Season 9: Sins of the Horadrim brings a new endgame mode to Diablo 4: Escalating Nightmares. These dungeon chains are supposed to push you to the limit, stacking difficulty, and rewards, as you head deeper into the madness.
What Are Escalating Nightmare Dungeons?
Escalating Nightmares are a chain of three Nightmare Dungeons, played back-to-back. Each time you complete one, a portal opens to the next, except the danger does not reset. Instead, affixes from the first dungeon carry over and stack onto the second, then the third. This means the challenges only get harder the deeper you go.
If you are playing in Torment Tiers (Torment I and above), the monster power increases with each step as well. That final dungeon? It has all the affixes from the previous two stacked on top. It is dangerous, but worth the rewards.
How to Start an Escalating Nightmare Dungeon?
To enter, you will need an Escalation Sigil. You can get these from:
- The Horadric Knowledge seasonal reputation rewards
- Horadric caches found in Strongrooms (starting in Torment I)
Use the Sigil to open the first dungeon. Once completed, a special Horadric Portal appears to begin the next. If you are not in Torment difficulty, finishing the third dungeon will end the chain there.
But if you are…
The Final Challenge: Exalted Astaroth
In Torment Tiers, completing the third dungeon teleports you to a final boss arena: Exalted Astaroth‘s Lair. Here, Astaroth returns: stronger, faster, and more furious.
The fight takes a surprising turn as Astaroth splits from his mount, becoming two separate bosses: Astaroth and his Amalgam. Kill one too early, and the other comes back. If the Amalgam dies first, it will resurrect shortly after, unless Astaroth is defeated before then.
Even worse? Dungeon affixes from earlier can modify the boss fight, turning up the danger even more.
If you want more information on how to beat Astaroth and his different mechanics, check out our in-depth guide:
Astaroth Boss GuideRewards: Why Risk It?
Completing escalated nightmares and defeating Astaroth comes with high risk, but high reward. You will have a rare chance to obtain a Horadric Jewel, a powerful item tied to the new systems in Season 9.
On top of that, you also get various items, uniques, 
Obducite, gold, and more!
While Escalating Nightmares won’t be the hardest content you will go through, they are a new way to make Nightmare Dungeons more fun and rewarding, which is always a nice thing.
