participating in your game. Increasing the difficulty or playing with more people will increase your gains.
  • Play it safe with your Hardcore character and leave the difficulty as-is.
• You can earn more experience with a ruby slotted in your helmet. You can further increase this bonus by equipping Leoric’s Crown or by using its ability in Kanai’s Cube.
• After reaching level 70 for the first time, you will begin to earn paragon levels. These can be beneficial for increasing your stats across the board for all characters—especially your movement speed. It’s up to you to decide if you’d like to spend some time grinding for these bonuses to make things easier for later characters. Paragon levels are not necessary for any trophies.
  • I spent a significant amount of time increasing my paragon level while trying to acquire legendary gems. I thought doing so would help in the long run; In reality, it just cost me more time than it saved. I’d personally recommend ignoring paragon levels if you’d like to earn the trophies as quickly as possible.

Reaching level 70 with any character will unlock the trophy “Above & Beyond.” Doing the same with your Hardcore character will unlock the trophy “Above & Beyond (Hardcore).” Once you’ve done so with 6 distinct character classes, you will earn the coveted trophy “Dream Team.”

The Blacksmith, Jeweler and Mystic

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls has many mechanics that aren’t obvious on a first pass. This is even more true if you’re the type of player who breezes past tutorials and doesn’t talk to every NPC.

If you haven’t realized it yet, there are several shops in the hub area of every act. In particular, you should familiarize yourself with the blacksmith, jeweler, and mystic. You must level up all three of these vendors to level 12 to earn their respective trophies. It’s worth noting that the final levels may require Dragon’s Breath, a crafting material that drops from enemies once you’re above level 60.

The blacksmith can salvage old gear and create sets from the resulting materials. This can be a helpful way to get better equipment if you’re having trouble finding them in the world. He is also responsible for repairing your kit when it gets damaged. Having him fix something will unlock the trophy “Breaking Not So Bad.”

The jeweler can combine gems and attach them to weapons and armor with sockets for powerful effects. You should take note of what your character’s primary stat is, as that determines what type of gem will increase their damage output when slotted into most items. For example, topazes are excellent choices for intelligence-based classes like the Wizard or Witch Doctor.

You must socket a gem into a piece of gear to earn the trophy “Socket to Me.” You also need to combine a gem for the trophy “Bejeweled.” Additionally, combining gems counts as crafting. Doing so is a really easy way to earn the achievement “Custom-Fit” for crafting 100 items.

Lastly, the mystic can enchant your weapons and armor to change their abilities. She can also change the appearance of any item you’d like via transmogrification. You must replace an ability to earn “Trade-in.” You also need to enchant every equipment slot for the trophy “I Feel So Enchanting.”

Nephalem Rifts

Nephalem Rifts are short-burst dungeons that can be completed in just a few minutes. To enter one, you need to interact with the Nephalem Obelisk next to a blue ghostly figure named Orek in the hub area of any act in Adventure Mode.

Once inside, you must defeat a large number of enemies to draw out a boss. Completing one nets you a Greater Rift Keystone, which is a single-use consumable for accessing higher-level dungeons with a time limit. Completing a Greater Rift rewards you with a random legendary gem as well as the opportunity to increase its rank. These can be very strong depending on your character and desired build.

You don’t need to worry about all the details if you simply want the achievements. There are only two trophies that are unlocked in Nephalem Rifts: “Just Riffing” and “Dashing through the Rift.”

“Just Riffing” is attained by defeating 500 enemies within Nephalem Rifts. You can expect to earn this within 3-5 rifts or less.

“Dashing through the Rift” is earned by finishing a Nephalem Rift in less than 15 minutes. You will have plenty of time to do this, so don’t sweat the timer. If you’re having trouble, decrease the difficulty or try to improve your equipment.

Bounties

Even though you’ve been working on bounties practically the entire time you’ve been in Adventure Mode, you likely haven’t done enough yet.

The rarest trophy in Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, “Batting 500,” can only be unlocked by completing 500 bounties. Now that you’ve leveled up all of your characters, feel free to choose whichever one is your favorite with good movement. The most annoying aspect of these bounties is the sheer amount of distance you need to cover to reach the various quest objectives, so you will want to focus your build around speed.

I had the best luck with the Witch Doctor, who had great mobility and required the least amount of effort in encounters. I selected skills with the intention of increasing my movement speed and pet damage as much as possible. I’ll list out the most important aspects of my build in case you’d like to do the same.

I used Zombie Dogs, Gargantuan, Soul Harvest (Soul to Waste), and Big Bad Voodoo (Jungle Drums). For passive abilities, I used Fierce Loyalty, Tribal Rites, Confidence Ritual, and Midnight Feast. Additionally, I used the best legendary gear I had found for my character. The most important piece was the Illusory Boots as they allow you to walk through enemies unhindered. This allows you to zip across the map and avoid conjured obstacles or battles that aren’t necessary for your quest.

My second choice would have been the Crusader, as they can move exceptionally quickly with the Steed Charge and Laws of Hope (Wings of Angels). However, I found encounters were taking too long as my damage output was much less.

No matter how you slice it, this will take a while. It can help to only do bounties that you know are quick and easy. For example, if it’s a mission where the required objects aren’t marked on the map (like the ancient devices in the desert), I would immediately pass on it and go for another one. I experienced some crashes when fighting Diablo, so I avoided that fight as well.

Clean-Up

Finally, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Now that you’ve done all the tedious parts, there should only be a few small tasks left for the platinum trophy.

The first thing you should do is make sure you’ve equipped high-level legendary gear to all of your weapon, armor, and accessory slots. If you’re missing any, you can craft them from the blacksmith, try your luck with the blood shard vendor, or run Nephalem Rifts until you find enough pieces. Equipping level 70 legendary items to every inventory slot will net you the trophy “Up All Night to Get Lucky.”

Have you noticed that breaking objects in the environment can increase your movement speed? Well, there’s a trophy for that. If you break 50 items in quick succession, you will earn the “Demolition Derby” achievement. Several guides recommended the graveyard areas in Act 1, however, I struggled to get it to work. Instead, I got it on my first try using this strategy in Act 2. There are tons of breakable objects in the City of Caldeum entrance that are very easy to chain.

Lastly, the trophy “Greed Over Need” can be unlocked by defeating 100 treasure goblins. You will likely have earned this by now, but if you haven’t, you can find these enemies fairly frequently in Nephalem Rifts. You can also consume Puzzle Rings in Kanai’s Cube to spawn a special dungeon that guarantees several of them will spawn.

With all that accomplished, you now have a shiny new platinum trophy to brag about! But why stop there?

Rise of the Necromancer

3 years after the PlayStation 4 release of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, a brand-new character class was introduced to the game. The fan-favorite Necromancer was now playable! This class allows you to command the undead and sacrifice your health points for a variety of powerful spells. The addition of this new content also led to 10 new DLC trophies being included in the game’s trophy list.

How Much Content Is in the DLC?

Unfortunately, I was disappointed in the amount of content this DLC added. While you will spend 10-20 hours completing the trophy requirements, you will quickly discover that it is more of the same monotony that you’ve already experienced. The new character is fun but does little to change the core gameplay loop in a meaningful way.

WARNING: Make a Seasonal Character

Due to an extremely common issue with a trophy, it is recommended that you create a seasonal character for the Necromancer content. Unfortunately, that means you won’t be able to access your shared characters’ cache, maxed vendors, or paragon levels.

This bug is described in more detail in the boss battles section below.

Reach Level 70 (Again)

The first thing you’ll want to do with your new Necromancer is explore their kit while bringing them up to the maximum level. Once you’ve reached level 70, you will unlock the trophy “Serve the Balance.” There are two different approaches you can take for level grinding depending on your social network:

• If you have a friend who’s completed the game:
  • Grind to level 70 in Adventure Mode.
  • Join your friend’s game to unlock checkpoints for the final bosses in Act 4 and Act 5. This is important for later trophies.
    • Note: This also works in split-screen co-op. Make sure your boosting partner is player 1 so they can choose the appropriate stages.
• If you don’t know anyone with the game:
  • Complete the campaign. This is important for later trophies.
  • Finish grinding to level 70 in Adventure Mode.

Story-Related Tasks

Now that you have access to the final acts in the campaign, you can get some of the easy trophies out of the way.

“Bringer of Order” is unlocked once you complete Act 5 as the Necromancer.

“The Silence When You Speak to Me” is unlocked after initiating all optional dialogue options with your teacher in the Pandemonium Fortress in Act 5. Keep in mind that you will see him twice in the dungeon, and need to talk with him both times.

Boss Battles

Three trophies require you to perform a specific task as the Necromancer during a boss battle.

“Game of Bones” is unlocked by using the Bone Armor skill on the Skeleton King. You can do this in Adventure Mode at any time by going to the Royal Crypts in Act 1.

“Self Controlled” is unlocked by using the Simulacrum skill to defeat your shadow clone during the second stage of the Diablo fight in Act 4. Again, you can do this in Adventure Mode. It can be helpful to use Devour (Ruthless) to consume your skeleton minions as this prevents them from potentially defeating the clones themselves.

Lastly, the trophy “Terror in the Blood” is buggy. To earn it, you have to defeat Diablo after using an ability that costs health when you are already below 10% of your life. This is typically accomplished by removing gear that grants you life regeneration and spamming Blood Rush (Metabolism) or Bone Spear (Blood Spear) during the third phase of the Diablo fight.

However, for whatever reason, this trophy might not unlock properly. I tried for a couple of hours on my non-seasonal Necromancer and was unable to earn the trophy despite fulfilling its requirements. Trying again with a seasonal Necromancer (level 30) enabled me to earn it on the first try. It is unclear why this works, but the issue has been well-documented in the official Blizzard forums.

Defeat 5,000+ Enemies

Unlike the base game, the Rise of the Necromancer DLC requires the player to accomplish a series of class-specific tasks in order to earn its trophies. These are unlikely to be earned naturally due to their extreme conditions.

“What Is Dead Can Sometimes Die” is unlocked by defeating 1,000 undead enemies with corpses. Not every enemy qualifies as undead; you can check their identity underneath their health bar. Corpse Explosion (Bloody Mess) is a great way to handle this task. There are many undead enemies in Act 1 locations and Nephalem Rifts.

For example, I found an amusing secret while leveling up in a Nephalem Rift. I discovered a floor filled with references to the popular PlayStation franchise The Last of Us! The realm had Stalkers, Clickers, and Bloaters, all of which counted as undead enemies. This lucky find made quick work of this trophy.

“Curse Your Enthusiasm” is achieved by defeating 5,000 enemies affected by your curses. Decrepify (Borrowed Time) with the passive skill Eternal Torment is the best way to do this. If you’ve already earned “What Is Dead Can Sometimes Die,” you can also equip Devour (Voracious) to help with your Essence management.

Damaging 40 enemies with your Bone Spear in 3 seconds will net you the trophy “Bone Skewer.” I earned this by rounding up a large group of enemies in the Ruins of Corvus in Act 5. If you have trouble getting this trophy, the high density of foes in Nephalem Rifts should also be sufficient.

Last but certainly not least is the achievement “Skeleton Crew.” This trophy is acquired by having your skeleton minions defeat 500 elite enemies. This seems simple on the surface but is not to be trifled with. By the time I had finished everything else in the game, I had only defeated 100 elite enemies with my skeletons. That meant I had to grind for several more hours specifically for this achievement.

To make this trophy easier, it helps to have as many buffs toward your pets’ attack speed and damage as possible. You can also use the Command Skeletons (Frenzy) move to increase their output, but landing the killing blows with the ability active is not necessary for the trophy. You can also wear the Nemesis Bracers if you have them, as they spawn elite enemies anytime you interact with a shrine.

There are two different approaches that you can take for this grind depending on your risk tolerance:

1. Nephalem Rifts have the potential to be highly effective but are inconsistent when it comes to spawning elite enemies. Although increasing your difficulty level can help, the frequency that the required mobs appear ultimately depends on how lucky you are. Also, if you have low movement speed, it can be a drag trekking through large areas in the rifts.
2. Boss arenas are far more consistent but may be slower than perfect Nephalem Rift RNG. However, this method requires frequent resets to get the targeted boss to respawn. You’ll need to make the call whether your system’s loading time is sufficient to make this a viable option for you.

I went with the second option. Zoltun Kulle and his two golems are very easy to access and make for quick fights. Simply boot up Adventure Mode in Act 2, warp to the Archives of Zoltun Kulle, enter the center portal, let your skeletons defeat all the enemies, exit to the menu, select continue, and repeat ad nauseam. The game keeps track of your progress as soon as the boss is defeated, so don’t worry about going back to town or saving. You can make it even faster if you don’t pick up any loot.

Reflection

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is a fun game that sadly loses its charm the further you progress as a completionist. Its open-ended character-building systems are well-executed, but they don’t make up for frustrating trophy requirements. The narrative also didn’t grab me, but perhaps it would be different for a longtime fan of the series. I spent about 100 hours in Diablo III’s world between past casual playthroughs and my recent trophy hunt.

If you’re someone who has a passing interest in Diablo, I’d recommend playing it casually and not going for its achievements. I had a criminal amount of fun with it years ago, so it’s unfortunate that the full experience has colored my perspective.

Have you earned the trophies for Diablo III: Reaper of Souls? What was your experience with the game? If you like articles where I balance trophy hunting tips with personal anecdotes, consider reading about my time with Naughty Bear next. It’s a PlayStation 3 game where you exact vengeance on other bears for not inviting you to their party!