How to unlock high-tier Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4

The endgame in Diablo 4 offers players plenty of challenges to take on, including high-tier Nightmare Dungeons, but how do you access them?

Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4 are easy to explain because they’re essentially tougher versions of the Dungeons you will have encountered throughout the campaign and in your exploration of Sanctuary.

Running Nightmare Dungeons is one of the best ways after you have completed the campaign to farm loot and experience in Diablo 4, particularly as the difficulty can be increased bit by bit to ensure you always have a challenge ahead of you.

But how do you access high-tier Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4? Fear not, as we’ve detailed everything you need to know.

How to access high-tier Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4

While Diablo 4 gives you an introduction to Nightmare Dungeons through the Tree of Whispers, it does not provide a true explanation of how to come across the harder challenges in Nightmare Dungeons.

The first Nightmare Sigils you unlock will be Tier One, the easiest of the bunch as Nightmare Sigils go all the way up to Tier 100, and the higher Tiers are locked behind a further quest.

For your first drop of Nightmare Sigils, beat world bosses, unlock caches at the Tree of Whispers, and run regular dungeons for a chance of picking up a Nightmare Sigil, which is the only way to access a Nightmare Dungeon.

You’ll need a Tier Three Nightmare Sigil to get started on your path to higher Tiers, and you’ll then need to complete your first Tier Three Nightmare Dungeon to unlock the ability to craft higher-tier Nightmare Sigils.

How to get a Tier Three Nightmare Sigil in Diablo 4

Like many things in Diablo 4, finding a Tier Three Nightmare Sigil is down to pure luck, and the initial gate to progressing to Tier Three can be time-consuming.

In Tier One Nightmare Dungeons, there is a chance of Tier Two Nightmare Sigils dropping, which can then be used to access a Tier Two Nightmare Dungeon which, continuing the trend, can drop a Tier Three Nightmare Sigil.

Alternatively, you can focus on getting to World Tier Four as quickly as possible. While this is also time-consuming, it should be a long-term focus for any character. In World Tier Four, a cache from the Tree of Whispers has a chance of dropping Nightmare Sigils of Tier 21 and above.

The quickest method is to play with friends or find a group running high-level dungeons. Simply join a group running a Tier Three or higher Nightmare Dungeon and complete it, which will unlock the crafting quest.

Discord is a great way of finding groups but, as an Xbox player, the best method for me is to use Xbox’s Looking for Group feature. There are usually hundreds of players looking to group up and you should be able to find someone willing to help relatively swiftly.

Once a Tier Three Nightmare Dungeon is completed, you’ll unlock a quest that simply needs to be completed to unlock Nightmare Sigil crafting.

How to craft Nightmare Sigils in Diablo 4

After completing the priority quest, two new options at the Occultist will open up to either craft Sigils or Salvage Sigils. 

Salvaging Sigils provides Sigil Power, a key component for crafting, so we recommend throwing in any low-lever Tiers you have collected. Higher Tiers bring better loot and experience, so it’s always worth focusing on those.

Using Sigil Power, you can craft Sacred Nightmare Sigils up to Tier 20 and Ancestral Sigils up to Tier 100. The former is essentially for World Tier Three players, with the latter what World Tier Four players should be looking at.

Crafting higher Tier Sigils requires more Sigil Powder but completing higher Tier Nightmare Dungeons provides more Glyph XP upon completion. 

Keeping a steady stream of Sigil Powder is crucial but you should start to find Nightmare Sigils fairly regularly as drops when running Nightmare Dungeons, while the Tree of Whisper caches can also be used.

Again, this is where playing in a group helps, as you can each craft Nightmare Sigils for the entire group to run. This way, you’re not just relying on the luck of drops for one person and have a better chance of being able to continue running Nightmare Dungeons in higher Tiers.