You're staring at character select asking: What do I lock for Season 10 Infernal Chaos? Do I chase the highest recorded Pit clear, or the fastest Chaos Unique farm in Infernal Hordes? This guide separates hype from repeatable reality. You get two parallel tier lists (Push vs Farm), build spotlights, nerf-risk assessment, a decision tree, and practical gearing pivots. All insights are based on hands‑on PTR testing (≈85 personal hours across Sorc / Necro / Druid / Spiritborn, lighter passes on Barb & Rogue) plus public, timestamped Pit clear videos and reproducible build sheets. No trust me bro claims—only what can be replicated or clearly flagged as bug-dependent.

• Method & Evaluation Pillars
• Pit Push S Tier (Ceiling Focus)
• Infernal Hordes Speed Farm S Tier
• Build Spotlights & Mechanical Notes
• Class Deep Dives
• Balance & Nerf Risk Forecast
• Risk Mitigation Strategies
• Progression Roadmap
• Pick Your Starter
• Common Mistakes
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Summary

↖ Method & Evaluation Pillars

We rank on two axes:

• 1. Pit Push Ceiling (single-run absolute layer potential with fishing).
• 2. Infernal Hordes Speed (average 2–3 minute cycles for Chaos Unique acquisition & early Paragon glyph XP).

Why separate? Because a build that brute forces Layer 125 in 9 minutes might lose you days of farming efficiency versus a build clearing Layer 105 in 2:10 on repeat.

Shared Scoring Criteria

• - Average clear time (not highlight reel).
• - Reset (fishing) dependence.
• - Gear specificity / Unique bottlenecks.
• - Mobility tax (Airtime vs active DPS uptime).
• - Target switching & screen coverage.
• - Nerf exposure: reliance on a bug or unintended multiplier.
• - Cognitive load (inputs per minute & failure penalty).

↖ Pit Push S Tier (Ceiling Focus)

↖ Infernal Hordes Speed Farm S Tier

Lagging / Needs Buff:

• - Rogue wide kit (power budget on Season 10 powers underwhelms vs Sorc/Necro scaling multipliers).
• - AoE-challenged Barb variants (Weapon Throw, some bleed setups).

Detailed Pit Push Tier List

Infernal Hordes (Chaos Unique Farm) Tier List

↖ Build Spotlights & Mechanical Notes

↖ Class Deep Dives

↖ Balance & Nerf Risk Forecast

• High Risk: Raven Druid (entity cap / multiplicative stacking clamp), any unintended double-proc logic in Super Ball Lightning.
• Moderate: Tornado Necro (spawn cap), Fireball chain radius (if internal metrics show outlier clears/min).
• Low: Hydra (APM tax already built-in), Blood Wave (already nerf-battered), Spiritborn baseline (needs data before nerf hammer).

↖ Risk Mitigation Strategies

• - If you main Sorc: Level with Fireball (broad affix overlap) then pivot to Super BL once proc gear secured.
• - If you want Raven Druid: Dual-spec a Storm/Earth hybrid board so a Raven cap doesn't invalidate investment.
• - If you chase Necro Storm: Keep a Bone Spear or Blood Wave wand/off-hand set ready for pivot.
• - Unsure Player: Start Sorc for universal farming; re-roll into experiment slot once Chaos Uniques stockpile.

↖ Progression Roadmap

• Levels 1–50: Prioritize movement (boots MS, cooldown reduction). Over-lower-tier glyph XP early accelerates later push efficiency.
• 50–70 (Entering WT4): Target core Unique/Aspect enablers (e.g., Fireball chain, BL orbit density). Do not over-fish Pit; invest in Hordes for Chaos Uniques.
• 70–100: Establish 2-minute Pit farming bracket (e.g., Pit 95–105). This fuels glyph caps faster than forcing a scuffed 120.
• 100+: Swap to push configuration: trade ~15–20% move speed for layered DR (Armor cap, Resist soft procurement, conditional DR vs Crowd Control) & add a fishing pool of Sigils/Pits.

↖ Pick Your Starter

↖ Common Mistakes

• - Chasing a single 9-minute 125 clear instead of compiling 2-minute 105 averages (XP/hour loss).
• - Overcommitting to bugged Raven scaling (risk of week-one invalidation).
• - Ignoring mobility breakpoints (Teleport CDR or movement speed) while prematurely slotting minor DPS aspects.
• - Equating highlight crit numbers with sustained DPS (Fireball's chain often outpaces flashy single-instance hits).

↖ Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Should I wait for the Raven Druid hotfix before starting?  

A: If your heart is set on Druid, start anyway—just build toward a hybrid Storm/Earth core so you're insulated if Ravens are capped.

Q: Is Fireball Sorc still good if Blizzard nerfs chain radius?  

A: Likely yes. Even with a modest radius trim, its kill propagation pattern remains efficient; worst case you pivot into Super Ball Lightning using much of the same stat chassis (CDR, +Core, Mana sustain).

Q: How high can Tornado (Shadow Storm) Necro go post-hotfix?  

A: Conservative estimate: 115–120 without fishing abuse if spawn cap changes are modest; entity saturation is its core strength.

Q: Is Rogue dead on arrival?  

A: Not dead—just inefficient relative to Sorc/Necro in farm metrics. If you love the aesthetic, plan for a slower Chaos Unique acquisition curve and accept steeper mechanical execution.

Q: Spiritborn seems broad—which skill first?  

A: Pick the one that most cleanly leverages Potency scaling with minimal gear tax (e.g., a Stinger or Payback core), then branch into experimental alternates once you secure Chaos Uniques (Loyalty's Mantle, Wu'okpa style slots).

Q: When do I pivot from Hordes to pure Pit push?  

A: After you secure key Chaos Uniques for your archetype and your average Pit 100–105 clear dips under ~2:20. Earlier swapping slows glyph optimization.

Q: Is Hydra worth building if I already have Fireball?  

A: Yes—as a low APM side spec. Shared affixes (Core ranks, elemental, crit) reduce respec friction; treat it as a fatigue-friendly alt mode.

Q: Super Ball Lightning vs Regular—what's the earliest tell I can upgrade?  

A: When you can sustain ≥4 overlapping BL instances without OOM collapse and you have at least one proc-enabling slot (e.g., doubled activation chance). If you cannot maintain field density, stay Standard.

↖ Summary

Season 10 Infernal Chaos is shaping up as the Season of Sorcerer Versatility: Teleport compresses downtime, Fireball trivializes early-mid Hordes, and Super Ball Lightning offers a push ceiling rivaling necromancer archetypes. Necromancer stakes its claim through autonomous zone control (Tornado) and resilient frontal nuking (Blood Wave), while Druid offers the highest creative ceiling shadowed by imminent Raven adjustments.