Although seasonal gameplay changes are typically relatively minor,Diablo 4Season 9 sees a drastic shift in how players tend to spend their in-game time. Nightmare Dungeons have gotten a lot of attention this season thanks to the addition of Horadric Strongrooms and Escalating Nightmares, two new mechanics associated with Nightmare Dungeons. As a result, Nightmare Dungeons have become a hotspot forDiablo 4players during Season 9, changing one of the game’s unwritten rules in the process.
The typicalDiablo 4experience tends to involve a balance between spending time farming Nightmare Dungeons and leveling up in Helltides. Ever sinceSeason 4’s massive overhaul to Helltides, they have become a fixed part of most players' seasonal leveling strategy. However, Nightmare Dungeons have pulled away a lot of the focus from Helltides with the updates they’ve received in the Sins of the Horadrim season, going so far as to flip the script on the two activities' roles in seasonal progression.
Diablo 4’s Helltides and Nightmare Dungeons Have Basically Reversed Roles in Season 9
Diablo 4’s Sins of the Horadrim Seasonal Quest Encourages Nightmare Dungeon Runs
When starting a new seasonalDiablo 4character, players are almost immediately encouraged to tackle a Nightmare Dungeon if they are following the seasonal questline. Delving into theHoradric Strongrooms found within Nightmare Dungeonsis at the core ofDiablo 4Season 9’s missions, so players are likely to spend a lot of time running these dungeons. Players looking to take advantage of the new Horadric Spells this season will also need to brave Horadric Strongrooms in order to find the components needed to complete them, such as Horadric Arcana.
With so much time likely to be spent inDiablo 4’s Nightmare Dungeons, players are likely going to be using them for leveling their characters while completing seasonal quest tasks. What makes Nightmare Dungeons even more appealing this season is the addition of the Forgotten Wisdom affix that grants bonus experience orbs for slaying enemies, creating what isDiablo 4Season 9’s best leveling route. The combination of these improvements to Nightmare Dungeons has made them the ideal location for players to spend their time to maximize Season 9’s content.
Nightmare Dungeons Have Usurped Helltides as the Place to Be in Diablo 4 Season 9
Prior to Season 9, the typical optimal progression route forDiablo 4was to level up in Helltides and use Nightmare Dungeons forfarming Obducite for Masterworkingendgame gear. While Helltides are still useful in Season 9, they’ve somewhat lost their status as the place forDiablo 4players to spend most of their time leveling their characters. Instead, Helltides serve primarily as a place to farm Whispers to redeem at the Tree of Whispers for more Nightmare Sigils so that players can try and find Forgotten Wisdom affixes for Nightmare Dungeon farming.
Helltides can also be a good source of Unique and Mythic gear drops if players collect enough Aberrent Cinders to open Helltide Chests on higher difficulty tiers.
Rather than spending most of the time in Helltides and occasionally popping into Nightmare Dungeons,Diablo 4Season 9 encourages players to spend their time in Nightmare Dungeons, only taking breaks tofarm Whispers in Helltides. While Helltides can still be a solid source of levels for players early on thanks to their high monster density, Nightmare Dungeons start to eclipse them once players begin digging into the seasonal quest and start acquiring Forgotten Wisdom Nightmare Sigils. It’s unclear if this split will remain the same going forward, given that the seasonal questline isn’t permanent. With the Forgotten Wisdom affix staying after Season 9 ends, Helltides may stay sidelined in future seasons.
