As players enter Diablo 4's endgame, they will start using Nightmare Sigils to enter Nightmare Dungeons and fam XP, items, and Glyph levels. As fans are sure to note, these Nightmare Sigils have their own Tier levels, which impact the dungeons that they unlock. This guide is here to provide details on that connection, and it will help players determine the Nightmare Dungeon Tier levels that they should be targeting in Diablo 4.
Diablo 4: Nightmare Dungeon Tiers, Explained
The Tier level of a Nightmare Sigils affects the associated Nightmare Dungeon in three notable ways. Specifically, it determines the level of the enemies on the map as well as the amount of XP and the amount of Glyph XP that is awarded upon completion of the dungeon.
While the completion rewards are important, enemy level is the factor that players who want to gain fast XP should consider when trying to zero in on an optimal Nightmare Dungeon Tier level. Indeed, slaying monsters is the primary way by which fans will earn XP in Diablo 4's Nightmare Dungeons, and they should target a Tier level that will cause the foes on the map to be at least three levels higher than their character. Players can easily determine the Tier that will produce that result by subtracting 51 from their character's level.
This is recommended because monsters that are three or more levels higher than the player character will award 25% bonus XP when slain. Notably, that is the highest bonus multiplier that can be earned by defeating enemies of a higher level, and Diablo 4 players that work to maintain that level discrepancy will gain XP much more quickly than those that fight monsters at the same level as their characters.
That said, while the bonus multiplier stops increasing at this three-level mark, monsters at higher levels have higher base XP rewards. As such, players should absolutely try to push into Nightmare Dungeon Tiers with monsters that are more than three levels higher than their characters in order to earn more XP per clear. Fans should not sacrifice clear speed by pushing too far, though, as that will negate the extra XP that is earned by killing higher level enemies in Diablo 4.
In summary, players should begin by focusing on Nightmare Dungeon Tiers with monsters that are three levels above their characters, using the formula Character Level minus 51 to determine the appropriate Tier. Fans should then gradually increase the Tiers of the Nightmare Sigils that they use, stopping when the difficulty of the map starts to slow them down.
Diablo 4 is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.