Paragon in Diablo 4 is an endgame feature to customize your build further after reaching Level 50 which unlocks the Paragon Boards along with the system. This system was created to give the game huge replayability, as well as allow characters to continue growing in terms of more specifics Stats, and other aspects of their chosen Builds. Players must earn Paragon Points to then spend them to unlock Nodes from the Paragon Board in order to obtain certain buffs according to the unlocked Node. Players are challenged to plan out specificities with regard to their Build, in terms of boosts to Stats, and and effects to certain centerpiece Skills that their build may revolve around.
How Does the Paragon System Work in Diablo 4?
The Paragon System is a system to further improve and strengthen a player's characters after they reach Level 50. At that level, players no longer get any Skill Points upon leveling up, and are instead given one Paragon Point every fourth of the Experience bar they reach, toward leveling up, which means players essentially get four Paragon Points per level. When the Paragon Board becomes available for the first time, players will have a starting unlocked Paragon Node in the center of the first Board, then Paragon Points must be spent in order to unlock more Nodes, but players can only unlock Nodes that are directly adjacent to a previously unlocked Node, in all possible directions. There are multiple boards for each class and players can reach the next board by reaching the Nodes at the left or right border of the board.
Renown & Paragon in Diablo 4
Renown is a system of objectives that can be completed in order to gain Renown Points that can be later exchanged according to thresholds of acquired numbers of Renown points, to earn Rewards such as extra Potion Charges, Skill Points, and Paragon Points. The Renown System is able to reward players with a total of twenty additional Paragon Points when fully completed. Paragon may have separate Points counters for Hardcore characters as well as the Renown System.
For a more in-depth guide to the Renown System, visit our Renown page here.
What is the Paragon System for in Diablo 4?
The effects of the Nodes that you can acquire in the Paragon Board are generally passive but depending on the Node's rarity, a single Node may boost a huge part of your Build. The boards are big enough to give the players huge space for creativity in the customization of their build. Players are also able to preview the board and each and every Node that they can acquire on it, allowing them to plan ahead and decide what route they will have to take in terms of which Nodes they will have to prioritize with their limited Paragon Points. In this sense, players are able to dive down even deeper into the nuances of their chosen Builds, in terms of which Stats they'll have to prioritize acquiring from the Nodes on the Paragon Boards.
Diversity of Builds through Paragon in D4
There's a limit to the Paragon Points that a player can obtain, forcing the players to wisely choose their Paragon Build. Otherwise, all builds would be very similar as all would consist of completing the Paragon Board and reducing the diversity of Skill compositions. The number of variables involved in the Paragon system gives the game huge replayability as players must invest a lot of time in order to explore and work out their own build. For example, a certain Skill may not be recommended for a Build until players find the correct Paragon Composition of Nodes to balance up that weak Skill, converting a skill into an Ideal one for the build.
Paragon System in Diablo 4
Paragon Boards in Diablo 4
Paragon Boards are the cruxes of the Paragon System in the game. Upon reaching level 50, players are able to access this in a separate tab under the Skills menu. There, players can spend their characters' Paragon Points in order to acquire Nodes which bring with them a variety of bonuses, usually in the form of passive Stats. The impact of the boost that comes with each Node is determined by the Node's rarity. After acquiring one Node, players are then only able to acquire the Nodes that are connected to it, and so they are able to determine which Nodes they want to acquire throughout the entire board. On the first Paragon Board, players will also be able to acquire their first Glyph socket which they can then insert a Glyph into for an even greater boon for their character. As the player makes it to the end of the Paragon Board, players are able to acquire another special Node called the Board Attachment Gate. Acquiring this Node gives bonuses to the character's Core Stats, but more importantly, it also allows the player to choose from a set of Paragon Boards that can be activated for the character's class, and connect it to the current board. The player can plan and choose which board to get next, depending on both the Rare Nodes and the Legendary Node that they can acquire on the board.
For a more in-depth guide on the Paragon Boards, and for a list of all the different Rare and Legendary Nodes in all the Paragon Boards available for each Class, visit our page here.
Nodes
The following is a list of all the types of Nodes that you can acquire on the Paragon Board:
Normal Nodes: These Nodes are straightforward, providing a small but meaningful stat boost. Normal Nodes are connective tissues that can be found throughout the board and are quite common.
Magic Nodes: These are found in clusters throughout the board and provide a potent, more diverse set of benefits. They are less common than Normal Nodes but are still plentiful.
Rare Nodes: Offer significant boosts in power. Upon entering the Paragon Board for the first time, these represent great goals for players to chase, particularly once you’ve narrowed builds down towards highly specific goals. Rare Nodes also have additional powers that unlock once the hero has raised an attribute to a sufficient level, requiring some choices to be made when plotting one's path through the board.
Legendary Nodes: After the first Paragon Board, each new board has a single Legendary Tile that can be found at its center. Legendary Nodes impart a new Legendary Power to the character that earns it.
Gate Nodes:
Socket Nodes: These are special Nodes that can contain a Glyph. Glyphs are items found throughout Sanctuary that, when embedded into a Paragon Board, bring various benefits based upon the number of active Nodes within their radius. Glyphs can also be leveled up. Leveling up a Glyph extends the radius of their effect, allowing each one to draw power from or impart power to even more active Nodes.
Gate Nodes: Gate Nodes lie at each edge of each Paragon Board. As the player progress through the Paragon Board, they will eventually reach a Gate Tile, which upon unlocking will allow them to select a new Paragon Board to attach to the existing Board.
Glyphs in Diablo 4
Glyphs are found throughout the Sanctuary, through random drops from monster loots and chests in Nightmare Dungeons, as soon as the character reaches level 50. These Items can be placed in Sockets in the Paragon Board in Glyph Sockets. Glyph Sockets are special Nodes in the Paragon Board. By doing so, Nodes around the Glyph placed in the Socket will gain special passive boosts, covering a certain Radius that can be expanded by leveling up the Glyphs to involve more Nodes in the boost. This effect will only involve active Nodes inside the area affected by the Glyph. Each and every Glyph will always have a secondary bonus boost that is activated automatically, but only upon reaching certain requirements. These requirements are usually in the form of a minimum amount of stat boots that the player has to acquire by acquiring Nodes within the Radius that the Glyph affects. Leveling up Glyphs consumes a resource called Paragon Experience This provides even more considerations that players will want to take when planning out the route of Nodes they want to acquire for their character's Build, which boards they'd want to adapt into their character's Paragon Board, and whether or not to level up a Glyph that they have slotted in its intended Node on the board.
Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4
Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4 are challenging end-game additions that enhance the difficulty and introduce new conditions to existing dungeons. These special D4 Dungeons can only be accessed once players reach World Tier III Nightmare difficulty and acquire Nightmare Sigils. These sigils can be obtained by completing Whispers of the Dead at the Tree of Whispers in Nightmare difficulty. Nightmare Dungeons offer a heightened level of challenge by introducing unique rules and conditions, making them significantly tougher to conquer. To activate a Nightmare Dungeon, players need to obtain a Nightmare Sigil and right-click it like a consumable. This will transform the designated Dungeon's entrance into a feverish-red color, indicating the successful activation of the Nightmare Sigil and its conversion into a Nightmare Dungeon. Glyphs can be acquired by defeating Elites and Bosses within a Nightmare Dungeon, as well as through random chests within them. Successfully completing Nightmare Dungeons rewards players with valuable Paragon Experience, which can be used to level up Glyphs then and there.
For a more in-depth guide to creating and clearing Nightmare Dungeons, visit our page here.
