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The Dry Steppes are the setting for Act 3 of Diablo 4, though it turns into a level-scaled open-world area once players complete the campaign. Like the Fractured Peaks and Scosglen, the Dry Steppes map scales to players under level 30, making it one of three possible entry points for a new character who skips the story.
The Dry Steppes are home to the Barbarians in Diablo 4, and the city of Ked Bardu serves as the main hub for the region. It's an arid, inhospitable environment – if the name didn't give it away – and players who have a hard time generating Unstoppable may find dealing with the stun-happy Cannibals troublesome. There's a lot to get done on the Dry Steppes map, and renown-hunters and completionists alike will find everything needed to finish the Dry Steppes in this guide.
Updated July 20, 2023 by Erik Petrovich: With Season 1 of Diablo 4 comes a new horde of low-level players looking for the optimal routes to get through each of the game's five zones. For optimal Renown gain, it's not a bad idea to pick up side quests Diablo 4 offers along the way. But, the rewards from these side quests can be really useful at high levels, though the Renown might not be needed anymore. The Dry Steppes is home to just under 40 side quests in total, each of which is necessary for full completion of the zone. By following this how to complete the Dry Steppes map guide, players will now be able to get 100% of everything needed, thanks to the addition of all Dry Steppes side quests – a section that can now be found at the end of this guide.
All Altars of Lilith In The Dry Steppes
Altars of Lilith are collectibles that dot the landscape of Estuar, usually hidden just out of sight behind a corner, a pile of rubble, or a destructible thicket. When players find one, they are given a permanent, small bonus to one of their primary stats, max obol capacity, or paragon points. In total, there are 160 Altars of Lilith in Diablo 4, the Dry Steppes being home to about a fifth of them.
To be precise, there are a total of 33 Altars of Lilith in the Dry Steppes. Starting from Ked Bardu, the fastest route to get all Altars of Lilith in the Dry Steppes map is to go clockwise, after grabbing the one north of the city on the border of Scosglen.
The Dry Steppes Map Dungeon Locations
In Diablo 4 there are two types of dungeons: side dungeons, and story dungeons. Story dungeons are only accessed through the main questline or side quests, and don't appear normally on the map of Estuar. Side dungeons will always reward an Aspect for players' codex upon their first completion, so it's worth getting them all done for reasons aside from Renown progression.
In the Dry Steppes, there are a total of 21 side dungeons, but some of them are locked behind completion of a Stronghold. The Onyx Hold, a popular Nightmare Dungeon destination, is locked behind the Onyx Watchtower in the center of the zone. The Pallid Delve and the Shifting City are both locked behind the Ruins of Qara-Yisu Stronghold, in the zone's southeast.
All Strongholds In The Dry Steppes
Strongholds are one-time events that see players re-take an area away from some kind of malign force – most of the time, players have to repel demons, but each Stronghold has a unique storyline and quest lines that make them unique. They can't be repeated, but completing a Stronghold rewards 100 Renown, unlocks Waypoints (also worth 20 Renown).
The Strongholds in the Dry Steppes map are the Onyx Watchtower, in the center of the area, the Ruins of Qara-Yisu, on the southeast border of Kehjistan, and the Temple of Rot, in the southwest of the Dry Steppes. Three dungeons are also inaccessible until these Strongholds are completed: the Onyx Hold, the Pallid Delve, and the Shifting City.
Where To Find Every Waypoint In The Dry Steppes
Waypoints in Diablo 4 serve as a player's primary means of fast travel, and discovering one also rewards a nifty 20 Renown. All zones in Diablo 4 have up to eight Waypoints to discover, including the automatically-unlocked capital city Waypoint for players who skip the campaign.
There are eight Waypoints in the Dry Steppes map, two of which are locked behind the Onyx Watchtower and Ruins of Qara-Yisu Strongholds. Completing these Strongholds automatically unlocks the Waypoint at the same time.
The Dry Steppes Cellar Locations
Cellars in Diablo 4 are quick delves into a single-room encounter that is relatively randomized every time. Players can run into a horde of enemies with the objective to slay them all, open-world-style events can occur (including the dreaded Keep All Three Villagers Alive variety), and there's even a small chance for Treasure Goblins to spawn instead of enemies.
There are a total of 25 Cellars in the Dry Steppes, oftentimes just tucked away a screen away in a corner. Though it can be tedious to track down all of these, starting from the northern entrance to the Dry Steppes map from Scosglen, players can travel counter-clockwise to get them all with relative ease.
World Boss Arena Location in The Dry Steppes
There are three World Bosses in Diablo 4, which can spawn at one of five locations throughout Estuar. Each zone is home to a unique boss arena, one of which will activate about every six to seven hours in real-time. Players are given a warning a little bit ahead of time in-game, but it's a good idea to join the official Diablo 4 Discord for official spawn notifications or use a third-party tracker like Helltides.com or Diablo4.life.
The World Boss arena in the Dry Steppes is called Saraan Caldera, and is found just northeast of the Ruins of Qara Yisu Stronghold on the border of Kehjistan. The fastest way to get to the Dry Steppes World Boss is to travel to the Waypoint unlocked by completing the Ruins of Qara Yisu, as it's only about a minute's ride away. Nostrava, the Fractured Peaks Stronghold, is also very close by.
Unique Bosses In The Dry Steppes Map
All maps in Diablo 4 have a set of unique, named Elites that roam the landscape. They all drop Rare items that also have names, and even a little bit of flavor text, though they don't offer anything particularly new like actual Unique Legendaries. However, they always roll with the same type of stats, so they can serve as powerful base for imprinting Aspects with good rolls.
The Unique Bosses in the Dry Steppes map are Almunn in the western Scarred Coast, Bhotak to the east of the Onyx Watchtower, Pitiless Gur in the eastern Pallid Glade, and Zarozar the Mighty in the far south of the Untamed Scars.
Every Side Quest in the Dry Steppes Map
The Dry Steppes are an unforgiving landscape – not that anywhere in Sanctuary is particularly nice. But even though the zone is relatively small compared to some others, especially if players only visit the places side quests bring them to, there's more "verticality" here than most zones – and its side quests are as varied as the sub-zones contained in the Dry Steppes.
In total, there are around 40 side quests in the Dry Steppes, most of which can be picked up in towns or the central city, Ked Bardu. Because of the density of quest pickups here compared to some other D4 zones, it doesn't take too long to complete all 40 side quests, all things considered.
But be sure to beat the campaign and progress to World Tier 4 to be able to get every quest in the zone, because there are several that are locked behind these prerequisites. Also, be sure to hunt down the three Strongholds in the area, as some are hidden behind completion of these events, too.
Diablo 4 is available for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S