Altar of Ruin | Diablo 4 Wiki

Altar of Ruin is a Stronghold in Diablo 4. Strongholds are heavily fortified locations in the overworld that have become occupied by demons. Clearing out Strongholds will leave a lasting impact on the world, creating safe havens for players, transforming into a new town and unlocking new Side Quests, Dungeons, Waypoints, shortcuts and more. Altar of Ruin is located in the Kehjistan region and is recommended for players of level 45 and above.

 

How to find the Altar of Ruin in Diablo 4

The Altar of Ruin is found in the Kehjistan region, east of the Amber Sands sub-region.

 

Diablo 4 Altar of Ruin Objectives

• Explore the cavern
• Find the Keystones
• Use the Keystones to unlock the Ritual Chamber
• Slay Dark Cardinal Maldul
• Rekindle the Wanderer's Shrine to conquer the Altar of Ruin

 

Diablo 4 Altar of Ruin Walkthrough

The Altar of Ruin is a large cavern occupied by Khazra and devout demonic worshippers. The main entryway is blocked off. Instead, climb up a ledge to the upper left of the entrance and follow the path to a group of cultist opponents. After clearing them, check the right side to find a pile of rubble that you can destroy to get into the stronghold proper. Inside will be another group of cultists who will be joined by a Thundering Moon Clan Mauler elite, and other Khazra enemies.

After clearing the enemies, take the path southeast to find Heinrik Frostburn, a cultist performing a ritual. He is immune in his bubble until you defeat the Triune Worshippers in the area. Clear all the opponents and kill Heinrik. He will drop a Ritual Chamber Keystone which you will need to access the final part of the stronghold. You must obtain two more such Keystones in order to proceed.

Take the path to the northeast from Heinrik and watch out for the large Khazra ambush along the way. Continue along to the northwest where you will find a second cultist ritual headed by Orfeo Doomtrap in front of a large ornate door. This is the path to the final boss of this stronghold, but you still need to collect more Keystones.

Once again, kill the adds surrounding the cultist to disrupt the ritual and tear down his shield. Kill him to obtain the second Keystone. Continue on to the west to find the last cultist Sisiarh Doomblood. This one is more densely surrounded by Khazra adds, so make liberal use of your AoE abilities to quickly dispose of them and tear down the cultist's shield. Collect the final Keystone and then return to the Ritual Chamber door.

Another very large group of Khazra will ambush you from the ceiling as you approach the door, so stay on your toes and power through them with lots of AoE abilities. Once the area is clear, interact with the door to insert the Keystones and unlock it. Inside the chamber, you will confront the stronghold's boss Dark Cardinal Maldul.

Altar of Ruin Boss

Before you can damage Dark Cardinal Maldul, you must first deal with two waves of adds, the first consisting of The Annihilator elite shaman and some lesser Fallen enemies, and the second consisting of three Balrog-type opponents including The Unholy elite. Defeating all the adds will break Maldul's shield and the fight will truly begin.

Maldul utilizes ritual moves that draw varying patterns on the ground with different effects. When Maldul stomps his staff on the ground several times, watch out for the pattern drawn, which can be difficult to see against the background. One of the patterns is a triangle drawn around the boss. This one is fairly safe for melee characters as it won't deal damage in the center. Variations of this move include a Y-pattern and a combination Y-pattern within a triangle pattern. Simply be aware of the lines and stand outside of them. Rarely, Maldul will create a circular pattern in a large radius around him. After a short delay, the circle will explode and deal lots of damage so get out of the area immediately. Lastly, do not underestimate the adds summoned throughout the fight and clear them out between damaging the boss.

Once Maldul is defeated, head back down to where you fought the first cultist for the first Keystone to find and activate the Wanderer's Shrine to conquer the Altar of Ruin. 

Completing the Altar of Ruin unlocks a new Waypoint, as well as the Sepulcher of the Forsworn dungeon in the back of the Ritual Chamber.

 

Altar of Ruin Rewards in Diablo 4

• +120 Kehjistan Renown (100 for conquering the Stronghold, 20 for unlocking the Waypoint)
• Unlocks a Waypoint
• Unlocks the Sepulcher of the Forsworn dungeon, in the far north of the stronghold, in the back of the ritual chamber.

 

Diablo 4 Altar of Ruin Notes, Tips, and Lore 

• Additional notes for the Altar of Ruin Stronghold go here.

 

 

Accept Terms and Save Close Preview Close Editor