Onyx Hold is one of the better dungeons to run in Diablo 4. It typically has a decent map layout with straightforward objectives and good mob density. Because of these, its Nightmare Dungeon variant is popular among community members when it comes to farming for loot and XP.
Unlike the majority of other dungeons in Diablo 4, the Onyx Hold will have players complete some extra steps before it can be accessed. Thankfully, there's nothing too complicated involved, and anyone who is of high-enough level should be able to unlock this dungeon relatively easily.
Diablo 4: Onyx Hold Dungeon Location
The Onyx Hold can be found in the Dry Steppes, inside the aptly-named Onyx Watchtower sub-region that is directly southeast of Ked Bardu. From the Barbarian town, ride toward the Khargai Crags and hug the base of the canyon.
The Onyx Watchtower is a Stronghold held by a party of bandits. Here players will have to slay everything inside while destroying parts of the camp. Be careful with the cages, as breaking them will set the trapped beasts loose.
Eventually, the bandit leader will challenge the player. Keep an eye out for Dazing smoke clouds and backstabbers while fighting her. Get rid of the leader to unlock the Onyx Watchtower as a new safe zone, complete with a waypoint and blacksmithing station.
Onyx Hold Dungeon Walkthrough
The Onyx Hold itself is full of all sorts of undead, including the usual assembly of walking corpses and ghosts. It uses the prison tileset that's also seen in other dungeons like Guuhlrahn Slums and the Black Asylum, so expect a lot of wide paths, jail cells, and dead ends.
The first objective in this dungeon is to slay all enemies in the area. It's important to be thorough here, as the horde spawn mechanic doesn't always seem to trigger in the Onyx Hold for some reason. Make sure to check the jail cells for chained zombies, as they also count toward the kill objective.
In the second half of the dungeon, players will have to eliminate Languishing Corpses scattered around the map. They will appear as skulls on the minimap, so players shouldn't have much trouble locating them. The trash mobs in this section can be safely skipped, but trimming them out is still advised to simplify encounters against elites. The dungeon will be completed after slaying all the Languishing Corpses.
Running the normal version of the Onyx Hold isn't recommended, as it takes longer to complete compared to the likes of Champion's Demise or Uldur's Cave. This is best run as a Nightmare Dungeon with modifiers that aren't too punishing to play against.
Diablo 4 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.