Get better odds of specific gear drops by farming the right Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4

There’s no secret that one of the appeals in Diablo 4 is loot, but as much as we all love that little hit of dopamine from the orange pillar of light and sound from a legendary drop, sometimes all the game seems to want to award you is ten thousand shoes when all you need is a knife. This randomness felt even more amplified when a developer dropped some information about obtaining the six rarest unique items in the game on Twitter — two helmets, two rings, and two different types of sword:

What if there was a way to target specific equipment slots (other than Helltide chests) — for example, if you were chasing the Harlequin’s Crest, is there a way to fight enemies who mostly drop helmets? As it turns out, there is: to chase after gear of specific types, fight enemies of specific types.

The best enemies to fight for each type of gear

A few days prior to Blizzard’s post about so-called “chase uniques,” Reddit user u/Nearby-Pop-9222 posted a quick chart for focused farming: the best enemy types, and their associated nightmare dungeons, to farm for specific pieces of gear. These are not 100% guarantees — for example, while totems are listed next to goatmen on the full chart, you can still find totems from other enemy types and goatmen can drop other types of loot; rather, these specific groups have approximately five times the normal chance of dropping the loot listed when they drop anything at all. Cultists, for example, are roughly five times more likely to drop a dagger or a helmet than any other kind of loot.

Of course, randomness is still random, and sometimes it may not feel like you’re improving your odds, but community research seems to indicate that these corresponding drop rates do match up to these enemy groups. We’ve also listed Nightmare Dungeons you may want to choose to use for focused farming, as Blizzard has confirmed that Nightmare Dungeons have a higher chance of dropping sacred and ancestral gear on higher World Tiers. By using Nightmare Dungeons for focused farming, you’re ensuring that the gear you get has a good shot at being the best it can be.

Note that while Nightmare Dungeons you may want to target are listed, the two pieces of gear that are rewarded at the end of a dungeon do not follow these rates. These are also not the only dungeons containing these monster types (except for Drowned); some dungeons are equally split between multiple families, such as Witchwater, which is shared by snakes and spiders.

• Helmets: Increased drop rate from cultists and cannibals. Nightmare Dungeons for these types include Earthen Wound, Guulrahn Slums, Cultist Refuge, and Conclave.
• Chest Armor: Increased drop rate from spiders and beasts (which does not include snakes, but does include werewolves). Aldurwood, Ferals’ Den, Whispering Pines, Abandoned Mineworks, and Blind Burrows are the Nightmare Dungeons of choice here.
• Gloves: Increased drop rate from spiders, so Abandoned Mineworks and Blind Burrows are the best Nightmare Dungeons to farm.
• Pants: Increased drop rate from the Drowned, who unfortunately only feature in one Nightmare Dungeon: Ruins of Eridu.
• Boots: Increased drop rate from the Drowned, so the best Nightmare Dungeon is, again, Ruins of Eridu.
• Amulets and Rings: Unfortunately, no monster family has an increased drop rate of amulets or rings.
• Weapons: Every type of weapon and off-hand item has a different family to target, sometimes even within the same type of weapon.
  • One-Handed Swords: Increased drop rate from skeletons, snakes, and beasts. Go for Aldurwood, Whispering Pines, Ferals’ Den, Kor Dragan Barracks, Black Asylum, Serpent’s Lair, or Witchwater.
  • Two-Handed Swords: Increased drop rate from spiders and vampires. You’re looking for Blind Burrows, Abandoned Mineworks, Kor Dragan Barracks, or Zenith.
  • One-Handed Axes: Increased drop rate from cannibals, Fallen, and goatmen. Earthen Wound, Guulrahn Slums, Demon’s Wake, Hoarfrost Demise, and Champion’s Demise are the best dungeons here.
  • Two-Handed Axes: Increased drop rate from cannibals and goatmen. You’ll be farming mostly the same dungeons as One-Handed Axes, as a result, but don’t go to Demon’s Wake.
  • Polearms: Increased drop rate from snakes. Serpent’s Lair and Witchwater are the go-to dungeons here.
  • One-Handed Maces: Increased drop rate from bandits. Visit Maulwood and Renegade’s Retreat to take them out.
  • Two-Handed Maces: Increased drop rate from Drowned and bandits. Ruins of Eridu, Maulwood, and Renegade’s Retreat are your dungeons of choice.
  • Wands: Increased drop rate from ghosts and vampires. Try Earthen Wound, Lost Archives, Kor Dragan Barracks, or Zenith.
  • Daggers: Increased drop rate from bandits and cultists. Farm in Maulwood, Renegade’s Retreat, Cultist’s Refuge, or Conclave.
  • Bows: Increased drop rate from ghosts and vampires. Nightmare Dungeons to farm include Earthen Wound, Lost Archives, Kor Dragan Barracks, and Zenith.
  • Crossbows: Increased drop rate from beasts and skeletons. Focus your farming on Aldurwood, Ferals’ Den, Whispering Pines, Black Asylum, and Kor Dragan Barracks.
  • Staves (Sorcerer): Increased drop rate from goatmen. You’ll be heading to Champion’s Demise or Hoarfrost Demise. Yes, for some reason these have a different source from druid staves.
  • Staves (Druid): Increased drop rate from Fallen. The best Nightmare Dungeon to farm is Demon’s Wake.
  • Scythes (both One-Handed and Two-Handed): Increased drop rate from Drowned. No matter which type of scythe you want, your best Nightmare Dungeon is Ruins of Eridu.
  • Foci: Increased drop rate from spiders. (Why do spiders have so much stuff?) The best Nightmare Dungeons to farm are Blind Burrowed and Abandoned Mineworks.
  • Shields: Increased drop rate from skeletons. The best Nightmare Dungeons are Black Asylum and Kor Dragan Barracks.
  • Totems: Increased drop rate from goatmen. The best Nightmare Dungeons to farm are Champion’s Demise and Hoarfrost Demise.