The Dark Citadel will bring a new kind of co-op gameplay to Diablo 4 in Vessel of Hatred

In the upcoming Diablo 4 expansion, we’ll get to explore The Dark Citadel, a new kind of co-op endgame dungeon in Vessel of Hatred. We knew the expansion would include a new endgame PVE activity, but Blizzard kept quiet on the details until Gamescom, where we got our first peek at this game mode.

Story-wise, The Dark Citadel is a relic of The Mage Clan Wars, filled with the souls of the lost. The First Khazra — the original Khazra — have taken control of The Dark Citadel, using the dark powers found within to perform experiments on captured travelers and members of the local villages. Will they be able to use these twisted magics to resurrect their dark god? It’s up to us to stop them.

While all dungeons in Diablo 4 can be done in a group, The Dark Citadel requires a party of two to four players working together. You won’t just be slaying monsters with your minions, magic, and blades, as the dungeon also has some cooperative puzzles you’ll have to solve.

In one example, we saw an orange-colored door that could be opened by a player standing on an orange-colored platform, allowing the party to move into the next room (where a blue platform awaited, I imagine to unlock another door off-screen). Another example showed a boss firing projectiles that need to be bounced by using an item the party collects — so everyone needs to be on their A-game and work together. It looks like a small-scale raid dungeon, requiring more group cooperation than other Diablo content.

You’ll earn a rewards cache the first time you clear the Dark Citadel each week, which can include some exclusive items only available in this co-op dungeon. Additionally, you’ll earn Citadel Coins which can be spent on cosmetics that are exclusive to the Dark Citadel — the developers were particularly excited about the cosmetics they created based off the bosses you might encounter.

The Dark Citadel is available once you reach the endgame of Vessel of Hatred, so likely at level 100. You need to unlock the Citadel account-wide through a short quest chain before you can play — and at that point, you just need to find a friend (preferably several) to dive into the depths of the Citadel, before it’s too late.