Diablo 4 Season 11 introduces several new Capstone Dungeons. These dungeons return as key challenges, serving as the path to higher difficulty levels and unlocking rewards through the new Season Rank system.
Unlike previous dungeons, these Capstone Dungeons no longer have fixed levels or difficulties, but instead possess unique mechanics and themes. Now, players must complete an ultimate dungeon to advance their Season Rank. Therefore, it's easy to imagine these new dungeons becoming a hub for leveling in the new season.
Here, we'll examine how these returning Capstone Dungeons work in Season 11 and how they affect player leveling.
Capstone Dungeons Explained
As mentioned before, you won't be able to advance to the next rank in your seasonal journey until you complete the required Capstone Dungeons. This slows down leveling, forcing players to complete these dungeons to continue their seasonal journey and become stronger.
Capstone Dungeons unlock important mechanics, such as The Pits or The Tower, which allow for rapid leveling.
There are a total of 5 Capstone Dungeons in Diablo 4 Season 11:
- Torrid Menagerie: Level 30 | Difficulty Tier: Hard
- Hellish Descent: Level 50 | Difficulty Tier: Penitent
- Unseen Awakening: Level 60 (Pit Tier 15) | Difficulty Tier: Torment 1
- Tempest Oasis: Level 60 (Pit Tier 30) | Difficulty Tier: Torment 2
- Sins of the Many: Level 60 (Pit Tier 45) | Difficulty Tier: Torment 3
The first two are the most important because they unlock The Pits, allowing you to unlock Torment difficulty levels. The last three dungeons represent challenges at Torment 1-3 difficulty levels. Since Season Journey has been changed to Season Rank, you now only gain full skill points and paragon points by completing the objectives for each rank. Therefore, you need to complete all five dungeons. Each Capstone Dungeon guards the next dungeon; for example, you need to clear Torrid Menagerie before you can see and complete the next dungeon, Hellish Descent.
Next, let's take a closer look at the two Capstone Dungeons that unlock Torment difficulty. They are the foundation for experiencing higher difficulties, and it's recommended that you focus on conquering them early in the game. Of course, if you are confident in your abilities, you can try the ultimate dungeon before reaching the recommended difficulty level, but this will also bring higher risks.
Torrid Menagerie
The first is Torrid Menagerie, a dungeon with three levels.
The first level looks similar to any other dungeon you've completed before, except that there will be volcanic eruptions. In addition, you need to kill elite monsters to collect Animus. After collecting it, you need to put it into Animus Urn to enter the next area, where the first Shadowclaw boss is guarded.
After defeating the boss and finding the exit, you'll discover a new type of pillar that cools you down and grants you Cold Aura. Because of the fire barrier ahead, you can't pass through unless you go past the cooling pillar.
Entering the second level, you'll find that due to the high temperature, the numerous ice pillars will damage you. You need to use these ice pillars to fight your way through. This mechanic is very similar to the levels in Dark Citadel, but here Death Aura will be fatal.
At the end of this level, you'll see the last ice pillar, next to which is the entrance to the third level of the dungeon. This is the arena where The Curator resides. Once you enter, you'll immediately notice two ice pillars; you need to use them to avoid the high-temperature damage. Unfortunately, you can't stay on the ice pillars indefinitely, or you'll become The Curator's sitting duck.
When The Curator's health drops to about half, another werewolf boss, Emberclaw, will join the battle. This dual-boss battle is quite challenging, so we do not recommend you attempt it if you are not level 30, unless you have enough Diablo 4 gold to fully upgrade your gear and give you a huge advantage in the early game.
After defeating both of them, you will complete Torrid Menagerie and unlock the next rank and Capstone Dungeon.
Hellish Descent
The next dungeon is Hellish Descent, recommended level 50.
On the first level of this dungeon, you need to kill 5 door wardens. After defeating the 5th doorkeeper, the gate to Hellfire Adherent will unlock. Defeating the boss will allow you to enter the second level, Corrupted Jail.
Here, you need to charge 5 Sacrificial Altars. They function similarly to the pillars found in Dark Citadel or the spires found in Helltide. After activating the altars, you need to stay within the circle and defend against enemy attacks.
The highlight of the second level is that Butchers will spawn approximately every 30 seconds. Basically, each altar corresponds to one Butcher, so you will encounter at least five. After destroying the last altar, the path to the final level, Burgening Hatred, will open.
In the final level, you need to destroy five demonic corruptions. Like the previous level, Butcher can appear at any time, and you also need to watch out for the persistent hellfire that runs throughout the dungeon.
Once you've cleared everything, the door to the arena will open, where you'll find Elias. Here, you only need to be wary of a powerful attack that can damage half the arena - a massive wave of fire unleashed by Elias.
When Elias's health drops to around 50%, Butcher will reappear. Now you need to defeat both of them simultaneously. However, during PTR, we found through multiple attempts that we could only successfully defeat Elias after killing Butcher; otherwise, the dungeon couldn't be completed.
Therefore, we recommend killing Butcher first, then Elias. Trust me, this will be an absolutely thrilling battle, and it will eventually unlock The Pits.
That's all we know about Capstone Dungeons in Season 11 so far. The remaining three dungeons are left for brave warriors willing to push their limits. If you want to learn more, stay tuned to IGGM!
