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Nightmare Dungeons are Diablo 4's version of Greater Rifts, a highly successful loop of Loot and Challenge from Diablo 3. They are currently the best source of character Experience (for those sweet Paragon Points). They are also the only way to level up your Paragon Glyphs. To run this content, however, you'll need a steady supply of Nightmare Sigils.
To the initial Nightmare Sigil, players will first need to fulfill a host of requirements and then farm the game's bounty system. However, after your first Nightmare Dungeon, several avenues will open up to you. Keep reading for the step-by-step process of how to get your first Nightmare Sigil, the best way to farm later Sigils, and everything you need to know about using them.
Updated by Abigail Angell on August 11th, 2023: Season of the Malignant brought many balancing changes to Diablo 4. Among these was a change to the drop rate and locations for Nightmare Sigils. To keep this guide current, advice for obtaining Nightmare Sigils has been changed.
How To Get Your First Nightmare Sigil
Your first Nightmare Sigil will come from The Tree of Whispers. The Tree of Whispers is the hub for a late-game bounty system that becomes available after completing the main campaign. Alternatively, Malignant Tunnels can drop Nightmare Sigils if you are playing in the Seasonal Realm.
Make sure your character meets all of these requirements to ensure you have a chance of obtaining a Nightmare Sigil:
- Have beaten the main campaign.
- Have completed the level 50 Capstone Dungeon (The Cathedral of Light).
- Changed your World Tier to a minimum of Tier 3 - Nightmare.
- Completed the Priority Quest to Unlock the Tree of Whispers.
If you meet all of these requirements, you may just need to grind Grim Favors while on World Tier 3. It can take several Caches for a Sigil to drop.
Once you've looted your first Nightmare Sigil, it will go to your consumable inventory. You will then have a new Priority Quest available called: Nightmare Dungeons, which encourages you to complete your first Nightmare Dungeon.
How To Use Nightmare Sigils
Nightmare Sigils are located in your consumable inventory, the same page where Elixirs and Incense is stored. To use a Nightmare Sigil:
- Open the consumable inventory.
- Hover over the Sigil you'd like to use and press the use button.
- Open your map to see where your dungeon is (marked with red).
- Navigate to the entrance and enter.
As of patch 1.0.3, Nightmare Sigils used inside a completed Nightmare Dungeon will now teleport you to the beginning of the next Nightmare Dungeon, rather than dumping you at the entrance of the one you've just completed.
The Best Way To Farm For Nightmare Sigils
Once you've completed your first Nightmare Dungeon, several ways of obtaining future Sigils open up to you. Sigils can be looted from Elite and Boss monsters, found in chests, and crafted from Sigil Powder.
Nightmare Dungeons
The most efficient way to farm Sigils, in the beginning, will be to farm them in Nightmare Dungeons, as the high density of Elites and apparently elevated drop rates will net you 3–4 Sigils per one used.
Crafting
Once you've unlocked the ability to craft Sigils, you should use this as your primary method of obtaining them. This consumes Sigil Powder and gold, which drops much more frequently than full Sigils in the Overworld. You can also scrap Sigils whose Tier is too low for you to obtain additional Sigil Powder.
Nightmare Sigil Affixes and Tier Explained
Nightmare Sigils, in addition to triggering dungeons to spawn a much higher density of Elites, have four additional characteristics that differ from regular dungeons.
Sigil Tier
The first is the presence of a Tier, which modulates the difficulty of the dungeon within the World Tier. There are 100 possible Tiers, with Tier 1 being the easiest.
Nightmare Sigils dropped by enemies and chests will have a randomly rolled tier based on your character level, but you will be able to choose the Tier of crafted Sigils. The higher the Tier of the Sigil, the harder the dungeon it will create. As is typical with these types of games, harder dungeons equal better loot, so it is advised to run the most difficult tier you can handle.
Affixes
There are thirty known Affixes that can be rolled on a Nightmare Sigil, and these are always random. You should expect each Sigil to have two Negative and one Positive Affix.
|
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 and creates a Nightmare Field that Dazes victims. |
Negative |
|
Death Pulse |
Killing a monster releases a deadly lightning pulse after a 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 |
All Nightmare Dungeon Locations
When a Nightmare Sigil spawns, it randomly rolls off of a table of possible dungeon locations. When used, the corresponding dungeon will then become afflicted. There are currently thirty-one known Nightmare Dungeons.
|
Dungeon Name |
Region |
|---|---|
|
Abandoned Mineworks |
Kehjistan |
|
Aldur Wood |
Scosglen |
|
Ancient's Lament |
Dry Steppes |
|
Anica's Claim |
Fractured Peaks |
|
Black Asylum |
Fractured Peaks |
|
Blind Burrows |
Hawezar |
|
Champion's Demise |
Dry Steppes |
|
Conclave |
Kehjistan |
|
Cultist Refuge |
Fractured Peaks |
|
Crusader's Cathedral |
Kehjistan |
|
Dark Ravine |
Dry Steppes |
|
Demon's Wake |
Scosglen |
|
Earthen Wound |
Hawezar |
|
Feral's Den |
Scosglen |
|
Garan Hold |
Scosglen |
|
Guulrahn Slums |
Dry Steppes |
|
Kor Dragan Barracks |
Fractured Peaks |
|
Lost Archives |
Fractured Peaks |
|
Maugan's Works |
Hawezar |
|
Maulwood |
Fractured Peaks |
|
Onyx Hold |
Dry Steppes |
|
Prison of Caldeum |
Kehjistan |
|
Raethwind Wilds |
Scosglen |
|
Renegade's Retreat |
Kehjistan |
|
Serpent's Lair |
Hawezar |
|
Shadowed Plunge |
Hawezar |
|
Shivta Ruins |
Kehjistan |
|
Sunken Ruins |
Scosglen |
|
Whispering Pines |
Scosglen |
|
Witchwater |
Hawezar |
|
Zenith |
Fractured Peaks |
How To Craft Nightmare Sigils
Crafting Nightmare Sigils can be done at the Occultist NPC in large city hubs. Here, you can use Sigil Powder and Gold to create Sigils of a Tier you decide on. However, the Affixes and location will still be random.
How To Unlock Sigil Crafting
Nightmare Sigil crafting is unlocked by completing a Priority Quest with the Occultist. This quest becomes available once you've completed your first Nightmare Dungeon of Tier 3 or higher.
Can Sigils Be Upgraded?
As a craftable resource, it makes sense that players wonder if Sigils can be upgraded. Unfortunately, there is currently no way to upgrade a Sigil to a higher tier. Instead, it is better to scrap low-tier Sigils into powder and then craft new ones.