Kurast Undercity is a newly introduced challenge in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred expansion. This dungeon offers a multi-floor, timed attack experience where players must navigate through various levels and eliminate enemies within a set time frame.
How to Unlock Kurast Undercity
To access the Kurast Undercity, follow these steps:
- Purchase the Vessel of Hatred Expansion: Access to the Kurast Undercity requires the Vessel of Hatred expansion.
- Reach Level 20: This activity becomes available once your character reaches Level 20.
- Invoke the Spirit Flame: Locate the Spirit Flame in the Nahantu region to open the portal to the Kurast Undercity.
Once these requirements are met, you can start on your first District run! It only needs to be unlocked once. Afterward, all your alt characters will have access to this activity right from level 1, allowing them to benefit from it immediately.
Tributes and Bargains
Before entering the Kurast Undercity, you can offer Tributes to adjust the difficulty and the reward types. These Tributes act like dungeon keys, introducing additional challenges for improved rewards.
Applying a Tribute grants you access to select a Bargain, providing further customization options to the quality of rewards. Every Tribute has a set of Bargains predefined and available to you. The material cost for each Bargain varies based on the benefits offered. For example, the Bargain above ensures that if a Legendary Amulet drops, it will have one Passive Rank affix.
Tributes can vary in rarity (Magic to Unique), with more rare drops from Whisper Caches and more common drops in Sanctuary. The World difficulty can also affect which type of tribune drops during your activities, including Nightmare Dungeons or Helltides.
You can enter the Undercity without any Tribute. However, rewards will be less interesting. Each Tribute may also impose various penalties, such as a time or potion drop reduction.
Dungeon Mechanics
Upon entering the Kurast Undercity, you find yourself within a protective white circle where the timer remains inactive. However, as soon as you step outside this ethereal boundary, the countdown begins. Your objective is to reach the District Boss before time runs out. If the timer expires, your run fails.
You have 100 seconds on the three floors to gather Attunement and improve your rewards, and you need to achieve at least Level 1 Attunement before entering the boss room for a successful run. The Attunement indicator can be found on the right side of your screen, below the mini-map.
Throughout each floor, you will discover Spirit Beacons (marked by a flame icon on the map). These beacons are great for farming Attunement, as they spawn many enemies. Completing the event at these beacons grants you increased Movement Speed and reduced Skill Cooldowns, providing a significant boost for advancing to the next floor or Spirit Beacon.
Each floor also has Afflicted enemies (marked with a skull and an orange hourglass). By defeating these foes, you will add precious time to the timer, allowing you to collect more seconds to rank up your Attunement and face even more enemies.
You may also encounter Portal Prankster Goblins, elusive creatures that hop between portals, making them tricky to catch. If you’re able to take them down quickly, they reward you with an additional chest at the end of the run, so it’s worth the effort to chase them down as fast as possible.
Undercity has a variety of three distinct districts, each housing its own District Boss. After clearing all three floors, you will engage in a battle with the District Boss. Here, the timer is no longer a concern, allowing you to focus on claiming your rewards.
Rewards
In Kurast Undercity, loot is only awarded at the end of the run after defeating the District Boss, similar to The Pit. Your rewards are determined by your Attunement Rank and the Tributes or Bargains you’ve chosen. As you defeat enemies and progress, your Attunement Rank increases, with higher ranks providing better loot from the boss. Additionally, Portal Prankster Goblins offer an extra chest at the end of your run, adding to the overall rewards.
The higher your Attunement Rank upon defeating the boss, the more valuable the rewards will be. The right Tribute or Bargain may help you target specific loot you need. You can also find 
Obducite and runes within the Undercity, depending on your chosen Tributes and Bargains.
Running Kurast Undercity is an excellent method for leveling, thanks to the high amount of elites that provide bonus experience. Once you hit endgame, you can use this system to efficiently farm for specific gear or materials you need by strategically using Tributes and Bargains.
