Diablo 4 Nightmare Dungeons, explained

If you’re looking to make the most out of Diablo 4’s endgame and experience the hardest challenges the game has to offer, Nightmare Dungeons will become a part of your daily routine.

That’s because Nightmare Dungeons are one of the main things you can do in the endgame, along with Helltide events, Legion events, and Tree of Whispers. They’re my favorite endgame activity by a long shot because of how challenging and rewarding they can be.

But what are they exactly, how do you unlock them, and how do you access them? Here’s everything you need to know.

What are Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4?

Nightmare Dungeons are much harder versions of the various dungeons in Diablo 4. Each one has up to one hundred tiers. The higher the tier, the more difficult the Nightmare Dungeon will be, but it will have better rewards including plenty of endgame items and materials. I have found all sorts of incredible loot in them, and you will too.

Related: How to find Crushed Beast Bones in Diablo 4

If you complete the main objective within each Nightmare Dungeon, you’ll also be able to level up your Paragon Board Glyphs, which is how you become stronger after hitting the maximum level to take your build to the next level.

How to unlock Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4

Nightmare Dungeons aren’t available right away. They’re a part of the endgame, so you’ll need to complete a number of prerequisites to unlock them. First, you’ll need to complete the campaign. Then, you’ll need to complete the Cathedral of Light Capstone Dungeon in World Tier Two.

If you’ve done all of those things, you’ll unlock World Tier Three, which you can change to any time, along with Nightmare Dungeons.

How to access Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4

To access Nightmare Dungeons once you’ve unlocked them, you need to find or craft Nightmare Sigils. Think of them as a token associated with a specific dungeon, complete with its own set of Dungeon Affixes that make it contain enemies with certain buffs and qualities.

Each time you use one to create a Nightmare Dungeon, it will disappear from your inventory. You can obtain Nightmare Sigils in several ways:

• Finding them in reward caches from the Tree of Whispers
• Finding them as rare drops from enemies and world bosses
• Finding them in Nightmare Dungeons
• Crafting them using Gold and Sigil Powder, which is salvaged from other Nightmare Sigils at the Occultist.

I’d recommend starting with Tree of Whispers since it’s more reliable than relying on the slim chance of finding one via a rare drop.

Once you’ve got the ball rolling, you should be able to earn plenty from Nightmare Dungeons, even if it means you have to salvage Nightmare Sigils to create others.