D4 Nightmare Dungeon Tier List (Updated for Season 3)

In this Diablo 4 Nightmare Dungeon Tier list, we’re ranking each across a wide range of categories.

These include ratings for its viability for solo vs party, loot, speed, and XP.

Below, you’ll find an infographic that summarizes our solo/party ratings, but we recommend using the Table of Content jumps since there are a lot of Dungeons to cover.

Explore our Diablo 4 meta builds for Season 3 to clear these Nightmare Dungeons quickly.

Nightmare Dungeon Tier List Infographic

S+ tier Nightmare Dungeons (Best of the Best)

Vault of Copper

Vault of Cinder

Vault of Stone

Vault of Ink

The S+ Tier this season is fully going to the seasonal Vaults, which are just far ahead of the curve.

You’ll notice a similar trend with the Vaults in S+, and that is that they are incredibly strong in terms of XP, all at a Rating of S and all having both a high S Party and S+ Solo rating, making them amazing for both Party and Solo play.

The unfortunate issue with Vaults is their speed rating. Unfortunately, vaults are not quick to complete, so they are all roughly hovering over an E-D Rating. This doesn’t matter much, as the XP is far ahead of anything you’ll get elsewhere.

Although I’ve omitted the Loot Rating, the Nightmare Vaults this season spit out roughly 1.5x the loot normal Nightmare Dungeons; this is another factor in why they’re far ahead of the competition. Going forward, consider that most Nightmare Dungeons won’t compete in that department.

You should be prioritizing Vaults when it comes to Nightmare Dungeons for sure. All the Vaults sport an array of traps that you should be mindful of, and all will contain Scorpion constructs that use a “Death Ray” that I’d stress to be wary of. I’d also keep in mind that each Vault has an associated Monster Element attached to it, so resistances for that Dungeon are key, as well as keeping in mind that The Vault of Ink is a Poison Vault that you should be mindful of as the DOT damage hast a pretty lasting effect.

S-tier Nightmare Dungeons

Blind Burrows

Blind Burrows is a turning Dungeon from the release of Diablo 4, incredibly popular in teams due to its three split lanes, which lead to great XP at a reasonable speed when doing it within a Party.

It still holds up for solo play, though, as the XP is high; however, its high rating is credited to its extremely party-friendly nature.

I’d recommend bringing a mobility/AOE-focused character and being mindful of the poison damage.

Aldurwood

Aldurwood is also a D4 release Dungeon and is still as godly as it was then. The Dungeon itself is party-friendly due to its two lanes. Still, even though the XP rating sits at a low C, the speed at which the Dungeon can be completed completely makes up for that with an S rating, giving the dungeon an overall S.

If you can bring a friend, be mindful of charging Bulls as those are a stomper, and the Gatling Porcupines are nothing to scoff at.

Mariner’s Refuge

Our last S tier Dungeon, returning from Season 1, is Mariner’s Refuge. Like most on the S tier list, this dungeon is incredibly party-friendly due to its split-laning.

The XP sits at a comfortable B but is backed up by a speed Rating of S, allowing for quick, clear times and good XP.

As with most in S, I recommend bringing friends and keeping an eye on the Wretched Hags’ abilities as they pack a punch.

A-tier Nightmare Dungeons (Above Standard)

Tomb of the Saints

Tomb of Saints gives some great XP and is great in parties, but is fairly slow to complete. For this reason, due to the two lanes, it also gets a lower rating in the Solo department. Solid Dungeon all around, though.

Uldur’s Cave

Uldur’s Cave used to be a pretty top-tier loot cave due to its monster density and one-direction run, and it is a relatively straight line with no boss. It is godly for solo play in terms of XP for this reason.

Champion’s Demise

This was incredibly popular during release, helping Rob2628 and many others level incredibly fast in groups. It was nerfed shortly afterward, but it is still decent for XP for Party play due to the three split lanes. Unfortunately, this makes it incredibly bad for Solo play.

Keep an eye on the Shamans, as they can buff allies and are usually the reason for player deaths.

Guulrahn Canals

Ghuulrahn Canals, making a return from the D4 release, was rather popular for its ease in completion on some classes for the Nightmare 100 clear, rather easy to complete but lacks heavily in the XP department.

It’s still great due to the rate at which it can be completed for both Solo and Party play.

Komdor Temple

Kondor Temple, or the Temple of Friendship, as it’s known because its redeeming quality is the three split lanes that heavily benefit Party play, the time it takes, and the XP only become worth it in a party and is terrible Solo.

B-tier Nightmare Dungeons (Below Standard)

Ghoa Ruins

Ghoa Ruins is a rather quick one to complete but lacks in the XP department; obviously, due to the lanes, I recommend bringing a friend, but it’s still quick to complete.

This one is unique because you can run straight to the boss for easy Glyph EXP if you want, as the dungeon has no objectives.

Shivta Ruins

Shivta Ruins is another dungeon making a return. It’s still not too shabby in terms of XP either, but isn’t quick to complete.

Flies can be a problem here, and it is best to find some way to apply unstoppable as well.

Charnel House

Charnel House is high up in terms of XP, and the dungeon is great XP, but it takes too long to complete. Party play makes this easier.

The objectives on the map should be around the middle, so don’t get baited into looking far, and keep an eye out for Cannibals jumping on you from everywhere.

C-tier Nightmare Dungeons (Hit or Miss)

Rimescar Cavern

The Rimescar Cavern is a new addition here, and it’s great for solo play because it is incredibly quick to complete, but the XP is bad, and there’s no benefit here for Party play.

Focusing on the Goatmen Shamans and just rush through the Iced Tunnels.

Faceless Shrine

Faceless Shrine is slow to complete, and the XP isn’t high either. There’s also a risk of backtracking in this Dungeon, which can prolong the experience.

Serpent’s Lair

Serpent’s Lair is another solo-orientated dungeon due to its quick, clear speed, lack of a boss, and low XP.

Be sure to sort your poison resists, as the Snakes do some crazy damage and poison

Deserted Underpass

It’s a solid average dungeon, great for solo players due to Speed and XP, and has no boss.

Clear out all the baby spiders in the first part of the Dungeon for that slayer objective.

Howling Warren

Another Great Solo play, Howling Warren, is quick but delivers low XP, but again, another Dungeon without a boss, speeding that time to clear up for those that struggle with bosses.

Be careful of the Werewolf + Bull combo pouncing at you from far, sometimes even off-screen.

Underroot

Underroot is great for Solo, speed, and clearing are decent, and the Dungeon contains no Boss.

Careful of the Flies, unexpectedly huge damage at times.

Wretched Delve

Clearing Speed for Wretched Delve is decent. The split lanes force favorable party play here, but the XP is disappointing.

Would recommend using a ranged build here, as Fallen and Ghosts can be annoying when you’re melee.

Betrayer’s Row

Betrayer’s Row is another split dungeon favoring party play, but it’s a rather long dungeon despite it giving out reasonable XP.

The map is just big, and this is a dungeon that I’d recommend bringing a friend to, if not salvage.

D-tier Nightmare Dungeons (Bad)

Mercy’s Reach

Mercy’s Reach, one lane, is very slow to complete, but the XP is decent. This Dungeon barely made it to D tier; thus, it is probably salvageable.

Bastion of Faith

Bastion of Faith is quick to clear, but the XP is bad. It could make up for it a little due to no boss if you’re a build that struggles with bosses; on top of that, unstoppable is almost required as Penitent’s Blind and Cannibals stun so that the dungeon can be dangerous.

Light’s Refuge

Light’s Refuge is a new addition this season, and it’s D tier because even though it’s quick to clear, the XP is low, the caveat here is there’s no objectives, this means you can just rush to the boss for free Glyph XP.

Collapsed Vault

Collapsed Vault has low XP and isn’t quick to clear, not a great dungeon all around and Slayer can be annoying. It’s also got Stones, which is generally not fun carrying things around a Dungeon.

My recommendation here would be to salvage and save yourself the trouble.

Prison of Caldeum

Prison Of Caldeum is a rather quicker Dungeon with Low XP, and it’s probably worth doing for the Glyph XP because it’s quick.

Yshari Sanctum

Yshari Sanctums XP is great, and clear isn’t the worst either, because It has Slayer and Keywarden attached to it, it isn’t terrible to do for XP.

Path of the Blind

Path of the Blind is incredibly slow, and the XP is slow to boot. This barely made it to D, honestly, and it’s probably a salvage recommendation on this one.

E-tier Nightmare Dungeons (Meme)

Akkhan’s Grasph

Maugan’s Work

Our two E-tier contenders are honestly not that amazing, and they’re either slow to complete or don’t give much XP.

Honestly, it’s recommended just to salvage anything in this Tier, as they’re not worth the effort to complete.

Rating Explanations

Solo

Refers to the normalized rate of exp gained vs speed to complete the dungeon alone.

Party

Refers to the normalized rate of exp gained vs speed to complete the dungeon factoring the number of lanes your party can split on.

Fortunately for party players, most of the dungeons have 2 lanes.

If you don’t have a party, the maximum amount of “usable” lanes is 2 (compared to the 3 splits we had before), which means that it should be pretty easy to stay competitive, even as an SSF (solo self found) character!

Speed

Refers to the normalized speed to complete the dungeon.

Each rank has a 10-15% speed difference with S+ being 2x faster than D.

Note that Shrines/Pylons giving advantages were not used to not alter the results.

Total XP Rating

Refers to the normalized XP gain after dungeon completion.

Each rank has a 10-15% experience difference with S+ being 2x more experience for your time compared to D.

Note that random events were not engaged in nor completed to not alter the results.

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