The Diablo franchise is famous for its late-game content loops. In Diablo 4, this loop appears to be the Nightmare Dungeon mechanic. Nightmare Dungeons provide experience-efficient ways for players to gain gold, loot, and even upgrade Paragon Glyphs.
If you are approaching the end-game in Diablo 4, you may be wondering how to unlock this content, especially since it is not explained in-game. Keep reading for answers about how to unlock Nightmare Dungeons, the different types, how to complete them, and the rewards you’ll earn.
Updated by Abigail Angell on July 26th, 2023: Minor updates have been made to the article to include the new percentages included in Patch 1.1.0. Additionally, the Dungeon Tier List has changed to reflect new enemy spawning patterns.
How To Unlock Nightmare Dungeons
Like most difficulty jumps in Diablo 4, Nightmare Dungeons are not unlocked until you meet several conditions.
- You have completed the Main Story Campaign
- You have completed the level 50 Capstone Dungeon (The Cathedral of Light)
- You have moved to World Tier 3, Nightmare Difficulty
- You have unlocked The Tree of Whispers and Grim Favors
- You have obtained a Nightmare Sigil from a Grim Favors Cache
Once your first Nightmare Sigil drops, you will gain a priority quest to use it and complete your first Nightmare Dungeon.
How To Unlock Sigil Crafting
Once you’ve completed a Tier 3 Nightmare Dungeon, you will also be able to complete a priority quest from the Occultist to unlock Sigil Crafting. This gives you a use for the Sigil Powder you’ve been picking up and more control over the difficulty of your Nightmare Dungeons – more on that later.
How To Complete A Nightmare Dungeon
To start a Nightmare Dungeon:
- Open your characters inventory, then click on the Consumables Tab.
- Use a sigil of your choice from this inventory (just like you would use an elixir).
- Ride to the dungeon’s entrance, marked on your map.
- Enter the Dungeon, and complete the objectives as you would for a normal dungeon.
- Once the dungeon is complete, a bubble will pop up around you, along with loot and an altar to upgrade your glyph(s).
If you use a Sigil to begin another Nightmare Dungeon before leaving your current dungeon, you will now be teleported to the entrance of the next Nightmare Dungeon (Patch 1.0.3).
All Nightmare Dungeon Affixes
Each dungeon will have two negative affixes, and one positive affix rolled from the following list at random.
|
Name |
Effect |
Type |
|---|---|---|
|
Poison Damage |
You deal 10% more Poison Damage. |
Positive |
|
Shadow Damage |
You deal 10% more Shadow Damage. |
Positive |
|
Frost Damage |
You deal 10% more Frost Damage. |
Positive |
|
Fire Damage |
You deal 10% more Fire Damage. |
Positive |
|
Lightning Damage |
You deal 10% more Lightning Damage. |
Positive |
|
Physical Damage |
You deal 10% more Physical Damage. |
Positive |
|
Control Impaired Explosions |
Being hit by Control Impairing Effects creates an explosion around you. |
Positive |
|
Increased Critical Strike |
Your Critical Strike chance is increased by 6%. |
Positive |
|
Poisonous Evade |
Using Evade leaves a pool of poison behind that damages enemies. |
Positive |
|
Increased Healing |
Your Healing Received is increased by 10%. |
Positive |
|
Lightning Caller |
You occasionally call down lightning strikes that damage nearby enemies. |
Positive |
|
Thorns |
Your Thorns are increased by 249. |
Positive |
|
Lightning Storm |
Lightning gathers above the player. Get into the protection dome to avoid severe outcomes. |
Negative |
|
Volcanic |
While in combat, gouts of flame periodically erupt near players. |
Negative |
|
Nightmare Portal |
While in combat, Nightmare Portals open randomly near players, pouring out dangerous monsters. |
Negative |
|
Drifting Shade |
Drifting Shade chases players. Upon reaching them, it explodes for heavy damage, creating a Nightmare Field that Dazes victims. |
Negative |
|
Death Pulse |
Killing a monster releases a deadly lightning pulse after a short delay. |
Negative |
|
Monster Vulnerable Resist |
The duration of Vulnerable Effects vs Monsters is reduced by 45%. |
Negative |
|
Monster Fire Damage |
Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage as dealt as Fire. |
Negative |
|
Monster Poison Damage |
Monsters deal an additional 22% of their Physical damage dealt as Poison over 5 seconds. |
Negative |
|
Monster Shadow Damage |
Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Shadow. |
Negative |
|
Monster Burning Damage |
Monsters deal an additional 22% of their Physical damage dealt as Burning over 5 seconds. |
Negative |
|
Monster Bleeding Damage |
Monsters deal an additional 22% of their Physical damage dealt as Bleeding over 5 seconds. |
Negative |
|
Monster Lightning Damage |
Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Lightning. |
Negative |
|
Empowered Elites (Cold Enchanted) |
Elites always have the “Cold Enchanted” affix. |
Negative |
|
Empowered Elites (Poison Enchanted) |
Elites always have the “Poison Enchanted” affix. |
Negative |
|
Empowered Elites (Shock Lance) |
Elites always have the “Electric Lance” affix. |
Negative |
|
Empowered Elites (Suppressor) |
Elites always have the “Suppressor” affix. |
Negative |
|
Monster Shadow DoT |
Monsters deal an additional 22% of their physical damage dealt as Shadow over 5 seconds. |
Negative |
|
Monster Cold Damage |
Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Cold. |
Negative |
All Nightmare Dungeon Locations
Each time you receive a Nightmare Sigil as loot, it rolls from a table of possible Nightmare Dungeons. This is what determines which dungeon will become afflicted when the sigil is used. Once a dungeon has become afflicted, it will be marked in red on your map.
There are thirty-one known possibilities for Nightmare Dungeon Locations, all of which are variants of a standard Side Dungeon in the game. The level of the monsters inside is determined by the tier of the sigil, but the mechanics will be identical to the standard dungeon.
|
Dungeon Name |
Region |
|---|---|
|
Abandoned Mineworks |
Kehjistan |
|
Aldur Wood |
Scosglen |
|
Ancient’s Lament |
Dry Steppes |
|
Anica’s Claim |
Fractured Peaks |
|
Black Asylum |
Fractured Peaks |
|
Blind Burrows |
Hawezar |
|
Champion’s Demise |
Dry Steppes |
|
Conclave |
Kehjistan |
|
Cultist Refuge |
Fractured Peaks |
|
Crusader’s Cathedral |
Kehjistan |
|
Dark Ravine |
Dry Steppes |
|
Demon’s Wake |
Scosglen |
|
Earthen Wound |
Hawezar |
|
Feral’s Den |
Scosglen |
|
Garan Hold |
Scosglen |
|
Guulrahn Slums |
Dry Steppes |
|
Kor Dragan Barracks |
Fractured Peaks |
|
Lost Archives |
Fractured Peaks |
|
Maugan’s Works |
Hawezar |
|
Maulwood |
Fractured Peaks |
|
Onyx Hold |
Dry Steppes |
|
Prison of Caldeum |
Kehjistan |
|
Raethwind Wilds |
Scosglen |
|
Renegade’s Retreat |
Kehjistan |
|
Serpent’s Lair |
Hawezar |
|
Shadowed Plunge |
Hawezar |
|
Shivta Ruins |
Kehjistan |
|
Sunken Ruins |
Scosglen |
|
Whispering Pines |
Scosglen |
|
Witchwater |
Hawezar |
|
Zenith |
Fractured Peaks |
Best Nightmare Dungeons
Typically, certain Nightmare Dungeons are much better than others. This is due to the difference in the dungeon’s layout and objectives, which may result in a faster clear or better loot drop chance. The best dungeons will have a high density of Elite enemies, while not having a long or maze-like layout. Before patch 1.1.0, Animus Dungeons were by far the best candidates for farming, but loot drops, and the number of Elite enemies in non-Animus dungeons have now been greatly increased.
The dungeons which are the best for gear farming and leveling are:
- Blind Burrows
- Earthen Wound
- Sunken Ruins
- Renegade’s Retreat
- Champion’s Demise
As far as group content, most dungeons will have the potential for group content, especially animus dungeons (which allow several players to split off in different directions to complete objectives fast).
If you’re looking to power level a friend to catch them up with you, try entering a Nightmare Dungeon solo, clearing it 90% of the way, then having them teleport directly to you from the town portal. As long as all players are inside the dungeon when it is completed, they will get the experience and glyph leveling opportunities as normal. This allows you to run a much higher-tier dungeon without risking the life of the lower-level player or scaling up the dungeon’s difficulty.
Nightmare Dungeon Tiers
In addition to Affixes, each Nightmare Sigil, and thus dungeon, has an associated Tier. These tiers, similar to World Tiers, decide the difficulty – and potential rewards – of the dungeon.
There are many tiers of Nightmare Dungeon, going from 1 to 100. This becomes more important once you start crafting, as you will be able to select your desired Tier.
Nightmare Dungeon Rewards
The rewards for doing a Nightmare Dungeon were intended to fill a similar niche to Diablo 3’s Greater Rifts. And while they will be getting buffs with the arrival of Season 1, they are already a great way to earn several rewards.
Loot
Just like a normal dungeon, enemies in Nightmare Dungeons will drop loot. However, the loot tables for Nightmare Dungeons are a bit different. Inside a Nightmare Dungeon, you can expect to find:
- Gold
- Gems
- Items of All Rarities (random)
- Two guaranteed high-tier items for completion
- Glyphs
- Nightmare Sigils
Elites in Nightmare Dungeons have a much higher chance to drop glyphs, Legendary, Unique, and Sacred Items than those in regular dungeons or the Overworld. Bosses as of patch 1.1.0 can even drop up to three Legendary Items on death.
Character Experience
If you’ve gotten to a point where Nightmare Dungeons are relevant, you’ll probably be unsurprised to hear that enemies give experience when they die in Diablo 4. As the core mechanic of late-game leveling, Nightmare Dungeons give out more experience than regular dungeons. This is in part due to the higher level of the enemies, but there is also a flat multiplier for objectives and activities done inside a Nightmare Dungeon.
On launch, some players were disappointed with the size of this multiplier. However, Patch 1.0.3 buffed it, then it was buffed again in 1.1.0. The amount of experience you gain inside a Nightmare Dungeon is now noticeably higher. Bug exploits like the infinite cellar were also patched out, making these dungeons the most efficient leveling tool in the late game.
Glyph Experience
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, completing a nightmare dungeon will spawn an Awakened Sigil. Clicking on this sigil will open a menu to upgrade your Paragon Glyphs, allowing you to improve their bonus or even radius.
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