The eternal chase for treasure continues in Diablo 4 Season 9, and if you've been wondering where all the good stuff is hiding, how to grind reputation efficiently, or whether nightmare dungeon escalations are worth your time, buckle in. This season, Blizzard's been throwing loot at us like we're in a slot machine factory with broken brakes, and there are more layers to loot and progression than ever before.

Let's unpack the chaos and see how to get the most loot, the fastest reputation, and whether the new systems are worth your grind time — or if they're just bait to burn your stash tabs.

Nightmare Dungeon Escalations: Worth It or Nah?

One of the headliners for Season 9 is the addition of Nightmare Dungeon Escalation — essentially a juiced-up dungeon experience with some surprisingly fat rewards. These aren't your average dungeon crawls. They've been supercharged with affixes, elite density, and Horadric Strongrooms that can leave you swimming in loot.

At the end of these strongrooms? You'll find loot boxes that are absolutely bonkers — we're talking Ancestral Legendaries, tons of Opticide, and even chances at Greater AICS Diablo IV items. If you're running the right blessings like Urn of Escalation and Urn of Strongrooms, you'll dramatically boost the number of drops and the frequency of those dungeon sigils. That's a game-changer.

Pro tip: Run dungeons with affixes like:

· Horadric Bestiary

· Forgotten Wisdom

· Obel Reserve (fills your Obols like a loot piñata)

· Opticide Mine (guess what, more opticide)

If you're wondering whether this is better than Infernal Hordes for farming materials, it depends. For Opticide, yes. For reputation, not quite.

Reputation Farming: Infernal Hordes Dominate

While nightmare dungeon completions do grant reputation, it's not nearly as much as you'd hope. What drives your rep up is elite kills. And what activity has elites crawling out of the walls like you just insulted their mother?

Infernal Hordes. If you get lucky with elite-heavy modifiers like Hellborne, Hunting You, or Aether Fiends Galore, you'll be swamped by elite packs. A six-wave Infernal Horde run can net you around 100,000 reputation, and a 10-wave? Even more often with a bonus Greater Archetype Cache tossed in.

Why not just do them all as 10-waves? Because unless you're chasing reputation specifically, six-wave runs strike the best balance between time and reward, especially if you're after Scrolls of Temper Restoration, which are crucial this season thanks to the frustrating RNG in the tempering system.

Remember, one Greater Archetype Cache costs 240,000 reputation. Turning in 2,000 vials for 200 reps is laughably inefficient. Save your time. Slay elites.

The Opal Vendor and the Blessings You Shouldn't Forget

Speaking of blessings, don't neglect your Urn of Curiosities. A 20% chance at a bonus item when gambling with the Opal Vendor might not sound like much, but it adds up quickly.

Teleport to the Den of Mercenaries, stock up on caches, and don't forget: these Ancestral gear gambles can roll with Greater Affixes. That's a high-roller play if you've got the currency to burn.

Undercity: Radiant Rewards or Just Hype?

Undercity returns this season with a bit more substance — if you have the Tributes of Radiance. These rewards can drop Ancestral Legendaries and even some runes now (finally!), making it worth the effort if you're lucky enough to hoard the right tributes.

Here's where to get them:

· Hell Tide Chests

· Whispers (via greater dungeon keys)

· Killing Bile (again, and again, and again…)

And don't sleep on the Tribute of Harmony this season. For once, it's worth farming, dropping Legendary Runes, and enabling better build optimization without needing to use the chaotic and often shady trading system.

The Dirty Truth of Betrayer's Husks

Let's talk about the real elephant in the room: Betrayer's Husks.

To get the absolute best loot in Season 9 — i.e., Greater AICS Unique Items (what many call “mythics”) — you're going to need to farm Bile, the new go-to layer boss. The problem? Bile only appears with Ambush mechanics, and those are rare. Maybe one in ten runs is rare.

So, how do most players get the husks? They buy them. And yes, most of the ones being sold in chat are duped. You probably just bought from the same vendor that got his stash from the great void of duping. But here's the kicker — you're not liable. As of now, Blizzard doesn't punish accounts for using duped items, only for creating or distributing them.

So what's the recommendation? Yes, sorry, we recommend buying them. Because Bile is the fastest, easiest mythic farm, and the only truly reliable way to target-farm Greater AICS Uniques.

Would we love to farm it natively instead? Of course. But Bile is the only boss that doesn't make you sit through multiple miserable phases like Duriel or Andariel. Just blast him, loot, repeat.

The Layer Bosses: No Reputation, Just Pain

In case you were hoping for another source of rep, you might wonder if layer bosses could fill the gap. Sadly, not this season.

They don't grant rep, and most of them are so bogged down with unskippable phases that they're not worth farming unless you're desperate for specific loot — or mythics through Bile. Until Blizzard reworks the encounter pacing or adds skippable mechanics after a certain kill threshold, this is content you'll do once or twice — and then avoid like an Inferno Bat's AoE.

Crafting, Smithing, and the Resource Sink Trap

Let's wrap things up with a warning. Those smithy caches, crafted items, and forge equipment? Hard skip. Yes, they can yield Ancestral Items. Yes, some of them can have great affixes. But you'll burn through:

· Forgotten Souls

· Veil Crystals

· Iron Chunks

· Rawhide

Before you even get to tempering or masterworking. It's a classic trap: players burn all their resources crafting 20 caches, get a couple of duds, and have nothing left to upgrade their BiS pieces. Only craft these if you're swimming in materials, and even then, cautiously.

Final Take: What's the Best Path for Loot and Progression?

If you're optimizing for loot, reputation, and greater affixes, here's your cheat sheet:

Best for Loot

· Nightmare Dungeon Escalations with Strongrooms and the right blessings (Escalation + Strongrooms)

· Hell Tides (for Tributes, Blood Maiden, and Chests of Mystery)

· Bile Boss Fights (if you can get your hands on Betrayer's Husks)

Best for Reputation

· Infernal Hordes, especially 6–10 wave versions with elite-heavy affixes

· Avoid vial turn-ins — terrible efficiency

· Avoid layer bosses — no rep

Best for Long-Term Progress

· Stack your Scrolls of Temper Restoration from 6-wave Infernal Hordes

· Gamble smartly with the Urn of Curiosities active

· Avoid crafting unless necessary

Share Your Season 9 Wins

How's your loot looking this season? Did you strike gold (or mythic) in a Strongroom chest? Hit the jackpot on a Greater Archetype Cache? Or are you still grinding 10-wave Hordes for those sweet, sweet rep points?