Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred - How to unlock the Undercity

Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred’s Undercity allows players to tackle dungeons in a fresh, new way. They are still dungeons, with swarms of villains and a big boss at the end, but you can do a few new things that you couldn't do elsewhere. If you’re trying to target farm some specific types of gear, you can do it, but it comes at a cost. It will take a bit of work to unlock this content, but it’s fun, challenging, and rewarding.

Once the Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred expansion launches, you’ll be able to take part in this content after you unlock it. It will take some effort in the main story, but it’s worth doing. Undercity is not a main story quest, but a Priority quest, so you could, in theory, skip it, and do it whenever you wish.

How to unlock the Undercity content in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred

Undercity unlocks in Kurast, so you need the expansion (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

After the Main Story Quest, Reunion, in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred, you can begin to unlock the Undercity. Also known as the Kurast Undercity, this Priority quest immediately unlocks in the same room that you’re in, the Council Chambers. Speak to Ormus and pick the first option (“You wanted to see me?”).

He’ll charge you with heading to the Undercity, which isn’t too far from the Council Chambers in Kurast. Take the portal and head into the Undercity. You’ll certainly find packs of enemies to kill, so be prepared. This part isn't challenging, though. Once you’ve gone far enough, you'll meet Councilor Sihek. Speak with them.

He’s trying to cure those who live in the Kurast Undercity of the disease that plagues them, but for now, they need to flee. Help him get out of this area, to unlock the next part of Diablo 4’s Undercity. Interact with him one more time, and then leave the area, meeting him again in Upper Kurast.

The next step is Wail of the Forgotten. Head to the haunting site nearby, as instructed. The cutscene also shows that Councilor Sihek is slowly being overtaken by the illness, as he becomes increasingly angry. After the dialog, kill the spirits inside the house and then inspect the items you find.

Alia's a challenging boss, but nothing you can't overcome (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Return to Sihek, who will then lead you to a Defaced Shrine just outside of town. After you interact with the shrine, you will be introduced to the spirit of Alia. She’s one of the bosses you’ll fight in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred’s Undercity.

Head back to Sihek once more. He will then ask you to go back into the Undercity and defeat Alia. You likely won’t have any Tributes, so just interact with the white flames, and enter the portal to work on the objective The Specter of Travincal.

Alia will give you an aura and occasionally engage in color-themed attacks. Match the color to your aura and you’ll be fine. Once she’s slain, return to Councilor Sihek, who will ask you to survey the battlefield that exists inside of town. This will, in turn, lead you to seek out the Golden Snakes in Nahantu. You will find some Mage Clan ruins to explore and then report back to Sihek.

Make sure you leave pillars to hide behind (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Once more, you’ll return to the Undercity in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred. This time, seeking out Yoche at the end of the dungeon run. Yoche has a few adds that can pop up, charge at you, and flood the room with Gold. What makes it hard is that Yoche also can charge at you. Do not aim him at the pillars, or you’ll have one less place to hide.

Wrap this up and return to Councilor Sihek in Kurast, for Starving Pride. Talk to him, and then again outside of the Sanctum. Defeat the Infected Lacuni Scout, but beware of its powerful poison attacks. After a bit more dialogue, you’ll go into the nearby jungle to kill Lacuni and harvest their husks.

Then search the nearby Abandoned Camp, and return to Councilor Sihek with the information you’ve gathered. You’ve got one more run to go in the Undercity for this Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred quest. Head into the Cave District, and slay Longtooth.

Nothing about this boss fight was a good time (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

This was the hardest fight out of the three. Lots of poison explosions, and a tight, enclosed battle arena. The boss also dashes around, making things difficult. He also has adds to summon, but at least you get plenty of health potions. Success will give you permanent access to the Undercity.

What is The Undercity in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred?

Tributes felt pretty rare, but they began to drop in Undercity runs for us (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

When you enter the Undercity in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred, you enter a timed instance. Slaying Afflicted Monsters and destroying Afflicted Structures gives you a time bonus. You need to reach the District Boss before time runs out. If time runs out, your run immediately ends. You also have huge elites that give more time bonuses to you.

You also have a meter in here that goes from 1 to 4. The more enemies and structures you defeat, the more these fill up. This improves the overall quality of rewards you’ll receive as well.

Once you start acquiring Tributes, you can use these to enhance your experience. These adjust some of the facets of your dungeon run, such as increasing exp gain, reducing time bonus penalties, and things of that nature. Ultimately, it makes the run harder, but the rewards are greater. If you do pick a Tribute, you can also pick a Bargain.

Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred's Undercity lets you customize the rewards you're seeking (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

These Bargains let you hunt down specific types of items if you have the material cost. More Weapons, more Armor, specific types of Legendary Aspects, things like that. Once you’ve done this, dive in and race to beat the timer.

There are a few floors to get through before the boss, so it’s all about speed and efficiency. You will want to bring a class that excels in AOE damage (other builds can likely flourish just as well). Once you've reached the end, within the time limit, you'll fight one of the three bosses:

Alia, Kurast's End
Yoche, The Golden
Longtooth, The Wretched

Check out our other Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred guides and features

Edited by Abhishek Manikandan