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Diablo 4: Unlocking Nightmare Dungeons

02.08.2023 - 12:32:29
Diablo 4 , Game Guides

The chunk of the Diablo 4 endgame experience boils down to Nightmare Dungeons that you will eventually access on your journey in Sanctuary. Whether it’s amazing loot, high XP and gold, or just a challenge that you’re looking for, Nightmare Dungeons will give you your fair share of everything.

Unfortunately, getting inside a Nightmare Dungeon isn’t as easy as walking up to it just like other regular dungeons in the game. Before we talk about how you can get to these dungeons, let’s first discuss what these are first.

What Are Diablo 4 Nightmare Dungeons?

Nightmare Dungeons are essentially modified versions of regular dungeons in Diablo 4. These serve as the main chunk of the endgame experience in the RPG and you’ll most likely spend your time here looking for loot, earning Paragon Points, and more.

These dungeons are enhanced in many ways. Such as

Higher enemy levels.
Limited number of revives per dungeon.
One to five affixes/modifiers per dungeon depending on dungeon tier..

Fighting higher-level enemies isn’t exactly a tough thing to do. What makes the Nightmare Dungeons significantly more challenging are the modifiers. There are positive and negative affixes in Season 1. Knowing each one is key to being more prepared about these dungeons so here’s a quick list.

Positive Affixes

Affix Name	Affix Effect on Nightmare Dungeon
Battle Hardened	Gain 6% damage reduction for every 10% Health you are missing.
Frost Damage	You deal [10 -15]% more Frost damage.
Control Impaired Explosions	Being hit by Control Impairing Effects creates an explosion around you.
Gold Find	You find 30% more gold.
Magic Find	You find more items from enemies.
Increased Critical Strike	Your Critical Strike chance is increased by 9%.
Lightning Caller	You occasionally call down lightning strikes that damage nearby enemies.
Lightning Damage	You deal [10 - 15]% more Lightning damage.
Poison Damage	You deal [10 - 15]% more Poison damage.
Shadow Damage	You deal [10 - 15]% more Shadow damage.
Nudging Evade	Using Evade pushes enemies back.
Poisonous Evade	Using Evade leaves a pool of Poison behind, damaging enemies.
Cooldown Reduction	Reduce Cooldowns on Kill
Thorns	Your Thorns are increased by 491.

Negative Affixes

Affix	Effect
Empowered Elites (Cold Enchanted)	Elites always have the "Cold Enchanted" affix.
Empowered Elites (Shock Lance)	Elites always have the Electric Lance affix.
Empowered Elites (Suppressor)	Elites always have the "Suppressor" affix.
Armor Breakers	Monster attacks from a distance reduce your Armor by 7% for 6 sec, stacking up to 35%.
Avenger	Killing a monster enrages monsters near it, making them deal more damage.
Blood Blister	Dying monsters sometimes spawn a Blood Blister that needs to be killed.
Death Pulse	Killing a monster releases a deadly lightning pulse after a short delay.
Dodge Breakers	Monster attacks from a distance reduce dodge chance by 12% for 6 sec, stacking up to 60%.
Double Bosses	Spawns two bosses instead of one!
Lightning Storm	Lightning gathers above the player. Get into the protection dome to avoid severe outcomes.
Melee Defenders	Monsters take 40% less damage from close targets.
Monster Attack Speed	Monsters gain 20 to 30% increased attack speed.
Monster Barrier	Monsters gain 30% of their Maximum Life as a Barrier.
Monster Bleeding Damage	Monsters deal an additional 30% of their Physical damage dealt as Bleeding over 5 sec.
Monster Burning Damage	Monsters deal an additional 30% of their Physical damage dealt as Burning over 5 sec.
Monster Burning Resist	Monsters take 60% less Burning damage.
Monster Cold Damage	Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Cold.
Monster Critical Resist	Monsters take 60% less damage from Critical Strike.
Monster Crowd Control Resist	Crowd Control durations vs monsters is reduced by 40%.
Monster Fire Damage	Monsters deal an additional 20% of their Physical damage dealt as Fire.
Monster Life	Monsters gain 30% extra life.
Monster Lightning Damage	Monsters deal an additional 20% of their Physical damage dealt as Lightning.
Monster Physical Resist	Monsters take 30% less Physical damage.
Monster Poison Damage	Monsters deal an additional 30% of their Physical damage dealt as Poison over 5 sec.
Monster Poison Resist	Monsters take 60% less Poison damage.
Monster Regen	Non-boss monsters regen 1.5% Maximum Life per second.
Monster Shadow Damage	Monsters deal an additional 20% of their Physical damage dealt as Shadow.
Monster Shadow Damage Over Time	Monsters deal an additional 30% of their Physical damage as Shadow over 5 sec.
Monster Shadow Resist	Monsters take 40% less Shadow damage.
Monster Vulnerable Resist	The duration of Vulnerable Effects vs monsters is reduced by 60%.
Potion Breakers	Monster attacks from a distance have a 30% chance to disable healing potion for 2 seconds.
Ranged Defenders	Monsters take 60% less damage from distant targets.
Resistance Breakers	Monster attacks from a distance reduce resistance by 10% for 6 sec, stacking up to 50%.
Slowing Projectiles	Monster attacks from a distance have a 50% chance to slow targets.
Stormbane's Wrath	Stormbane's Wrath chases players around, releasing deadly pulses when reaching a player. (despawns when boss objective completed)
Unstoppable Monsters	Monsters become Unstoppable when life drops below 30%.
Volcanic	While in combat, gouts of flame periodically erupt near players.
Nightmare Portals	Red portals periodically spawn in the dungeon, unleashing more hellish demons from any region in Sanctuary.

Keep in mind that the modifier stats can increase depending on the tier of the Nightmare Dungeon.

How To Unlock Nightmare Dungeons

Nightmare Dungeons can only be played on World Tier 3 and above. This means that you’ll have to increase your World Tier first before you get a taste of this challenge.

Once you beat the campaign, proceed with the game until you unlock the first Capstone Dungeon, which is the Cathedral of Light in Kyovashad. Though lengthy and filled with high-level enemies, this dungeon should be a walk in the park as long as you’re level 50 and above.

Beating the dungeon doesn’t mean you’re getting Nightmare Dungeons immediately. You’ll still have to work for it. That and you’ll need to be lucky too.

To get into Nightmare Dungeons, you’ll need NIghtmare Sigils first. Though there are a few ways to get these keys, they’re actually still pretty rare. Here’s how you can get it.

Random Drop

If you’re really lucky, you could get a Nightmare Sigil simply by exploring Sanctuary. Although the chances are low, you can still get the key from monster drops, chests, and interactive objects inside Sanctuary.

Whispers of the Dead

Once you reach the endgame, you’ll have a quest that unlocks Grim Favors. You can collect Grim Favors by doing specific tasks in certain parts of the map. Once you have 10 Grim Favors, exchange them at the Tree of Whispers for a loot cache.

The loot cache doesn’t just have a chance at giving you great gear, it can also grant you Nightmare Sigils.

Helltides

Helltides are another feature that unlocks once you reach World Tier 3. Again, this challenge gives you chances at Nightmare Sigils and great loot, at the expense of going through some of the hardest battles that the game has to offer.

Since Helltides give you a steady stream of enemies to beat, this is a good chance to actually get Nightmare Sigils.

Nightmare Dungeons With Party Members

Perhaps the best way to get a Nightmare Sigil is by going through a Nightmare Dungeon with a friend who has access to it. Nightmare Dungeons provide chances at high-tier loot so your chances of getting a Nightmare Sigil are increased while in a Nightmare Dungeon.

This is a great opportunity for loot and high XP as well. If you have high-level friends, have them do a Nightmare Dungeon for you. Sit back and let them take care of the enemies.

Once you do have a Nightmare Sigil, all you need to do is head to the corresponding dungeon of the Sigil, open your inventory, and activate the key through your Consumables tab.

How To Craft Nightmare Sigils

Aside from RNG, you can also get Nightmare Sigils by crafting them. This requires a little effort on your end though.

As you progress through the game, you’ll eventually run into a Tier 3 Nightmare Sigil. Once you pick it up, you’ll unlock a Priority Quest from the Occultist. Do the quest and you’ll unlock a new feature for the vendor which lets you craft Nightmare Sigils

Crafting sigils require Sigil Powder. This special crafting material can be acquired by completing Nightmare Dungeons and by salvaging Nightmare Sigils as well. To give you an idea of how many powders you need, here’s a reference table.

TIER	SIGIL POWDER	GOLD	AFFIXES
1-5	4	4,000	3
6-10	8	6,000	3
11-15	13	8,000	4
16-20	18	10,000	4
21-25	23	13,000	5
26-30	28	16,000	5
31-35	34	19,000	5
36-40	40	22,000	5
41-50	50	26,000	5
51-60	60	30,000	5
61-70	70	35,000	5
71-80	80	40,000	5
81-90	90	45,000	5
91-100	100	50,000	5

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Nightmare Dungeon Farming Will Make You Stronger

Nightmare Dungeons are the best challenge you can expect in Diablo 4. It may be a slog to get to the higher tiers of Nightmare Dungeons but once you see what types of rewards await you in the end, you’ll see that your efforts are well-worth it.