Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred (D4)

Death Penalty Explained: What Happens If You Die?

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred Walkthrough Team

Last updated on: June 14, 2023 09:50 PM

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Diablo 4 - Death Penalty Top Banner.png

Dying in Diablo 4 (D4) results in loss of item durability, and also forces you to restart from the last checkpoint. This guide will cover all penalties for death, including permanent death in Hardcore Mode!

List of Contents

Penalty For Dying
Item Durability Decreased
Sent Back to Last Checkpoint
Hardcore Mode Will End
Related Guides

Penalty For Dying

Item Durability Decreased

Sent Back to Last Checkpoint

Hardcore Mode Will End

Item Durability Decreased

Items Lose Durability.jpg

The main penalty for dying in Diablo 4 is the fact that it will decrease the durability of all equipped items by 10. Once an item's durability drops to 0, it will break completely, removing its affixes rendering it completely useless. Note that unequipped items are unaffected.

Items Can Be Repaired at Blacksmith

Diablo 4 - Blacksmith Repairing
Items all begin at durability 100, and drop by 10 with each death. However, visiting the Blacksmith will allow you to pay gold in exchange for repairing your items back to full durability!

All Blacksmith Features | How to Upgrade Equipment

Sent Back to Last Checkpoint

Revive at Checkpoint.jpg

Dying will send you back to the last checkpoint you reached, which can be quite far back depending on how far you have progressed since then. Although you will keep all items in your inventory, it can be a rather big waste of time, especially if you spend significant time on a boss etc.

Hardcore Mode Will End

Hardcore Mode.jpg

Hardcore Mode is a feature in Diablo 4 which is much more penalizing for death than Eternal (regular) Mode. How it affects your gameplay will depend on how far you have progressed via your current level.

Permadeath if Under Level 10

Permanent Death.jpg

If you have not reached level 11, dying in Hardcore Mode results in Permanent Death, meaning that your character will be deleted, and you will need to start over from the very beginning. Thus, if you are interested giving Hardcore Mode a go, leveling up past Level 10 without taking too many risks is very important so as to avoid a complete restart!

Forced to Eternal Mode if Dying After Level 10

Fallen Heroes.png

Though Permadeath still exists after Level 10 to an extent, the way it works is a bit different. Rather than your character being deleting, dying after leveling past Level 10 results in being kicked off of Hardcore Mode, thus forcing you to play Eternal Mode (Normal Mode).

Your Hardcore Mode history can still be checked via the Hall of Fallen Heroes tab found in Collections after your death, alongside stats such as total time played, campaign progress, and level reached.

What is Hardcore Mode?

Diablo 4 Related Guides

Diablo 4 - Tips and Tricks

Beginner Guides and Best Tips for Getting Started

Tips and Tricks

Starter Guides
Skill Tree Explained	List of Controls
Character Customization Options	How to Make a Battle.Net Account
Best Settings for PC	Best Settings for Console
Difficulty Settings and World Tiers Guide	Best World Tier: Adventurer or Veteran?
List of All Status Effects: Buffs and Debuffs	Compatible Video Card List
Best Equipment for Early Game	Can You Play Split Screen?
PC Controller Support	Best Quest Order
What to Spend Gold On	Combat Guide: How to Beat Hard Enemies
Stat Guide: All Stats Explained	Early Game Guide: What to Do First
Tips and Tricks
Respec Cost Guide	EXP Farming Guide
Battle Pass Guide	Renown System Guide
Where to Sell Items	Faded Plaque Puzzle Solutions
How to Summon the Golem	What is Hardcore Mode?
How to Get a Whispering Key and Open Silent Chests	How to Highlight All Interactables
Elective Mode: How to Assign Skills	Can You Change Classes?
How to Stagger Bosses	How to Create a Clan
List of Shrine Effects	How to Get Missed Legendary Drops
Legendary Farming Guide	List of Challenges and Titles
Trophies and Achievements Guide	Multiplayer Guide: How to Play Co-Op With Friends
How to Use Aspects	How to Skip Campaign and What Carries Over
How to Claim All Rewards and Preorder Bonuses	How to Farm Expertise Quickly
How to Teleport to a Party Member's Location	How to Evade
Party Bonuses and Group Scaling Explained	What is Level Scaling?
Mutterlock Chest Puzzle: How to Open	How to Get the Darkblade
What Does Mark For Blood Do?	Powerleveling Guide
How to Make a Build	How to Clear Dungeons Fast
How to Trade	Best Season Blessing for Season 1
How to Hunt for Treasure Goblins	Close vs Distant Explained
What is Strength	What is Dexterity
What is Intelligence	What is Willpower
How to Reset Dungeons	What is the Armor Cap?
How to Unlock Pets	How to Use the Party Finder Feature
How to Skip Cutscenes	How to Level Mercenaries Fast
The Armory Explained	-
Endgame Content
What to Do After the Campaign	Leaderboards Release Date
Ancestral Items Guide	How to Farm Uniques
Class Specializations
Barbarian Arsenal System	Rogue Specialization
Sorcerer Enchantments	Druid Spirit Boons
Necromancer Book of the Dead	-
FAQs
What is the Max Level?	Should You Uninstall the Beta?
Can You Zoom Out?	Do You Need to Play Diablo 3 First?
Are There Set Items in Diablo 4?	Does Diablo 4 Have Followers?
Can You Change Your Name?	How to Use Two-Handed Weapons
What Is the Maximum Party Size?	Can You Augment Equipment?
Where is Kyovashad?	What to Inscribe into the Wood in Kyovashad
Is There WASD Movement?	How to Update Graphics Drivers
How to Change Voice and Text Language	List of Accessibility Features
Should You Use Keyboard or Controller?	How to Show FPS and Latency
Campaign Length: How Long to Beat	Should you Sell or Salvage?
How to Save	What Happens If You Die?
What Happens When Items Break?	Is There A Guest Pass?
How to Use Voice Chat	List of Hairstyles and Hair Colors
Can You Minimize the Map?	How to Save Outfits
How to Take Screenshots on PC	Rarity Explained: What Does Rarity Affect?
Is Deckard Cain in Diablo 4?	Is There a Monthly Fee?
Is Loot Shared Between Characters?	Missables and One-Time Events Guide
Best Character Name: Are Names Unique?	List of Secrets and Easter Eggs
Are There Private Servers?	Is There a Loot Filter?
What Are Archetype Caches?	Paragon Migration Explained
What are Extractable Aspects?	-

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Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred Walkthrough & Guides Wiki

Quick Access

Death Penalty Explained: What Happens If You Die?

Penalty For Dying

Item Durability Decreased

Items Can Be Repaired at Blacksmith

Sent Back to Last Checkpoint

Hardcore Mode Will End

Permadeath if Under Level 10

Forced to Eternal Mode if Dying After Level 10

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Tips and Tricks

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