Diablo 4 Nightmare Dungeons Guide [Pro Player Tips]

Hey everyone! Nightmare Dungeons are the most important part of Diablo 4's end game content. Once you're done farming Renown and really trying to get your character to level 100, this is where you'll spend most of your time. But you can't get into these changing Nightmare Dungeons without Nightmare Sigils, which you can make up to Tier 100.

Since I'm a professional Diablo 4 booster here at Boosting Factory, I frequently do Nightmare Dungeons boosting for my clients, so you could say I'm a professional at them by now.

In this Diablo 4 guide, I'll show you how to use the Nightmare Sigil making system to get your character into higher-level Nightmare Dungeons, how to finish each type, and what you'll get for doing so.

How To Unlock Nightmare Dungeons

Like most challenge jumps in Diablo 4, you can't get into Nightmare Dungeons until you meet a few requirements.

• You've done everything in the Main Story Campaign.


• You have finished the Capstone Dungeon for level 50, which was called "The Cathedral of Light."


• You are now on World Tier 3, Nightmare Difficulty.


• You've unlocked The Tree of Whispers and Grim Favors.


• You found a Grim Favors Cache and got a Nightmare Sigil from it.

When your first Nightmare Sigil drops, you'll get a quest to use it and finish your first Nightmare Dungeon as soon as possible.

Read more: Diablo 4 Beginner Guide

How To Unlock Sigil Crafting

Once you've finished a Tier 3 Nightmare Dungeon, you can also do a priority job from the Occultist to unlock Sigil Crafting. This gives you a reason to keep collecting Sigil Powder and gives you more control over how hard your Nightmare Dungeons are. More on that later.

How To Use Sigil Crafting To Unlock Higher Level Nightmare Dungeons

Salvage Sigils is the easiest, so let's start there. This works the same way as recovering gear at the Blacksmith, but only for Nightmare Sigils you don't want. By salvaging Sigils, you can turn them into Sigil Powder, which you'll need for making.

The Craft Sigils screen looks very complicated, but it is one of the easiest ways to make things in the game. You'll be able to make Sacred Nightmare Sigils up to Tier 20, and then Ancestral Sigils up to Tier 100. The best way to think about this is that Sacred Sigils are for World Tier 3 players and Ancestral Sigils are for a wide range of World Tier 4 players.

Each Tier of Sigil makes a stronger Nightmare Dungeon that gives more Glyph XP and better rewards, but it also takes more Sigil Powder to make.

If you need more Sigil Powder, Nightmare Dungeons are your best bet. Nightmare Sigils can be found in Nightmare Dungeons, and their tier level will be the same as that of the dungeon. You can get more Nightmare Sigils by doing Grim Favors for the Tree of Whispers if you run out.

How To Complete a Nightmare Dungeon in Diablo 4

For a Nightmare Dungeon to start do the following:

• Click on the Consumables Tab after opening your character's inventory.


• Use a sigil from your stash the same way you would use an elixir.


• Your map will show you how to get to the door to the dungeon.


• Go into the Dungeon and do the tasks like you would in any other dungeon.


• When the dungeon is done, a bubble will appear around you. Inside the bubble will be loot and an altar where you can improve your glyph(s).

All Affixes From Nightmare Dungeons

Name	Effect	Type
Poison Damage	You deal 10% more Poison Damage.	Positive
Shadow Damage	You deal 10% more Shadow Damage.	Positive
Frost Damage	You deal 10% more Frost Damage.	Positive
Fire Damage	You deal 10% more Fire Damage.	Positive
Lightning Damage	You deal 10% more Lightning Damage.	Positive
Physical Damage	You deal 10% more Physical Damage.	Positive
Control Impaired Explosions	Being hit by Control Impairing Effects creates an explosion around you.	Positive
Increased Critical Strike	Your Critical Strike chance is increased by 6%.	Positive
Poisonous Evade	Using Evade leaves a pool of poison behind that damages enemies.	Positive
Increased Healing	Your Healing Received is increased by 10%.	Positive
Lightning Caller	You occasionally call down lightning strikes that damage nearby enemies.	Positive
Thorns	Your Thorns are increased by 249.
Lightning Storm	Lightning gathers above the player. Get into the protection dome to avoid severe outcomes.	Negative
Volcanic	While in combat, gouts of flame periodically erupt near players.	Negative
Nightmare Portal	While in combat, Nightmare Portals open randomly near players, pouring out dangerous monsters.	Negative
Drifting Shade	Drifting Shade chases players. Upon reaching them, it explodes for heavy damage, creating a Nightmare Field that Dazes victims.	Negative
Death Pulse	Killing a monster releases a deadly lightning pulse after short delay.	Negative
Monster Vulnerable Resist	The duration of Vulnerable Effects vs Monsters is reduced by 45%.	Negative
Monster Fire Damage	Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage as dealt as Fire.	Negative
Monster Poison Damage	Monsters deal an additional 22% of their Physical damage dealt as Poison over 5 seconds.	Negative
Monster Shadow Damage	Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Shadow.	Negative
Monster Burning Damage	Monsters deal an additional 22% of their Physical damage dealt as Burning over 5 seconds.	Negative
Monster Bleeding Damage	Monsters deal an additional 22% of their Physical damage dealt as Bleeding over 5 seconds.	Negative
Monster Lightning Damage	Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Lightning.	Negative
Empowered Elites (Cold Enchanted)	Elites always have the "Cold Enchanted" affix.	Negative
Empowered Elites (Poison Enchanted)	Elites always have the "Poison Enchanted" affix.	Negative
Empowered Elites (Shock Lance)	Elites always have the "Electric Lance" affix.	Negative
Empowered Elites (Suppressor)	Elites always have the "Suppressor" affix.	Negative
Monster Shadow DoT	Monsters deal an additional 22% of their physical damage dealt as Shadow over 5 seconds.	Negative
Monster Cold Damage	Monsters deal an additional 15% of their Physical damage dealt as Cold.	Negative

Nightmare Dungeons Tiers

Each Nightmare Sigil, and by extension, each prison, also has a Tier that goes with it. These tiers, which are similar to World Tiers, decide how hard the dungeon is and what rewards it might give.

Nightmare Dungeon has many levels, ranging from 1 to 100. When you start making things, you'll be able to choose the Tier you want, so this becomes more important.

To sum up, the tier of a dungeon affects the level of the monsters you'll face, the level of the things that can drop, the amount of Glyph XP you earn, how many buffs will affect your dungeon run, and how many times you can revive yourself.

If you try to go into a dungeon that is too hard, the monster level can be much higher than your character's level. Be careful about which Sigils you use. When a hardcore character dies in a Nightmare Dungeon, they are gone for good, no matter how many times they are revived.

Nightmare Dungeons Rewards

The benefits for doing a Nightmare Dungeon were meant to be like those for Greater Rifts in Diablo 3. Even though they'll get buffs when Season 1 comes out, they're already a great way to get a lot of prizes.

Loot

Just like a normal duungeon, enemies in Nightmare Dungeons will drop loot. But Nightmare Dungeons have a bit different loot tables. You can expect to find the following inside a Nightmare Dungeon:

• Gems


• Gold


• Two high-tier items


• Glyphs


• Items of various rarities


• Nightmare Sigils

Sigils and signs seem to have a higher chance of dropping in Nightmare Dungeons.

Character XP

If you've reached a level where Nightmare Dungeons matter, you probably won't be surprised to hear that Diablo 4 monsters give experience when they die. Nightmare Dungeons give more experience than standard dungeons, which is the main way to level up in the late game. This is partly because the monsters are stronger, but it is also because goals and activities done inside a Nightmare Dungeon have a flat multiplier.

When it first came out, some players were unhappy with how big this increase was. But Patch 1.0.3 has made it better. You now get a lot more experience when you go through a Nightmare Dungeon. Bugs like the "infinite cellar" were also fixed, making these caves the best way to level up in the late game.

Read more: 10 Tips on How To Level Up Fast In Diablo 4>

Glyph Experience

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, you will get an Awakened Sigil when you finish a nightmare level. When you click on this symbol, a menu will pop up that lets you update your Paragon Glyphs. You can change their bonus or even their radius.

Nightmare Dungeons Tips

Even though playing any Nightmare Dungeon is a great way to level up your character and get Glyphs, not all of them are the same. Some dungeon techniques can help you get a lot more XP, while some affixes are so bad that you should stay away from them completely.

Dungeon Afffixes To Avoid

Resource Burn: If you get hit, you pretty much don't have any resources left. If you're not a basic attack build, you should get rid of any Sigil that has this effect.

Empowered Elites (Cold Enchanted): When Elites hit, they always cause chill, which freezes the target on the next hit. Skip this affix unless you have more than one Unstoppable number.

Monster Cold Damage: All monsters take the same amount of damage from cold as Empowered Elites. If you can, don't do this.

Monster Poison Damage: To get rid of poison, you need to use several Health Potions or healing powers. Skip this patch until resistances get better.

Backstabbers: If a monster hits the back of your character, it does 150% more damage. This happens more than you might think. This is not a good idea for Hardcore.

Tips For Farming

Farm Sigils that are 51 levels below you. This will make you fight monsters that are three levels above you, which is the best way to get XP per kill. If you are level 80, for example, you will want to farm T29 dungeons.

Using Sigils: Leave a Nightmare Dungeon before using a Sigil after you've finished it. This will make the position of the Nightmare Dungeon that you just made the center of your map, so you can quickly get there.

Managing Sigils: If you have too many Sigils in your collection, you can store them in your stash or take them apart at an Occultist to make room.

Multitasking: During WT3, finish Nightmare Dungeons that the Tree of Whispers is currently controlling to get Grim Favors. This will help your character level up and get better gear.

Get Help With Nightmare Dungeons

We here at Boosting Factory understand these Nightmare Dungeons can be very long to grind and full of frustration that not everyone has time for. This is why we started our Nightmare Dungeons boosting service. My colleagues and I can help you run the dungeons for any number of runs. We can play for you or you can play with us too!

Just head over to our Nightmare Dungeons boosting page and start your runs today!