Nightmare Dungeons are special types of dungeons located all over the world and they are an important part of the endgame activities in Diablo 4, alongside Helltides, Legion Events, and the Tree of Whispers. They play a crucial role in enhancing your power as you progress through World Tier 3 and 4.
Nightmare Dungeons are more challenging versions of normal dungeons that increase in difficulty and rewards as you progress through the tiers, ranging from Tier 1 to Tier 100. The main benefit of these dungeons is the opportunity to get and level up your Paragon Board Glyphs at the end of the dungeon, once the main objective has been completed.
How To Unlock Nightmare Dungeons
Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4 are only accessible once certain conditions are met. Thus, among other things, to enter these dungeons, you need a Nightmare Sigil, which can have various affixes that either help or hinder your progress. Below we provide tables that list all the positive and negative affixes that can appear on Nightmare Sigils.
In other words, to unlock Nightmare Dungeons you need to fulfill these conditions:
You have finished the main story campaign.
You have successfully finished level 50 Capstone Dungeon, The Cathedral of Light.
You have advanced to World Tier 3, the Nightmare Difficulty.
You have gained access to The Tree of Whispers.
You have received a Nightmare Sigil from a reward cache.
You have received a Priority Quest to use your first sigil and complete Nightmare Dungeon.
To obtain your very first Nightmare Sigil, unlock World Tier 3 first. After completing the campaign, it is recommended to farm the Tree of Whispers for XP points and gear. This will help you defeat the Cathedral of Light capstone dungeon in Kyovashad, which gives access to World Tier 3. Entering the World Tier 3 continue farming Whispers until you get a Nightmare Sigil from a reward cache. Thus, you can get Nightmare Sigils from Tree of Whisper’s reward caches, world bosses like Ashava, and occasionally from defeated mobs. If you need help with farming sigils you can buy our Tree of Whispers boost. Additionally, you can craft Nightmare Sigils through the Occultist. Upon gaining access to the Nightmare Dungeons, you will receive Nightmare Sigils for completing them.
Crafting Sigils
If you have a lot of Sigils in your consumables inventory, you can go to an Occultist and dismantle any Sigils. These unwanted Nightmare Sigils will be transformed into Sigil Powder, which is a crafting currency you can use to make new Nightmare Sigils. The higher the tier of the Sigils, the more Sigil Powder you will receive when salvaging. Or you can get Sigil Powder from chests.
Also, you can forge your own Sigils at the Occultist. You have the option to select the tier pool of the Sigil before crafting, but not the dungeon and affixes, they will be randomly generated. This method can be a useful way to bypass several Nightmare Dungeon tiers simultaneously. Of course, only if your build is capable of handling it.
Completing A Nightmare Dungeon
Once you’ve got a Nightmare Sigil activated from the consumables tab of your inventory, the dungeon listed on the Nightmare Sigil will be marked on your map with a unique icon. You can teleport to the dungeon’s entrance by clicking on the map icon, or physically travel to the entrance.
Note that only one Nightmare Dungeon may be active at a time. By using the new Sigil you will end the currently active Nightmare Dungeon.
There is no difference between Nightmare Dungeons and normal dungeons in objectives and tileset layout. The main difference is the presence of Nightmare Dungeon affixes. These affixes are modifiers that affect the dungeon’s difficulty. And there are two types of affixes. Positive affixes can enhance your damage, improve your ability to evade, or even increase the amount of loot. But other modifiers are negative and will create additional obstacles on your way through the dungeon, such as a Lightning Storm. This modifier will periodically target the player with lightning strikes.
Please note that the number of revives available in the Nightmare Dungeon decreases as you progress to higher tiers. Considering this, it is necessary to ensure that your build is capable of both defeating enemies and providing adequate defense to withstand them. However, if you are not going through a dungeon alone, and your teammate revives you, then the revives count will not count it.
Nightmare Sigil Tiers And Affixes
Nightmare Sigils are divided into tiers. These tiers determine the level and difficulty of the dungeon. The monster level in a particular dungeon is the sum of the tier of a dungeon and your World Tier (3 or 4) plus dungeon’s base difficulty (50).
Furthermore, the 100 tiers are divided into two groups: Sacred and Ancestral, these are sigil types your can use on World Tier 3 and World Tier 4.
Tiers 1-10 (Sacred, World Tier 3): 12 revives and 3 affixes (1 positive, 2 negative), level 54-63
Tiers 11-20 (Sacred, World Tier 3): 12 revives and 4 affixes (1 positive, 3 negative), level 64-73
Tiers 21+ (Ancestral, World Tier 4): 4 revives and 5 affixes (1 positive, 4 negative), level 75-154
As the dungeon tier increases, it becomes more challenging but offers greater rewards. Higher tiers provide higher-level items and more Glyph XP, which is crucial for the Paragon Board. On the other hand, as we mentioned above, tiers also affect the number of affixes and revives that a Sigil has. You can check out all positive and negative affixes in the tables below.
Positive Sigil Affixes
Positive Sigil Affixes table
Affix Name
Effect
Quick Killer
Magic: Killing a monster grants 1.0% Attack and Move Speed. Stacking up to 10%. Rare: Killing a monster grants 1.5% Attack and Move Speed. Stacking up to 15%. Legendary: Killing a monster grants 2.0% Attack and Move Speed. Stacking up to 20%.
Reduce Cooldowns on Kill
Magic: Killing a monster reduces your cooldowns by 0.15 seconds. Rare: Killing a monster reduces your cooldowns by 0.2 seconds. Legendary: Killing a monster reduces your cooldowns by 0.25 seconds.
Battle Hardened
Magic: Gain 4% damage reduction for every 10% Health you are missing. Rare: Gain 5% damage reduction for every 10% Health you are missing. Legendary: Gain 6% damage reduction for every 10% Health you are missing.
Poisonous Evade
Using Evade leaves a pool of Poison behind that damages enemies.
Nudging Evade
Using Evade pushes enemies back.
Fire Damage
Magic: You deal 5% more Fire damage. Rare: You deal 10% more Fire damage. Legendary: You deal 15% more Fire damage.
Frost Damage
Magic: You deal 5% more Frost damage. Rare: You deal 10% more Frost damage. Legendary: You deal 15% more Frost damage.
Gold Find
Magic: You find 10% more gold. Rare: You find 20% more gold. Legendary: You find 30% more gold.
Increased Critical Strike
Magic: Your Critical Strike chance is increased by 3%. Rare: Your Critical Strike chance is increased by 6%. Legendary: Your Critical Strike chance is increased by 9%.
Increased Healing
Magic: Your Healing Received is increased by 5%. Rare: Your Healing Received is increased by 10%. Legendary: Your Healing Received is increased by 15%.
Lightning Damage
Magic: You deal 5% more Lightning damage. Rare: You deal 10% more Lightning damage. Legendary: You deal 15% more Lightning damage.
Magic Find
You find more items from enemies.
Lightning Caller
You occasionally call down lightning strikes that damage nearby enemies.
Physical Damage
Magic: You deal 5% more Physical damage. Rare: You deal 10% more Physical damage. Legendary: You deal 15% more Physical damage.
Poison Damage
Magic: You deal 5% more Poison damage. Rare: You deal 10% more Poison damage. Legendary: You deal 15% more Poison damage.
Shadow Damage
Magic: You deal 5% more Shadow damage. Rare: You deal 10% more Shadow damage. Legendary: You deal 15% more Shadow damage.
Control Impaired Explosions
Being hit by Control Impairing Effects creates an explosion around you.
Thorns
Magic: Your Thorns are increased by 112. Rare: Your Thorns are increased by 249. Legendary: Your Thorns are increased by 491.
Negative Sigil Affixes
Negative Sigil Affixes table
Affix name
Effect
Avenger
Killing a monster enrages monsters near it, making them dealing more damage.
Blood Blister
Killing a monster has a chance to spawn a Blood Blister. After a short time, it explodes, dealing heavy area damage.
Death Pulse
Killing a monster releases a deadly lightning pulse after a short delay.
Drifting Shade
Drifting Shade chases players. Upon reaching them, it explodes for heavy damage and creates a Nightmare Field that Dazes victims.
Empowered Elites (Shock Lance)
Elites always have the “Electric Lance” affix.
Empowered Elites (Cold Enchanted)
Elites always have the “Cold Enchanted” affix.
Empowered Elites (Poison Enchanted)
Elites always have the “Poison Enchanted” affix.
Empowered Elites (Shadow Enchanted)
Elites always have the “Shadow Enchanted” affix.
Empowered Elites (Suppressor)
Elites always have the “Suppressor” affix.
Empowered Elites (Teleporter)
Elites always have the “Teleporter” affix.
Lightning Storm
Lightning gathers above the player. Get into the protection dome to avoid severe outcomes.
Nightmare Portal
While in combat, Nightmare Portals open randomly near players, pouring out dangerous monsters.
Stormbane’s Wrath
Stormbane’s Wrath chases players around, releasing deadly pulses when reaching a player.
Volcanic
While in combat, gouts of flame periodically erupt near players.
Monster Crowd Control Resist
Magic: Crowd Control duration vs monsters is reduced by 20%. Rare: Crowd Control duration vs monsters is reduced by 30%. Legendary: Crowd Control duration vs monsters is reduced by 40%.
Monster Critical Resist
Magic: Monsters take 30% less damage from Critical Strike. Rare: Monsters take 45% less damage from Critical Strike. Legendary: Monsters take 60% less damage from Critical Strike.
Monster Overpower Resist
Magic: Monsters take 30% less damage from Overpower. Rare: Monsters take 45% less damage from Overpower attacks. Legendary: Monsters take 60% less damage from Overpower attacks.
Monster Vulnerable Resist
Magic: Duration of Vulnerable Effects vs monsters is reduced by 30%. Rare: Duration of Vulnerable Effects vs monsters is reduced by 45%. Legendary: Duration of Vulnerable Effects vs monsters is reduced by 60%.
Backstabbers
Magic: Monsters near the player deal 50% more damage when attacking from behind. Rare: Monsters near the player deal 100% more damage when attacking from behind. Legendary: Monsters near the player deal 150% more damage when attacking from behind.
Magic: Monsters gain 20% of their Maximum Life as a Barrier. Rare: Monsters gain 25% of their Maximum Life as a Barrier. Legendary: Monsters gain 30% of their Maximum Life as a Barrier.
Barrier Breakers
Magic: Monsters deal 50% more damage to Barriers. Rare: Monsters deal 75% more damage to Barriers. Legendary: Monsters deal 100% more damage to Barriers.
Slowing Projectiles
Magic: Monster attacks from a distance have a 30% chance to slow targets. Rare: Monster attacks from a distance have a 40% chance to slow targets. Legendary: Monster attacks from a distance have a 50% chance to slow targets.
Resource Burn
Magic: Monster attacks from a distance burn 8% of your Primary Resource. Rare: Monster attacks from a distance burn 12% of your Primary Resource. Legendary: Monster attacks from a distance burn 16% of your Primary Resource.
Monster Bleeding Damage
Magic: Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Bleeding over 5 seconds. Rare: Monsters deal an additional 22% of their Physical damage dealt as Bleeding over 5 seconds. Legendary: Monsters deal an additional 30% of their Physical damage dealt as Bleeding over 5 seconds.
Monster Burning Damage
Magic: Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Burning over 5 seconds. Rare: Monsters deal an additional 22% of their Physical damage dealt as Burning over 5 seconds. Legendary: Monsters deal an additional 30% of their Physical damage dealt as Burning over 5 seconds.
Monster Cold Damage
Magic: Monsters deal an additional 10% of their Physical damage dealt as Cold. Rare: Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Cold. Legendary: Monsters deal an additional 20% of their Physical damage dealt as Cold.
Monster Shadow Damage Over Time
Magic: Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Shadow over 5 seconds. Rare: Monsters deal an additional 22% of their Physical damage dealt as Shadow over 5 seconds. Legendary: Monsters deal an additional 30% of their Physical damage dealt as Shadow over 5 seconds.
Monster Fire Damage
Magic: Monsters deal an additional 10% of their Physical damage dealt as Fire. Rare: Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Fire. Legendary: Monsters deal an additional 20% of their Physical damage dealt as Fire.
Monster Lightning Damage
Magic: Monsters deal an additional 10% of their Physical damage dealt as Lightning. Rare: Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Lightning. Legendary: Monsters deal an additional 20% of their Physical damage dealt as Lightning.
Monster Poison Damage
Magic: Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Poison over 5 seconds. Rare: Monsters deal an additional 22% of their Physical damage dealt as Poison over 5 seconds. Legendary: Monsters deal an additional 30% of their Physical damage dealt as Poison over 5 seconds.
Monster Shadow Damage
Magic: Monsters deal an additional 10% of their Physical damage dealt as Shadow. Rare: Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Shadow. Legendary: Monsters deal an additional 20% of their Physical damage dealt as Shadow.
Monster Life
Magic: Monsters gain 20% extra life. Rare: Monsters gain 25% extra life. Legendary: Monsters gain 30% extra life.
Monster Regen
Magic: Non-boss monsters regen 1.5% Maximum Life per second. Rare: Non-boss monsters regen 1.5% Maximum Life per second. Legendary: Non-boss monsters regen 1.5% Maximum Life per second.
Monster Bleed Resist
Magic: Monsters take 30% less Bleeding damage. Rare: Monsters take 45% less Bleeding damage. Legendary: Monsters take 60% less Bleeding damage.
Monster Burning Resist
Magic: Monsters take 30% less Burning damage. Rare: Monsters take 45% less Burning damage. Legendary: Monsters take 60% less Burning damage.
Monster Cold Resist
Magic: Monsters take 20% less Cold damage. Rare: Monsters take 30% less Cold damage. Legendary: Monsters take 40% less Cold damage.
Monster Shadow Damage Over Time Resist
Magic: Monsters take 60% reduced damage from your Shadow damage over time effects. Rare: Monsters take 60% reduced damage from your Shadow damage over time effects. Legendary: Monsters take 60% reduced damage from your Shadow damage over time effects.
Monster Fire Resist
Magic: Monsters take 20% less Lightning damage. Rare: Monsters take 30% less Lightning damage. Legendary: Monsters take 40% less Lightning damage.
Melee Defenders
Magic: Monsters take 20% less damage from close targets. Rare: Monsters take 30% less damage from close targets. Legendary: Monsters take 40% less damage from close targets.
Monster Physical Resist
Magic: Monsters take 15% less Physical damage. Rare: Monsters take 22% less Physical damage. Legendary: Monsters take 30% less Physical damage.
Monster Poison Resist
Magic: Monsters take 30% less Poison damage. Rare: Monsters take 45% less Poison damage. Legendary: Monsters take 60% less Poison damage.
Ranged Defenders
Magic: Monsters take 30% less damage from distant targets. Rare: Monsters take 45% less damage from distant targets. Legendary: Monsters take 60% less damage from distant targets.
Monster Shadow Resist
Magic: Monsters take 20% less Shadow damage. Rare: Monsters take 30% less Shadow damage. Legendary: Monsters take 40% less Shadow damage.
Monster Life Steal
Magic: Non-boss monsters gain 10% Life Steal. Rare: Non-boss monsters gain 12% Life Steal. Legendary: Non-boss monsters gain 15% Life Steal.
Dodge Breakers
Magic: Monster attacks from a distance reduce dodge chance by 8% for 6 seconds, stacking up to 40%. Rare: Monster attacks from a distance reduce dodge chance by 10% for 6 seconds, stacking up to 50%. Legendary: Monster attacks from a distance reduce dodge chance by 12% for 6 seconds, stacking up to 60%.
Potion Breakers
Magic: Monster attacks from a distance have 20% chance to disable healing potion for 2 seconds. Rare: Monster attacks from a distance have 25% chance to disable healing potion for 2 seconds. Legendary: Monster attacks from a distance have 30% chance to disable healing potion for 2 seconds.
Resistance Breakers
Magic: Monster attacks from a distance reduce resistance by 6% for 6 seconds, stacking up to 30%. Rare: Monster attacks from a distance reduce resistance by 8% for 6 seconds, stacking up to 40%. Legendary: Monster attacks from a distance reduce resistance by 10% for 6 seconds, stacking up to 50%.
Monster Thorns
Magic: Monsters reflect 4% of Non-Physical damage. Rare: Monsters reflect 6% of Non-Physical damage. Legendary: Monsters reflect 8% of Non-Physical damage.
Armor Breakers
Magic: Monster attacks from a distance reduce your Armor by 5% for 6 seconds, stacking up to 25%. Rare: Monster attacks from a distance reduce your Armor by 6% for 6 seconds, stacking up to 30%. Legendary: Monster attacks from a distance reduce your Armor by 7% for 6 seconds, stacking up to 35%.
Unstoppable Monsters
Magic: Monsters become Unstoppable when life drops below 15%. Rare: Monsters become Unstoppable when life drops below 22%. Legendary: Monsters become Unstoppable when life drops below 30%.
Nightmare Dungeon Rewards
Nightmare Dungeons are an absolute treasure trove for enhancing your character and snagging those coveted Legendary affixes. Completing Nightmare Dungeons successfully rewards bonus Gold and high-rarity gear, usually Legendary, but there is a chance of receiving a Unique item. But the most notable reward is that Nightmare Dungeons also grant Glyph XP, which can be used for upgrading Glyph passives on your Paragon Board. After completing the main objectives of the Nightmare dungeon you can use a unique altar that spawns next your character at the end of each dungeon to allocate Glyph XP. With the upcoming Season 1, these rewards will receive enhancements, making them even more valuable for earning various rewards.
Glyphs
Upon completing a Nightmare Dungeon, an Awakened Glyph will appear with a protective bubble shield. This glyph can assist in upgrading your Paragon Glyphs, enhancing their bonus or radius.
You can allocate XP earned from the Nightmare Dungeon to a chosen Glyph by interacting with it. When a Glyph gains enough XP, it levels up and gains stronger effects. We recommend you to upgrade Glyphs while they are already socketed to immediately improve your glyphs effects. But if you upgrade a Glyph that is not socketed, you will not see the applied benefits until it is socketed.
Loot
Obviously you will receive loot just like in a normal dungeon from the enemies drop. Inside a Nightmare Dungeon, you can expect to find:
Gold
Gems
Random Items of all rarities
Two guaranteed high-tier items for completion
Glyphs
Nightmare Sigils
The drop chance for sigils and glyphs in Nightmare Dungeons has been significantly increased after Patch 1.0.3.
Character Experience
In Diablo 4, Nightmare Dungeons play a crucial role in late-game leveling as they provide more experience than regular dungeons. The higher level of enemies as well as objectives and activities completed within a Nightmare Dungeon will provide you tons of XP, making these dungeons the most efficient leveling tool in Diablo 4 late game.
Well, that’s all you need to know about unlocking and successfully completing Nightmare Dungeons. But there are a lot of dungeons on the Diablo 4 map, and to find out which ones are the best and worth the time to spend on them, and most importantly, to get more rewards, we have made a Nightmare Dungeon Tier list with best dungeons for farming XP and Glyphs XP, as well as for solo and group play. So dive into our next guide.
