The Kurast Undercity, introduced in Diablo 4's "Vessel of Hatred" expansion, is a multi-level, time-attack dungeon beneath the city of Kurast (Map). Players race against the clock, defeating enemies and completing events across one of three distinct districts to reach unique bosses. Success is rewarded with valuable loot, scaling with your performance.
The difficulty of the Undercity will always be in line with the difficulty you are playing on, i.e Hard, Penitent or Torment 4 so it will be as appropriate during leveling up as it will be at endgame.
Unlocking the Undercity
On completion of the Vessel of Hatred campaign, Ormus (Map) will ask you to undertake a few small quests which introduce players to endgame content, including the Undercity.
To gain access to the Kurast Undercity, start by completing the "Reunion" (Map) quest from the Vessel of Hatred Campaign, ensuring you are Level 15 or above. This accomplishment will activate the Priority Quest "The Kurast Undercity," (Map) beginning at the Kurast Bazaar. From there, you will navigate through a series of tasks, moving between different areas of the city and the Undercity itself, tackling challenges in each district. The quest chain ultimately leads to a confrontation with Alia, marking the final step to fully unlock the dungeon and complete the storyline.
Accessing the Undercity
The entrance to the Undercity is different to the one you used in the Campaign Quest (Fundament of Faith Map). It is still in Kurast but it's on the eastern side of town. The dungeon entrance portal will appear once you have activated the Spirit Brazier in the same area.
Tribute and Bargain
Offering a Tribute and Bargain at the Brazier allows you to customize the kinds of rewards you receive for completing the Undercity. You do not need to offer a Tribute to enter the Undercity.
Tributes can be earned by completing activities such as Nightmare Dungeons, events, Whispers and Undercity runs (see table below). They are fairly rare drops. These Tributes can be offered at the Spirit Brazier to target specific rewards for your next run, but doing so will also increase the challenges you face, such as reducing the base time you have to complete it. The difficulty of these challenges scales with the quality of the Tribute and the current difficulty level of your world.
Higher-quality Tributes grant unique bonuses, such as Increased Experience Gain or awarding Runes upon completion. To claim these bonus rewards, you must reach at least Rank 1 Attunement, with successive ranks boosting the rewards even further.
List of All Tributes
| Tribute | Difficulty | Details | Dungeon Affix | Drops from | Players |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tribute of Growth | Any | Earn Experience at Attunement Rank 1 | Starting Time: 100 seconds Time Bonus Penalty: -15% Potion Drop Penalty: -20% |
Random | All |
| Tribute of Heritage | Any | Completing the dungeon with at least Attunement Rank 1 will reward Uniques specific to your class | Starting Time: 100 seconds Time Bonus Penalty: -15% Potion Drop Penalty: -20% |
Random | All |
| Tribute of Mystique | Any | Earn Magic Runes at Attunement Rank 1 | Starting Time: 100 seconds Time Bonus Penalty: -15% Potion Drop Penalty: -20% |
Random | All |
| Tribute of Pride | Any | Earn Legendaries at Attunement Rank 1 | Starting Time: 100 seconds Time Bonus Penalty: -15% Potion Drop Penalty: -20% |
Random | All |
| Tribute of Harmony | Torment | Earn Runes at Attunement Rank 1 | Starting Time: 75 seconds Time Bonus Penalty: -25% Potion Drop Penalty: -30% |
Random | All |
| Tribuite of Refinement | Torment | Earn Obducite at Attunement Rank 1 | Starting Time: 75 seconds Time Bonus Penalty: -25% Potion Drop Penalty: -30% |
Nightmare Dungeons Infernal Hordes |
All |
| Tribute of Titans | Torment | Earn Boss Summoning Items at Attunement Rank 1 | Starting Time: 75 seconds Time Bonus Penalty: -25% Potion Drop Penalty: -30% |
Random Summoned Bosses |
All |
| Tribute of Radiance (Resolute) |
Torment | Earn Ancestral Legendaries at Attunement Rank 1 | Starting Time: 60 seconds Time Bonus Penalty: -35% Potion Drop Penalty: -40% |
Whisper Caches | Offerer |
| Tribute of Radiance | Torment | Earn Ancestral Legendaries at Attunement Rank 1 | Starting Time: 60 seconds Time Bonus Penalty: -35% Potion Drop Penalty: -40% |
World Bosses | All |
| Tribute of Ascendance (Resolute) |
Torment | Earn Uniques at Attunement Rank 1, with increased chances of a Mythic Unique. | Starting Time: 45 seconds Time Bonus Penalty: -50% Potion Drop Penalty: -50% |
Whisper Caches | Offerer |
| Tribute of Ascendance | Torment | Earn Uniques at Attunement Rank 1, with increased chances of a Mythic Unique. | Starting Time: 45 seconds Time Bonus Penalty: -50% Potion Drop Penalty: -50% |
World Bosses | All |
Bargains are modifiers applied to Tributes at the Spirit Brazier. After placing a Tribute, you can select a Bargain to customize your run's rewards, such as increasing the chances of obtaining items with specific affixes or guaranteeing certain types of drops. Activating a Bargain requires resources like crafting materials or gold, so choose based on your current goals and available materials.
List of All Bargains
| Bargain | Cost | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| More Weapons | 30 x Iron Chunk | You will be randomly rewarded 1 - 3 additional pieces of Equipment, all of which are Weapons or Offhands. |
| More Armor | 30 x Raw Hide | You will be randomly rewarded 1 - 3 additional pieces of Equipment, all of which are Helm, Chest Armor, Gloves, Pants, or Boots. |
| More Jewelry | 30 x Herbs | You will be randomly rewarded 1 - 3 additional pieces of Equipment, all of which are Rings or Amulets. |
| Core Stats | 50 x Veiled Crystal | Legendaries will possess a flat Core Stat when possible. |
| Primary Resource | 50 x Veiled Crystal | Legendaries will possess a normal affix related to your Primary Resource When possible. |
| Resistances | 50 x Veiled Crystal | Legendaries will possess a Resistance affix when possible. |
| Offensive Legendaries | 10 x Baleful Fragment | Legendary equipment will possess an Offensive Aspect when possible. |
| Defensive Legendaries | 10 x Coiling Ward | Legendary equipment will possess a Defensive Aspect when possible. |
| Utility Legendaries | 10 x Coiling Ward | Legendary equipment will possess a Utility Aspect when possible. |
| Mobility Legendaries | 10 x Abstruse Sigil | Legendary equipment will possess a Mobility Aspect when possible. |
| Resource Legendaries | 10 x Abstruse Sigil | Legendary equipment will possess a Resource Aspect when possible. |
| Chaotic Uniques | 57 x Murmuring Obols | You may find Uniques for any class. |
| Skill Ranks | 5,000,000 Gold | Legendary Armor will always possess at least one Skill Rank affix. |
| Passive Ranks | 50,000,000 Gold | Legendary Amulets will always possess at least one Passive Rank affix. |
Beating the Undercity
There are three Districts in the Undercity and within each of them, there are 3 levels plus 1 Boss level. You do not get to select which District you will get when you activate the Undercity portal, it's randomly assigned.
- Cave District - Longtooth, The Wretched
- Temple District - Yoche, The Golden
- Ziggarut District - Alia, Kurast's End
Depending on which Tribute, if any, you offered at the Spirit Brazier you will begin with a set amount of time on a Timer that sits next to the minimap (see image below). If this timer runs out before you make it through all three levels you will fail the dungeon. However, you can add seconds to the timer by destroying Afflicted monsters and objects. There are different levels of afflicted monsters and the tougher the monster the more seconds you add to the timer killing them.
- Minor Afflicted - 1 Second
- Lesser Afflicted - 10 Seconds
- Lesser Afflicted (named) - 15 Seconds
- Afflicted Object - 15 Seconds
- Greater Afflicted - 30 Seconds
- Mini-Boss Afflicted - 30 Seconds
Attunement Ranking
The objective is to build your Attunement Rank up to level 4 (see image above) and make it through the portal to the boss level before the timer runs out. Once you reach the boss level the timer disappears. The higher your Attunement Rank the better and more plentiful your rewards will be when you have killed the final District Boss. You must get to at least Attunement Rank 1 to receive any loot.
You increase your Attunement by killing monsters and igniting multiple Beacons positioned across each level that add even greater boosts to Attunement.
It is not just a matter of tapping the Beacon to ignite it, you need to kill all the accompanying monsters to get the boost to Attunement. You will know you've successfully done that when the Beacon goes grey on your minimap. You'll also hear a speed boost ignite on you which you can use to speed to your next target.
Each of the three levels has Beacons to ignite but at the end of level 2 there will be a Grand Spirit Beacon with considerably more monsters surrounding it and clearing them all will add a lot of Attunement.
You'll see small Attunement flames appear where you are fighting and these represent the Attunement you have just earned but you do not need to collect them, they are just a visual aid.
If you reach Attunement Rank 4 you can head straight to the final portal to the Boss Level as there is no benefit to killing any more monsters. If you have reached a lower Attunement Rank but your timer is running out, leg it to the final portal and the boss. It's better to get some loot than just fail the dungeon run. Better luck next time.
Portal Pranksters
Portal Pranksters, unique to the Kurast Undercity dungeon, add a twist to your run. These elusive Treasure Goblins dart through a series of portals as soon as you approach, pulling you into a fast-paced chase through the dungeons. If you manage to catch and defeat one, you'll unlock a bonus chest containing valuable loot, including Tributes, Runes, and other powerful rewards.
