News Tag: Diablo 4 Nightmare Dungeons

In addition to the seasonal mechanics and powers that are new to you, each season of Diablo 4 will upgrade and adjust some of the inherent mechanics when it goes online to ensure that these contents can adapt to the changes in the game, to ensure your basic game experience.

But it is difficult to satisfy everyone, and the ideas of developers may not always be correct, so some adjustments may not be welcomed and recognized by you in the end. For this reason, players usually criticize and reflect these “meaningless” changes in the game community or other social media, hoping that Diablo 4 can make relevant changes.

However, not every time Diablo 4 will actively respond to your demands. For example, in the recent 2.2.0 PTR for Season 8, the reduction in the drop rate of boss loot has been widely discussed, and no developer has yet said that this practice will be cancelled; and the long-standing problem of the weakening of the presence of Nightmare dungeons in Diablo 4 has existed since Season 6 and has not been resolved yet. Therefore, this time we will focus on these two issues and analyze what the next steps of Diablo 4 may take in the future.

2.2.0 PTR Reduces The Drop Rate Of Boss Loot

The PTR was launched on March 11 for a week and is now coming to an end. Like most of the PTRs launched for the new season of Diablo 4 in the past, the 2.2.0 PTR shows you the various new seasonal mechanisms that will be launched in the eighth season in the future, as well as some adjustments to the inherent game mechanisms.

Although the new seasonal power-boss power, and the return of the classic boss Belial from Diablo 3 have been well received and expected, other adjustments may not satisfy you. Along with the changes in the boss-related mechanisms, the corresponding loot system has also been changed in the PTR, that is, the loot drop rate has been greatly reduced.

Regarding the issue of loot drop rates, the fact is that you may never agree with the developers: you should always want to get as much Diablo 4 Gold as possible through combat, and the developers may be very stingy with the loot in order to force you to extend the game time or make you have to activate the premium battle pass.

That is why you will unfortunately find that Season 8 is expected to slow down your game progress by changing the loot system, but on the other hand, this behavior is actually a response to the previous players’ perception of the endgame’s difficult reduction. That is why Diablo 4 thinks this approach is absolutely reasonable.

According to the performance of the PTR, if no other adjustments are made later, after Season 8, it is expected that the drop rate of legendary items will be reduced before you upgrade to level 60, and the drop rate of ancestral legendary items will be even lower (even if they are already rare). To make matters worse, the boss system, which has been extensively reworked in Season 8, has even nerfed the chances of loot dropping for you by more than 91% - Torment 4’s drop rate has dropped by 91.7%.

In the past, when you were farming bosses in Diablo 4, you could get six unique items from the corresponding loot pool each time you defeated a boss. However, starting in Season 8, not only will you only get five unique items in total, but besides two of them being guaranteed to come from the boss, the other three are random, so after working hard to complete the boss battle, you are more likely to get some garbage items.

In addition, if you think that team battles can alleviate this, you are wrong. According to the performance of the 2.2.0 PTR, you can see that the loot drop rate in the four-player cooperative mode has even become worse! You and your three teammates may have received a total of 24 unique items from four kills in the past. Now each group is only guaranteed two.

Nightmare Dungeons Should “Go Back To The Past”

Nightmare dungeons used to play an integral role in the endgame content of the game, providing more challenging built-in quests where you could get higher-level loot, more Diablo 4 Gold and XP, and upgrade glyphs. However, somehow, starting with Season 6, the place to upgrade glyphs became The Pit, and Nightmare dungeons were further reduced to an area where only late-game materials could be cultivated.

At the beginning of the launch of Season 6, some players expressed dissatisfaction and concerns about this change. However, now that Season 7 is about to pass the halfway point, this situation has not changed, and even the item drop rate in the new seasonal dungeon Rootholds has been criticized.

In fact, you may have discovered that this change to Nightmare dungeon is one of Diablo 4’s attempts to explore how to upgrade the endgame content, and on the other hand, it is to make you focus more on The Pit. It’s not that The Pit is bad, but The Pit’s system is a timer. Although it can cater to faster character construction, paying too much attention to it will inevitably make people feel that it destroys the balance of the game.

Interestingly, some people think that maybe Diablo 4 can try to unify Nightmare dungeon and The Pit to form a new dungeon with both hordes of demons and a final boss, fully guaranteeing all your related item farming needs. Although I don’t know how the game developers view this suggestion, it is an indisputable fact that Nightmare dungeon is in urgent need of adjustment.

I believe you will find that whether it is the change in the boss loot drop rate or the content related to Nightmare dungeon, it is actually one way that Diablo 4 tries to fully upgrade the endgame. After all, players think that the endgame content of Diablo 4 has always been unsatisfactory recently. Although these methods are not all right, it is normal to encounter obstacles in the way forward. At least Diablo 4 is trying to make changes for you, right?

Level up your Nightmare Dungeon farming to get faster experience points, collect a huge amount of unique and legendary items, and boost your damage output through Paragon Points and the leveling of rare glyphs. 

By using these tips and tricks, you’ll speed up your progression in Diablo 4, achieving greater efficiency and making the most of your gaming time. 

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about nightmare dungeons. How nightmare dungeons work, why you should do them, which nightmare dungeons are the best to farm and tips on how to approach nightmare dungeons more efficiently. 

How Do Nightmare Dungeons Work?

To get into nightmare dungeons, you’ll first need to get to 50, clear the capstone dungeon, and transition into World Tier 3. I recommend getting your first nightmare sigil from opening Whisper Caches. 

Using a Nightmare Sigil in the consumables tab will transform a normal dungeon into a nightmare dungeon. Mob level is determined by a combination of the Sigil Tier and your current World Tier plus 50. Nightmare Sigils have Positive and Negative affixes that are worth paying attention to. 

Why You Should Do Nightmare Dungeons?

Nightmare Dungeons are essential for any Diablo 4 player because currently it is the best way to farm gear, experience points, and the only way to level glyphs. 

Nightmare Dungeons have the highest mob density in the game, and the least amount of distance between groups of enemies making it the perfect way to farm anything, such as Diablo 4 Gold. The ending screen also gives 4 bonus equipment drops, 2 of which are likely to be legendary. 

Nightmare Dungeons are also the only way to level up your rare glyphs for that extra damage. 

Not all Nightmare Dungeons are created equal. Some dungeons have poorly designed tile sets and objectives, leading to running into dead ends and doubling back more often than other nightmare dungeons, ending up with a lower experience points per hour. 

The best nightmare dungeons for efficiency are going to have the highest mob density, the least amount of traveling between groups of enemies, and the simplest dungeon objectives. 

Which Nightmare Dungeons Are The Best To Farm? 

Let’s go over which nightmare dungeons are the best and why. 

Sarat’s Lair

Starting with Sarat’s Lair. 

This nightmare dungeon has zero downside. Not only is it dense, but you’re also going up against spider type enemies. When you kill spider enemies, they blow up into even more spiders, making this dungeon one of the best XP per hour farms in the game. 

Sarat’s Lair is also one of the few dungeons to end with a boss that is centered somewhere on the map. After completing all of the objectives, just run to the larger sized room to finish off this nightmare dungeon. 

Uldur’s Cave

Uldur’s Cave is recommended by most players for a reason. 

You will be ambushed by mobs and elites non stop in this nightmare dungeon. Think of it as a free group of elites and mobs without the need to run to them. The different layouts are usually straightforward and easy to navigate, meaning less frustration vs some of the bottom tier maps. 

Uldur’s Cave has the potential to be one of the best elite enemies farm in the game. 

Mariner’s Refuge

Mariner’s Refuge is another nightmare dungeon where the boss resides in a potentially centralized portion of the map, making it impossible to double back to find the boss. 

Mariner’s Refuge has two simple objectives. The first objective is to destroy 3 structures located around the edges of the map. And the 2nd objective is just to defeat the boss. 

Of course mob density is great, but the thing that makes Mariner’s Refuge shine is the circular map. Run one lap around the map, and by the time you finish the lap, you’ll also be running back to the boss. 

Dead Man’s Dredge 

Dead Man’s Dredge ever since the beginning of the game has been a fan favorite for leveling. The layout is a mix of both linear, meaning a straight path followed by small loops. 

The first portion collecting the animus from elites will always involve some form of doubling back, but the last objective saving the prisoners won’t. Hug the wall all the way around, saving every prisoner. An elite will spawn on top of you, which will finish off the dungeon. 

Immortal Emanation 

Immortal Emanation has both an incredibly easy layout, easy objectives, and loads of enemies. 

The first objective will be to destroy 4 structures in a circle, all of which spawn elites by the way, and end with a boss fight. I would have to say this is probably one of the fastest dungeons to clear in the game, making it the perfect nightmare dungeon for glyph leveling. 

My only problem with Immortal Emanation is spirit type enemies and vampire type enemies are my least favorite to go up against. 

Other honorable mentions for great nightmare dungeons are: Mercy’s Reach, Komdor Temple, Charnel House, Nostrava Deepwood, Pallid Delve, and Tomb of the Saints.

If you encounter any difficulties while farming Nightmare Dungeons, you can check out our Diablo 4 Boosting service.

Top Tips For Nightmare Dungeons 

Here are my top tips for any players that are looking to maximize their experience while grinding nightmare dungeons.

My number one tip for you is to take advantage of the Occultists’ Salvage and crafting system for Nightmare Sigils. 

First, make sure to pick up every nightmare sigil you find, even for low tier dungeons. Next, salvage every nightmare sigil with either a bad dungeon or a bad affix. Craft more Nightmare Sigils and repeat the process until you run out of powder. Now, you should have a generous amount of sigils to spam until you run out. 

For my next tip, avoid menus at all costs. If your goal is to level as fast as you can, every time you open your inventory or feel the need to hang out in town and talk to the NPCs, you’re losing valuable time. I avoid NPCs and menus by being extremely selective in what I pick up during a dungeon. If I’m leveling but I need a certain Legendary Aspect, I’ll choose to only pick up Legendary drops and nothing else. 

Tip number 3 is all about speeding up your clear times. An ideal clear speed for nightmare dungeons is between 3 and 5 minutes. If your clear times are higher than 5 minutes, you have some troubleshooting to do. If your sigil tier is too high, consider running a lower tier, faster clears will always result in better xp per hour. Movement speed is really powerful for faster nightmare dungeon clears, try to always have move speed on your feet and amulet. There are even legendary aspects that can greatly increase your move speed.