The Dark Citadel

The Dark Citadel

The Dark Citadel is a PvE activity for Diablo IV, released in the Vessel of Hatred expansion.

Lore

The citadel's interior

Located in Nahantu, the Dark Citadel is located in a crater made during the Mage Clan Wars. It is from here that the first khazra were created. While the khazra eventually spread out from the Citadel, a number of khazra remained inside the structure, trying to practice magic. In comparison to the khazra that spread across Sanctuary, these khazra are a throwback to their original forms. They became known as the First Khazra, distinguishing themselves from their divergent kin.

The First Khazra still remained in the citadel by the Great Enmity. They used the powers located in the citadel and the crater it was located in to perform experiments in a bid to resurrect their dark god, Zagraal.

Gameplay

The citadel's branching path system

The Dark Citadel offers endgame PvE content for groups of 2-4 players with dungeon combat and cooperative puzzles. Players need to split their forces and simultaneously traverse separate paths. Players are able to earn exclusive appearances by completing The Dark Citadel on top of its weekly reward cache. Each wing of the dungeon has a different flavor and different combination of attacks players need to overcome. A number of bosses feature in the citadel that are designed in accordance with group play.

While inside the citadel, players have access to unique markers/icons that can be slotted into their emote wheel. This can be used to mark points of interest to other players, guide them, etc.

Layout

• Ancient Nexus: The entry point to the citadel. It is the citadel's town equivalent with a waypoint.
• Dominion of Zagraal
• Enclave of Strife
• Labyrinth of Souls

Development

The traps in the Citadel were iterated from those present in Season of the Construct. Comments from developers have implied that the Citadel was created first, with the lore being developed later.

Images

Layout of the Dark Citadel