The Pit of the Artificers is the closest thing we have to Greater Rifts in Diablo IV. Once players get a character to reach level 60, they unlock the Pit of the Artificer, a game mode where players enter a random dungeon to complete within a time limit.
The Pit of the Artificers is essential for unlocking higher tier difficulties, higher Torment levels, and higher rewards. To run the Pit of the Artificers, players will need to obtain Artificer's Stones to unlock the portal each time.
Here are the best places to farm Artificer's Stones in Diablo IV:
Artificer's Stones are a currency used to run the Pit of the Artificer. The Pit of the Artificer is the closest game mode in Diablo IV to Greater Rifts in Diablo III, meaning they're a popular game mode that players will want to run as often as possible.
Where to Find Artificer Stones
Thankfully, Artificer's Stones drop from almost every game mode in Diablo IV:
Helltides
Cache Rewards from the Tree of Whispers
Legion Events
World Bosses
Infernal Hordes
Undercity of Kurast
The three fastest ways to farm Artificer's Stones are to complete bounties at the Tree of Whispers, Helltides, and Nightmare Dungeons.
Pretty much every task offered at the Tree of Whispers will drop Artificer's Stones as a reward. Completing events offered at the Tree of Whispers are a guaranteed way to get Artificer's Stones in Diablo IV. Players can loot the stones from Whisper Caches at the end of every bounty.
To complete events at the Tree of Whispers, head to the giant tree in the swamp region of Hawezar. These bounties are only available after beating the Diablo IV campaign.
The Tree of Whispers will several types of "whispers" that you can complete to earn Grim Favors:
Assassination
Dungeon
Harvest Anima
Local Events
PvP
World Events
Culling
Once you complete enough whispers to earn 10 Grim Favors, you can turn in the Grim Favors for a Whisper Cache that is guaranteed to drop Artificer's Stones.
Helltides are world events that occur every hour and last 55 minutes. This means the next Helltide event will occur somewhere else on the map 5 minutes after the previous one ends, meaning you could farm Helltides for Artificer Stones around the clock.
In Helltides, Artificer Stones are a random drop from defeating enemies and opening chests. Specifically, Artificer Stones drop from Tortured Gifts of Mysteries Chests that spawn in Helltide World Events.
These chests will randomly spawn inside of Helltide zones, making them a little harder to farm. These random drops may take a little longer to farm but are the next best option if you've finished every bounty available at the Tree of Whispers.
Artificer's Stones also drop after completing high-level Nightmare dungeons, Legion Events, World Bosses, Infernal Hordes, and the dungeon Undercity of Kurast. These events are often time-gated, making them an ineffective way to quickly farm Artificer Stones.
The fastest ways to farm Artificer Stones are by completing bounties at the Tree of Whispers and Helltides.
How to Use Artificer Stones
Once a player reaches level 60, they automatically unlock The Pit from Tier 1 to Tier 20. Players will need to collect 3 Artificer Stones (previously called Runeshards) to open the portal each time to enter The Pit.
Thankfully, your progression in The Pit is shared account-wide across all characters.
The Pit of the Artificer is similar to Greater Rifts in Diablo III. Players are given a random dungeon and timer to complete it. Complete higher Pit tiers to unlock new World Difficulties in Diablo IV.
Upon reaching Tier 20, you'll unlock Torment I. Torment II unlocks at Tier 35, Torment III unlocks at Tier 50, and Torment IV unlocks at Tier 65. Diablo IV is unique in that the higher Torment difficulties are unlocked using The Pit.
Players will unlock the higher tiers by quickly completing The Pit. Defeating the boss with 4-6 minutes left will unlock 3 higher tiers of the Pit, while completing the end boss with more than 6 minutes remaining will unlock 5 more tiers.
To use your Artificer Stones, head to the main town of Scosglen and activate the Artificer's Obelisk of Cerrigar using 3 Artificer's Stones.
Collecting Artificer's Stones and running The Pit is essential for unlocking higher game difficulties, upgrading glyphs, farming Ancestral Legendaries, and collecting Murmuring Obols.
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