Pyre Tiers

13 tiers, from Pyre I to Pyre XIII. Each one past the first makes foes tougher and loot better, and each is opened by an Audience with one of the Crowned.

What a tier does

Each tier above Pyre I adds +10 monster levels.
Foes hit harder and have more health, rarity odds improve and affix values rise 15% per tier.
From Pyre III, elites roll one more affix, and Mythic items start to drop.
From Pyre II on, the mode setting retires: the Heat dial rules the Depths, and the mode picked on Pyre I stays back to rule its campaign.
Item levels rise with the monster levels, so the deepest tiers are where the best gear rolls.
The deeper foes stand above your level, the harder they press: monster toughness and damage keep rising with the gap, and armor stacked far past what the tier was built for stops making you untouchable.

Heat rules, the Power cap and the run grade

Past Pyre I, the Effigy burns by Heat. Each band from Pyre II adds one named rule on top of the tougher numbers, shown on the Effigy before you go. Rules add decisions, never more foes, and they stack.
From Heat 80, Power past 1.6× what the Depths expect of your class counts at half, so gear alone can't turn the rules off.
A cleared Heat run is graded Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum (55, 75 and 90 points of 100) from clear time, falls, locks opened, blue casts answered and damage taken. Platinum also needs no falls and 80% of the answers. Each grade pays a little Emberglass, and the best grade of the week tops that band's weekly board. Runs with Longer warnings on are graded but never post. Hardcore never has Limited Revives: it keeps its one life.

The Heat rule ladder
Pyre band	Rule	What it does	The decision
Pyre II	Thick Hide	Elites wear one more modifier on their line: two things to read before you swing.	Read the whole line.
Pyre III	No Quarter	A guard you have broken seals again sooner: the window to burst is shorter.	Save your burst for the Break.
Pyre IV	Wardens	Every pack with a decision body also posts a warden: its Mender, Cantor or Warcaller wears a lock of its own.	Two locks to open in one pack.
Pyre V	Kindled	A pack left fighting too long grows fiercer, up to +30% damage and attack speed.	Kill it fast.
Pyre VI	Scarce Mercy	Fewer flasks drop, flasks heal less and fountains mend only part of what you lost.	Spend healing like it is gold.
Pyre VII	Doom Bells	Every elite pack tolls a Doom Bell a while into the fight: a great blast on a hero, unless its captain's guard is broken first.	Break its guard before the last toll.
Pyre VIII and up	Limited Revives	Three falls a floor. The fourth stays down: no scroll, no Revivify, no partner can raise you. Hardcore keeps its one life instead.	Stay up.

How to open a tier

Odds, pity and the Crowned in full are on The Ember Court.

Reach level 20 with any hero and the Ember Court opens. Each tier past Pyre I is guarded by one of the Crowned.
Gather the gate's Crown Shards (1 for Pyre II, up to 14 for Pyre XIII) and win an Audience at Vhoruun's Effigy. A loss costs nothing.
The Court opens tiers in order, one at a time. Tiers you have earned are never taken away.

How to open each Pyre Tier
Pyre Tier	Guarded by	Circle	Crown Shards	Audience monster level
Pyre I	Where everyone starts	-	-	-
Pyre II	Grukk Crowned	Circle of Embers	1	30
Pyre III	Morvaine Ascendant	Circle of Embers	2	40
Pyre IV	Gutrot Unbound	Circle of Embers	3	50
Pyre V	Seraphel Risen	Circle of Embers	3	60
Pyre VI	Vhoruun Enthroned	Circle of Embers	4	70
Pyre VII	Grukk, the Ash-King	Circle of Ash	5	80
Pyre VIII	Morvaine of the Last Pyre	Circle of Ash	6	90
Pyre IX	Gutrot, the Drowned Crown	Circle of Ash	8	100
Pyre X	Seraphel Unwinged	Circle of Ash	9	110
Pyre XI	Vhoruun Ashen	Circle of Ash	11	120
Pyre XII	The Court Assembled	White Fire	12	130
Pyre XIII	The White Effigy	White Fire	14	140

What changed in version 0.22

A tier used to open by clearing the campaign again on your highest tier, and a deep Descent record could open a second tier with the same clear.
That rule is gone. The Descent now pays Crown Shards, and the Crowned guard the tiers instead.
Every tier you had earned before 0.22 is still yours.