What are Strongholds in Diablo 4?
Strongholds are smaller points of interest found across the large, open world of Sanctuary that are overrun by monsters [1]. Once a player cleanses a Stronghold of monsters, they're given a variety of rewards.
"Strongholds are locations that the Burning Hell's minions claimed for themselves, casting a shadow of darkness for you to lift. Clearing out Strongholds will bring permanent change to the Stronghold, repopulating them with non-demonic life and also rewarding you with loot. Clearing a Stronghold may reveal new dungeons to delve into and other hidden experiences."Blizzard Entertainment ·
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What rewards do Strongholds give?
Dungeon entrances
One of the most enticing rewards to unlock from cleansing a Stronghold is dungeon entrances appearing:
"Dungeon entrances can appear in some of these places afterwards."
Other rewards
Players are also given a variety of other rewards [3]:
- Map waypoint
- NPCs/vendors
- Regional Renown points
- Experience
- Gold
- Side quests
"Once you've defeated the evil, one of the fun things is unlocking that [Stronghold] and making a new waypoint that previously didn't exist for you. Suddenly, all of the marketplaces open up and you now have a blacksmith vendor in a location that previously didn't exist."
Do Strongholds have fixed or random map locations?
Although Strongholds' positions are fixed on the map, they'll be harder to find because quests won't lead you to them (i.e., think off the beaten path locations). Blizzard created the feature to encourage players to explore more of the map, and it's apparently been one of the most popular features in Alpha testing so far. Clearing a Stronghold is permanent (i.e., after leaving the Stronghold for a while, it'll remain cleared of monsters).
TOPWhat Strongholds exist?
Hope's Light Stronghold
Hope's Light is located in the jagged, northern coast of Scosglen. There, an old lighthouse has gone dark, and the player must find a path to it and diagnose why.
The player quickly realizes that the area is inundated with monsters from the Drowned family, undead creatures that have crawled ashore and are outfitted with rusty metal and tattered gear. The path to the lighthouse covers the rocky coast and decrepit, beached ships.
TOPNostrava Stronghold
Nostrava is a village located in the snowy Fractured Peaks region. In gameplay footage shared by Blizzard in December 2022, players are shown battling Demon Swarmer, Oppressor, and Succubi monsters outside villagers' homes. Once they enter the homes, they're instructed to destroy demonic effigies.
Behind one of the effigies, the players find a hidden room with an Altar of Lilith, which provides a small bonus to all of a players' characters.
Lastly, the players climb up to a Chapel overlooking the village and battle three bosses:
- Kozira
- Negala
- Torvala
After the bosses are slain, the players touch a shrine-like object to complete the Stronghold and receive their rewards.
Ruins of Qara-Yisu Stronghold
One of the Strongholds Blizzard has revealed is The Ruins of Qara-Yisu. It's a former town, covered in salt, that's now occupied by monsters and needs cleansing. Each Stronghold will have a distinct storyline and be filled with unique inhabitants.
"This was the village of Qara-Yisu, which has fallen into ruin. The people here in the Dry Steppes had the problem that there were bloodthirsty cannibals dwelling nearby and would raid their community. The people had to find a solution because they weren't strong enough to defend themselves. They made a dark bargain with a demon and were able to gather enough power to push out these cannibals and protect their community, but not without great cost."
Stronghold are denoted on the map UI with a red tent icon (note: these UI elements have likely changed since Camps were renamed to Strongholds):
Once a player cleanses the Stronghold (i.e., defeats all or most of the monsters), the red tent icon will disappear and be replaced with icons showing the Stronghold's reward offerings.
TOPAre Strongholds public or private?
Discovering and unlocking Strongholds should feel personal to you and your party, so Blizzard decided to keep them private [4] -- that is, until you clear them, when they flip to public and other players can run through them. This is similar to how dungeons work.
"Much like dungeons, once you go through the portal, it's you and your party. We felt that cleansing a Camp and having a moment when you see the NPCs show up -- like, this church is back to a place that's sanctified or this lighthouse now has fires burning in it -- we wanted that to feel personal. We don't turn those public until you've completed them."
Are Strongholds the same as Camps?
Yes, pre-June 2022, we knew Strongholds as Camps until Blizzard revealed their new name [2]:
"Camps are these strongholds of evil in the overworld. A tremendous number of people have passed away -- now there's a big power vacuum decades later and these monsters have started to move into these places. Bandits, monsters, goatmen, skeletons, undead -- have all started to resurface and take these areas for themselves. You, as hero of Sanctuary, get to wander through these spaces and begin to reclaim them for the people of Sanctuary."
Xiphoid has been playing Diablo since the original's release in 1997. He made one of the largest Age of Empires sites in the late-'90s and early-'00s. Now, he runs MythicDrop.com, a premier Diablo 4 fansite.
Sources
| Article | Source | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Diablo IV 2023 release date announcement | Blizzard | |
| 2. | Diablo IV Quarterly Update 2020 Q2 | Blizzard | |
| 3. | 2021 BlizzCon - Diablo IV: What's Next | Blizzard | |
| 4. | Rhykker Interviews Blizzard's Luis Barriga | Blizzard |
Changelog
| Ver | Change | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Beta | Added section on Hope's Light Stronghold | |
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Beta | Added section on Nostrava Stronghold | |
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Alpha | Converted Camps references to Stronghold to reflect new name | |
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Alpha | Published original |
