A Complete Guide To Diablo 4's The Dark Citadel

Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred expansion has added its first group raiding activity: The Dark Citadel. This endgame activity allows players to work together for greater rewards and faster clear times, all while protecting Nahantu from the threat of a Khazra invasion. However, players must first unlock this mode, and completing it is no walk in the park. The mechanics inside The Dark Citadel are rarely explained.

Rather than continuing to stumble around in the dark, keep reading to see how to unlock The Dark Citadel, how to solve the various puzzle types inside, and what rewards to expect for completing this set of Dungeons.

How To Unlock The Dark Citadel

Unlocking The Dark Citadel is the first hurdle for players looking to access this new content. To access the Priority Quest Chain for Dark Citadel, players need to first meet the following requirements:

Once all of the above are met, track the purple priority quest titled “Crater of Lost Souls.” Finishing this questline will unlock The Dark Citadel.

Where To Find The Warrior’s Camp

One of the first things players will be asked to do is find the Warrior’s Camp. The location of this camp isn’t marked, but instead highlights a large area on your map. The camp is located in the northeastern part of the highlighted zone.

Where To Find The Dark Citadel

Once the questline is over, players will be able to unlock a Waypoint called “Rise of the Khazra” in the same instanced area where the quest is completed. This is the location of The Dark Citadel entrance, found through one of the three doorways in the room.

How To Complete The Dark Citadel

Completing The Dark Citadel involves a series of puzzles, similar to those used in the Season of Constructs, culminating in a boss fight. Common puzzles fall into three categories:

• Soul Siphons
• Spirit Realm Teleporting
• Group Doors
• Barrier Guardians

Due to the nature of these puzzles, especially the Door puzzles, The Dark Citadel must be completed in a Party of 2 or more players. Further, completing the “Dark Citadel Community Challenge” Priority Quest requires a successful run of all three Dark Citadel Wings (located through the three doors in the Rise of the Khazra Waypoint area).

Solving Soul Siphons

The Soul Siphon puzzle operates similarly to the Blood Altar event in the Overworld. To charge the siphon, players must:

1. Activate a Siphon by clicking on it
2. Stand in the highlighted area until the light completely fills the crystal on top of the Soul Siphon.
3. When a Soul Siphon has been charged, the crystal will drop closer to the floor and go dark.

Players typically have to activate two Soul Siphons in the same room before proceeding. The final step of the puzzle is picking up the glowing objects that each Soul Siphon drops on the floor and slotting them into the altars near the door.

Spirit Realm Teleportation

The second puzzle type, often used during boss fights, involves charging a teleportation gateway. In this puzzle, the party will need first to charge the Gateway in the center of the room. To complete the process:

1. Kill Gateway Guardian Elite Monsters to spawn Soul Shards on the ground.
2. Walk over the Soul Shards to pick them up.
3. Walk over the Gateway to deposit any collected Soul Shards.
4. Once it has received enough Soul Shards, the Gateway will automatically activate with an animation. Any player standing in the glowing circular area when this animation completes will be teleported to the Spirit Realm.
5. In the Spirit Realm, the player will need to find and retrieve a marked quest item.
6. Once the item is found, pick it up and return to the teleporter to return to the normal Dark Citadel area.
7. Place the object into the spherical statue in the same room as the teleporter.

This task in a slightly more difficult format is also present during The Dark Citadel’s final boss fights.

Group Door Puzzles

These challenges are the only ones in The Dark Citadel that cannot be done alone. To remove a barrier, one player must stand on a button of the corresponding color. Then, another player can walk through the door to the other side.

There are two variations of these doors. In one, the second player can immediately stand on another button to open the gate for the first player. The other variation involves several doors, one of which leads to a hallway. The second player must travel down the hallway and interact with a statue at the end to unlock a path for the first player.

Barrier Guardians

This activity typically involves a room with a glowing barrier across the door leading forward, and several symbols on the ground. In particular, players can expect to encounter it in the final boss fight of Labrinth of Souls, the second wing of The Dark Citadel. To complete the puzzle:

1. Find and kill Barrier Guardians (large mobs that look like they’re wearing an inner tube made of energy).
2. Pick up the objects in the alcoves that become accessible when the Barrier Guardian dies.
3. Use the teleporter in the alcove to return to the central area.
4. Place the dropped item onto the matching pillar (there are symbols on the top).
5. Repeat until all pillars have been completed, then press the button on the circular statue behind the pillars.

This should then dispel the barrier and allow players to progress.

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How To Find A Party For The Dark Citadel

Players looking to find a group for The Dark Citadel can either make their own party or join an existing one in Diablo 4′s new party finder. The Party Finder is located in the top left corner of the Social Tab.

How Many Players Are Required For The Dark Citadel?

It is possible to solve all the puzzles with a minimum of two players. However, killing the final boss may prove too challenging as its health pool is scaled for four players.

Best Build For The Dark Citadel

The Dark Citadel is an enemy-dense activity with time-sensitive elements. As a result, builds with AoE and speed excel here. The Barbarian also has built-in team-play abilities, so any builds that utilize those are likely to perform well. Examples of builds which are suited for The Dark Citadel include:

Players should also keep in mind that this is a group activity, making Incense much more valuable as a buff than in the Overworld.

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Rewards For Completing The Dark Citadel

There are a number of rewards for completing a wing of The Dark Citadel. Similar to World Bosses, there is a cache for completing all three wings of The Dark Citadel each week. Furthermore, there are chests and drops inside the Citadel. Primarily, players should expect to receive:

• Gold
• Experience Points
• Khazra Horns
• Citadel Coins
• Forgotten Souls
• Scattered Prisms
• Runewords

In addition, caches of gear will be awarded at each checkpoint during a run, which can contain Legendary and Unique Gear. The size and quality of each cache is determined by the players’ Treasure Rating. Raise the group’s Treasure Rating by hunting down specially marked Elites with the “Treasure” title in front of their name.

Items That Are Bought With Citadel Coins

Citadel Coins are the primary currency associated with The Dark Citadel. Similar to the currency received from PvP, Citadel Coins can be traded in at a merchant outside The Dark Citadel for exclusive cosmetics. Special Scrolls, Incense, Elixirs, and Caches can also be bought from this vendor.

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Released

June 6, 2023

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

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