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The many dungeons in Diablo 4 can provide some challenging sections to get through. Some parts are sure to give you a tougher time than others, causing you to hit a wall that seems nearly impossible to overcome.
With Cairn Downfall, you have a section that comes partway through the Champion's Demise dungeon in the game's first Act. This section has you having to carry three urns to a specific location, all the while being attacked by an onslaught of enemies that can easily overwhelm you in an instant.
Updated by Shane Black on June 13th, 2023: This article was updated to include an explanation of useful classes and useful abilities and also now includes more in-text links to make the guide easier to navigate.
How To Find Cairn Downfall
In order to get to Cairn Downfall, you will need to find the Champion's Demise dungeon which can be found in the Dry Steppes area of the game.
The dungeon lies near the beginning of the game, to the west of Kyovashad. It's going to be a long walk so if you are able to warp to a waypoint - specifically the Jirandai Waypoint - do so to make the journey a little easier. The dungeon will be in the Untamed Scarps area of the map.
How To Complete Cairn Downfall
Near the beginning of Champion's Demise, you will come to a section with three pedestals in the center, and multiple paths branching off into different directions. A wall is blocking your path to the dungeon's boss fight and your goal is to bring the wall down. This is the Cairn Downfall section, and the goal is to run out and grab three Stone Carvings to then bring back to this pedestal. The only issue: there are swarms of enemies that will start attacking you as you try to get to the Stone Carvings. There are enough that it can be easy to get swarmed, causing you to slow down and open yourself up to being hit from all angles.
The three statues are to the south, southwest, and northwest, and using these directions, you can easily find the right hallway to get to them. This is when the enemies will attack, and the best strategy here is to clear out all the enemies as you go. You may be able to run past, grab the carving, and then run back, all while avoiding the enemies, but it's just so much easier to wipe them out as you go. Use any area of effect abilities you have to easily take the enemies out at the same time and give yourself some breathing room. And carry some health-replenishing items and abilities with you as well to keep it topped off; you will take quite a few hits from various enemies, so it's important to keep your health as high up as possible.
This means that once you get to the Stone Carvings, you can pick it up and carry it back to the pedestal without worrying about anything attacking you. Then you just repeat this process for the other two carvings, still taking the time to fight off all the enemies on your way to them, until you have all three Stone Carvings on the pedestal. With these three in place, you can now move on to the dungeon's boss: the Khazra Abomination.
Best Classes for Cairn Downfall
While Cairn Downfall is only one part of the larger dungeon, it is the biggest component that you will have to deal with in order to complete it. It makes up the bulk of Champion's Demise and because of this, you really want to plan for it specifically. You will have to plan for all the enemies that will be triggered once you pick up a Stone Carving, and have to keep certain things in mind if you want to get through it successfully.
Which begs the question of which classes are going to be the best options for Cairn Downfall? And unfortunately, there isn't one right answer. Any class can do well and survive this segment, and your build and playstyle will play a large role. However, there are a couple of classes that will be better for you to get through this part of the dungeon.
The first option is Barbarian. This class is really a tank, which means it can take a lot of damage and it can deal a lot of damage. For any players that are attempting Cairn Downfall solo, doing it as a Barbarian is a great option thanks to its effectiveness against the swarms of enemies that are going to be coming at you as you carry the Stone Carvings. If you are utilizing a Barbarian build like the Whirlwind Barbarian, which is all about spamming attacks that damage enemies around you, then it is even better. You can keep yourself alive, easily, with a build like this, or any Barbarian build, really, thanks to their area-of-effect abilities.
The other best class that you can use for Cairn Downfall is the Rogue. Now, you may be feeling like this isn't a great choice because Rogues are not known for their large pool of health. However, their speed and ability to slip past enemies easily actually makes them pretty viable to deal with the enemy hordes that you will be fighting. These are especially useful when running Champion's Demise as a group, as you can carry the Stone Carving while your teammates take on the enemies. This gives you the chance to just run straight to the center of the room without the enemies being able to chase you down.
Again, the other classes are fine and can do a good job of getting through the dungeon without much of an issue. However, if you are really have a hard time or are playing on a higher difficulty level, then the Barbarian and Rogue are the recommended classes for you to play as. These two classes will set you up for the most success right from the beginning, and can take you through to the end.