Looking for a real challenge? Once you reach higher levels in Diablo 4, the game may start to feel a little too easy. Sure, you can find a stash of loot, smash a few demon nests, and enjoy the downtime with your best Diablo 4 companions, but it’s just not enough. What you really need is a Nightmare Dungeon.
Cathedral of Light
The Cathedral of Light is the first Capstone Dungeon, and requires you to have completed the main campaign. You’ll need to be around level 45-50 to tackle it. The dungeon contains several Diablo 4 World Tiers, so you’ll be starting from the bottom.
The final boss, Merci, is a bit of a pushover compared to the rest of the dungeon, but beware – the fight is fraught with danger from the very beginning. The first room has several Diablo 4 Flies that can be annoying enemies, and there’s a high chance that you’ll encounter a Fly-infested room. The swarm of flies that attack you can be a big problem if you’re surrounded by them, as they rip into your health and can stun you.
The second boss, Zaphyr, attacks in several ways, including through a Lightning Storm that can stun you and leeches your mana. His other attack is a very long pull attack, which can be dodged, but if you’re hit by it, he grabs you and drains your health. His attacks get more dangerous as the fight goes on, making him a challenging but rewarding fight.
Finally, the third and final boss, Merci, is a fair bit easier to beat. She has a shield that absorbs damage, but she also uses it to charge up a powerful attack against you. Once her shield is down, you can hit her with heavy attacks, and dodge her ranged attacks.
Fallen Temple
The Fallen Temple is the second Capstone Dungeon and is in World Tier Three. You’ll need to be level 65-70 to tackle it. This dungeon is a lot more challenging than the Cathedral of Light, as the enemies are much harder to fight.
The main hazard of this dungeon is the Sacred Physician. He can heal the Grand Inquisitor and Lord Commander, so you’ll want to make sure you’re dealing as much damage as possible to take him out quickly. The Sacred Physician also uses a Vile Gas attack that drains your health, making him a priority to kill.
The Grand Inquisitor is a tough enemy due to his ability to cast Flame Wave, which can hit you multiple times and is a very dangerous attack. He also uses a lot of melee attacks, which can be deadly if you’re surrounded.
The Lord Commander is the most difficult enemy in the dungeon, as he’s incredibly fast and has a variety of attacks. He can do a Flame Wave that’s just as dangerous as the Grand Inquisitor’s, and has a powerful melee attack.
Maugan’s Works
This dungeon is very difficult because of the final boss, the Knight Council. The three-part boss fight involves fighting the Sacred Physician, the Grand Inquisitor, and the Lord Commander.
The Sacred Physician uses the same Vile Gas attack as he does in the Fallen Temple, but the Grand Inquisitor uses a new attack, an Energy Wave attack that, again, hits you multiple times. The Lord Commander uses his typical Flame Wave attack, so he’s not as difficult as the other two.
The most difficult part of the fight is against the Grand Inquisitor and the Lord Commander at the same time, as they both use their Energy Wave and Flame Wave attacks in tandem. The best way to deal with them is to focus on one at a time, hitting the Grand Inquisitor with everything you’ve got, then following up with the Lord Commander.
Ferals’ Den
This dungeon can be a nightmare because of the enemies that you encounter. The Ferals’ Den is filled with enemies that can stun you and drain your health, which makes the dungeon very difficult.
The most challenging part of this dungeon is the final boss, Izel. He attacks with annoying and high-damage abilities, including a claw attack that hits you multiple times and can hit you for upwards of 2,000 damage. His final attack is a powerful lightning attack that can wipe out your health if you’re not far enough away from him.
The Vizjerei Athenaeum
The Vizjerei Athenaeum becomes quite difficult once Izel attacks. She attacks with annoying and high-damage abilities, and is accompanied by several other enemies. Her Arcane Barrage is one of her more difficult attacks, as she throws out a large number of Arcane Orbs that can hit you multiple times.
The dungeon also has a lot of enemies that can stun you, including multiple Nangari Oracles that can stun you for a long time. The Nangari Oracles are also accompanied by a Phantom of Torment, an enemy that is difficult to damage as it’s constantly teleporting.
Witchwater
The Witchwater dungeon is difficult because of the numerous Nangari Oracles that you encounter. They can stun you for a long time, which can be a big problem because you may be surrounded by other enemies.
The Nangari Oracles are accompanied by a Phantom of Torment, as with the Vizjerei Athenaeum. The Phantom of Torment is also difficult to damage, as it’s constantly teleporting, but it’s also accompanied by numerous enemies that can stun you.
Negative affixes
The Nightmare Dungeons are made even harder with the addition of negative affixes. These negative affixes make your enemies harder to fight, and any dungeon can have these affixes, even the easier ones.
For example, the Mahjoob’s Safehouse contains a fight on higher World Tiers, and the boss, Mahjoob, has an interruptable life-steal ability. The fight is tough enough without this ability, but if you’re fighting Mahjoob on a World Tier of 100, you’ll have to deal with this ability every time you kill him.
World Tier Four with a Tier 100 Nightmare Sigil
The ultimate challenge comes from the World Tier Four Nightmare Sigil. This Sigil is tier 100, meaning that everything is dangerous and difficult. The best example of this comes from the Derai Mausoleum boss, Levia.
