With the arrival of Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred, Blizzard introduced several changes to the endgame experience. The new War Plan system revamped progression across existing activities, but only one truly brand-new endgame activity arrived with the expansion: Echoing Hatred.

Despite being one of the expansion’s most rewarding activities, many players have barely experienced it. Some adventurers report never seeing a single entry key drop, while others have only encountered one or two throughout their entire playtime. The problem is that the game does a poor job of explaining how the activity works, where the keys come from, and what rewards make it worth running.

For players looking to maximize their loot, collect exclusive cosmetics, and push their builds through increasingly difficult waves of enemies, Echoing Hatred offers a unique challenge. Understanding how to access it and how to approach it efficiently can dramatically increase its value.

This guide covers everything you need to know about Echoing Hatred, D4 materials, key farming strategies, gameplay mechanics, and areas where the system could still be improved.

Why Run Echoing Hatred?

Before discussing strategies, it is important to understand why players should care about Echoing Hatred in the first place.

The activity offers several layers of rewards that go beyond standard loot drops.

Goblin Plunder Bags

The primary reward comes from Goblin Plunder Bags.

Every Treasure Goblin killed during the event contributes directly to your final rewards. At the end of the run, players receive one Goblin Plunder Bag for every goblin defeated.

These bags can contain:

Dungeon Keys

Seals

Charms

Mythic Seals

Various crafting materials

Additional valuable loot

Many players consider Echoing Hatred one of the most efficient sources of these resources. Some players have even obtained Mythic Seals directly through these reward bags, making the activity particularly attractive for endgame progression.

While the reward chest itself provides standard loot, the Goblin Plunder Bags are the real prize.

Unlocking the Crab With a Knife Pet

One of the most entertaining rewards in Diablo 4 is hidden within Echoing Hatred.

Players who reach Tier 60 during a run unlock the legendary Crab With a Knife pet.

This bizarre crustacean companion has quickly become a fan favorite. Its battle-scarred appearance and amusing animations give it far more personality than many premium cosmetics. The pet casually tosses its knife between claws while following the player around Sanctuary, creating one of the most memorable cosmetic rewards currently available.

The best part is that it is earned entirely through gameplay rather than through a shop purchase.

For many players, this pet alone is worth the effort required to push deeper into the activity.

How to Unlock the Howling Mouth of Madness Portal

Echoing Hatred also contains a hidden cosmetic reward known as the Howling Mouth of Madness Portal.

Unlike the pet, this reward requires a specific sequence of actions during a run.

Throughout every Echoing Hatred instance, four shrines spawn somewhere in the arena:

Protection Shrine

Artillery Shrine

Lethal Shrine

Channeling Shrine

The locations change from run to run, but all four shrine types are always present.

To unlock the portal, players must activate each shrine during specific difficulty ranges.

Required Shrine Sequence

Tier 1–9

Use the Protection Shrine

Tier 10–14

Use the Artillery Shrine

Tier 15–19

Use the Lethal Shrine

Tier 20–24

Use the Channeling Shrine

Successfully activating the shrines within these ranges triggers achievement notifications and unlocks the portal reward.

A Common Mistake

Extremely powerful builds can accidentally ruin this achievement attempt.

Characters capable of instantly destroying everything around them may advance through tiers too quickly and miss the required timing windows.

If you are specifically pursuing the portal unlock:

Use a build with controlled damage output.

Avoid excessive passive damage effects.

Monitor tier progression carefully.

Activate shrines as soon as their designated windows become available.

How to Obtain Trace of Echoes Keys

Accessing Echoing Hatred requires a special item called Trace of Echoes.

This functions as the activity's entry key, and obtaining it is often the biggest challenge.

Best Source: Corrupted Undercity Reward Chests

Evidence from many players suggests that Trace of Echoes drops most consistently from reward chests at the end of Corrupted Undercity runs.

While keys can theoretically come from several sources, a pattern has emerged involving a specific tribute type.

Greater Tribute of Refinement

Many experienced players have reported receiving most of their Trace of Echoes keys while using:

Greater Tribute of Refinement

This is particularly interesting because Refinement Tributes are generally unpopular. Their intended reward focuses on Obducite-related materials, which are already abundant in the current economy.

As a result, many players simply ignore them.

Ironically, that may be exactly why so many people struggle to find Echoing Hatred keys.

Players who regularly complete Refinement Tribute runs appear to encounter Trace of Echoes significantly more often than those focusing exclusively on other tribute types.

Improving Key Farming Efficiency

If your goal is to maximize key acquisition, one War Plan node deserves special attention.

Portal Prankster

The Portal Prankster node in the Undercity War Plan grants a chance for special Portal Pranksters to appear whenever players interact with beacons.

Defeating these enemies provides additional reward chests at the end of the run.

More reward chests mean:

More loot

More opportunities for Trace of Echoes drops

Higher overall efficiency

Because every additional chest represents another chance at obtaining a key, Portal Prankster becomes one of the most valuable nodes for dedicated Echoing Hatred farming.

The Strange Trace of Echoes Limitation

One unusual aspect of Trace of Echoes is how it is stored.

The key does not function like a traditional inventory item.

Instead:

It automatically creates a priority quest in Temenos.

The quest remains active until Echoing Hatred is completed.

Players cannot hold multiple keys simultaneously.

This last restriction is particularly important.

If you already have an active Echoing Hatred entry available, farming for additional keys becomes effectively pointless because another Trace of Echoes cannot be stored.

Use Your Keys Immediately

Many players make the mistake of saving keys until their character becomes stronger.

This is usually inefficient.

Since additional keys cannot be stockpiled, it is generally better to:

Run Echoing Hatred immediately.

Collect the rewards.

Resume farming afterward.

Waiting only reduces future key acquisition opportunities.

Understanding Echoing Hatred Gameplay

At its core, Echoing Hatred is a survival-focused wave activity.

Players fight through increasingly difficult tiers while attempting to prevent failure conditions from triggering.

The Red Progress Bar

A red meter appears on the side of the screen.

As monsters spawn:

The bar fills.

As monsters die:

The bar decreases.

If the bar reaches maximum capacity, the run ends immediately.

This creates a constant damage check.

Players cannot simply survive forever. They must kill enemies quickly enough to maintain control of the battlefield.

Death Is Also Failure

Survivability remains critical.

If a solo player dies:

The run instantly ends.

Groups gain some flexibility because teammates can revive each other.

However, spending too much time reviving allies often causes players to fail the damage check anyway.

Both offense and defense matter.

Build Requirements for Success

Echoing Hatred strongly favors balanced builds.

Area Damage Is King

Enemies continuously spawn from all directions.

As a result, strong AoE capabilities become extremely valuable.

Excellent tools include:

Screen-wide damage abilities

Crowd control effects

Pull mechanics

Large explosions

Chain reactions

Legendary effects that gather enemies together can dramatically increase efficiency.

Single-Target Damage Still Matters

While AoE dominates most encounters, bosses appear regularly throughout the run.

Ignoring single-target damage will eventually halt progression.

The ideal build combines:

Strong clearing speed

Reliable boss damage

Consistent survivability

Hybrid setups generally perform best.

Prioritizing Targets

Not every enemy deserves equal attention.

Understanding target priority can significantly improve performance.

Priority #1: Red Portals

Red portals occasionally appear and are marked on the minimap.

These portals:

Spawn enemies faster

Increase pressure on the red meter

Create additional danger

Leaving them alive dramatically increases difficulty.

Destroy them immediately whenever they appear.

Priority #2: Treasure Goblins

Treasure Goblins directly determine your final rewards.

Every goblin killed equals another Goblin Plunder Bag.

Missing even a few goblins can noticeably reduce loot gains.

Whenever a goblin appears:

Hunt it down immediately.

Secure the kill before returning to other objectives.

Priority #3: Bosses and Elites

After portals and goblins are handled, attention should shift toward:

Bosses

Elite enemies

Remaining monster packs

Maintaining this priority system helps maximize both survival and rewards.

Using Shrines Effectively

Echoing Hatred always contains four powerful shrines:

Protection

Artillery

Lethal

Channeling

For progression-focused runs, saving these shrines until later tiers can provide a significant advantage.

Protection Shrine

Provides complete immunity.

Ideal during dangerous difficulty spikes.

Artillery Shrine

Adds projectile attacks and boosts offensive output.

Excellent for clearing dense enemy waves.

Lethal Shrine

Guarantees critical strikes.

Extremely powerful for burst-oriented builds.

Channeling Shrine

Reduces cooldowns and resource costs.

Perfect for maintaining maximum damage output during difficult moments.

Experienced players often save these shrines until they reach the limits of their build, using them to push several additional tiers beyond their normal capabilities.

The only downside is that this strategy conflicts with the portal-unlock achievement, which requires activating shrines much earlier.

What Could Be Improved?

Echoing Hatred is one of the most enjoyable additions introduced in Lord of Hatred, but it still has room for improvement.

Increase Key Availability

The biggest issue is accessibility.

Even when farming Refinement Tributes efficiently, Trace of Echoes still feels too rare considering the rewards involved.

Blizzard has already indicated that drop rates have been increased in future updates, but long-term effectiveness remains uncertain.

More frequent access would encourage players to engage with the activity regularly.

Better Scaling Options

The second major issue is pacing.

Highly optimized characters capable of clearing Torment 12-level content must still work through many lower tiers before reaching meaningful challenges.

The first run feels exciting because it showcases progression through increasing difficulties.

By the fourth or fifth run, however, the early stages become repetitive and unthreatening.

A system allowing players to:

Start at higher tiers

Skip early waves

Increase baseline difficulty for better rewards

would significantly improve replayability.

Final Thoughts

Echoing Hatred represents the most significant new endgame activity introduced with Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion. Between Goblin Plunder Bags, Mythic Seal opportunities, exclusive cosmetics, and escalating wave-based combat, it offers a rewarding alternative to traditional endgame grinding.

Players looking to maximize their time should focus on farming Greater Refinement Tributes, invest in Portal Prankster War Plan bonuses, and use Trace of Echoes keys as soon as they acquire them. Once inside, prioritizing red portals, Treasure Goblins, and efficient AoE damage will dramatically increase both survival and rewards buy diablo 4 gear.

Although the activity still suffers from limited accessibility and somewhat slow early progression, its unique mechanics and valuable loot make it one of the most worthwhile endgame experiences currently available in Diablo 4. For those willing to learn its systems, Echoing Hatred offers an exciting challenge and some of the expansion's most memorable rewards.