If you play Diablo 4 Season 11 and spend time in Nightmare Dungeons (NMDs), you might have seen the Vile Splendor affix on some of your Sigils. It’s one of the best affixes for farming gold, but it also has a small downside you need to watch for. This guide will focus on D4 Vile Splendor—what it is, what it does, how to get it, how to use it well, and extra tips to make the most of it.
What Is Vile Splendor in Diablo 4?
Vile Splendor is a beneficial affix for Nightmare Dungeon Sigils in Diablo 4 Season 11. Every Nightmare Sigil has two affixes: one green (good for you) and one monster affix (bad for you). Vile Splendor is always a green beneficial affix—it helps you, but it comes with a tiny catch. You won’t find Vile Splendor anywhere else in the game. It only appears on Nightmare Dungeon Sigils, and it changes how elite monsters behave in that specific dungeon. Its main job is to give you tons of D4 gold, but you have to be careful while fighting to avoid taking extra damage. Vile Splendor turns the Nightmare Dungeon into a gold farm.
What Does Vile Splendor Do?
Effect 1: Elite Monsters Get the “Gilded” Affix
When you enter a Nightmare Dungeon with Vile Splendor, every elite monster in that dungeon will have the “Gilded” affix. You can see this affix next to the elite’s name—look for the word “Gilded” under their health bar. What does “Gilded” mean? When these Gilded elite monsters die (or sometimes when you hit them), they leave a gilded pool on the ground. This pool looks just like the golden pools that the Avarice World Boss spawns. If you stand in this pool, you will take damage-over-time —slow, steady damage that adds up if you stay there too long. The damage from the gilded pool isn’t super high, but it can catch you off guard. For example, if you’re fighting a group of Gilded elites and you’re focused on attacking, you might step into a pool without noticing. Over time, this damage can wear down your health, especially if you’re playing on higher World Tiers (like Torment 4).
Effect 2: Enemies Drop Tons of Gold
This is the best part of Vile Splendor! Every time you hit an enemy in the dungeon, that enemy will drop a large amount of gold. It’s not just a little bit—you’ll see gold piles popping up everywhere as you fight. When you kill enemies, the gold drops get even bigger, especially from Gilded elites. How much gold can you get? Players in Season 11 report getting 30 to 50 million gold per Vile Splendor run, depending on the dungeon’s layout, how many enemies you kill, and the World Tier you’re playing on. Some players even get close to 40 million gold per run on Torment 4, which is a huge amount. If you full-clear the dungeon, you’ll get even more gold. The more enemies you hit and kill, the more gold you collect.
Should You Get and Keep Vile Splendor in D4 Season 11?
Benefits of Vile Splendor:
It’s the best gold farm in Season 11: Gold is important in Diablo 4—you need it to buy gear from other players, masterwork your items, reroll affixes on gear, and even buy spots in Mythic Prankster runs. Vile Splendor gives you more gold per run than any other affix or activity.
It’s easy to use: You don’t need a special build or high-level gear to use Vile Splendor. Even if you’re a new player or have a basic build, you can run these dungeons. The only thing you need to do is avoid standing in the gilded pools—and that’s easy once you get used to it.
It works with group runs: Most players run Vile Splendor solo, but you can also do 4-player rotations. This means one player uses the Vile Splendor Sigil, and everyone in the group gets the gold rewards. It’s a great way to farm gold with friends and get even more done quickly.
It’s consistent: Unlike some rare affixes (like Mythic Prankster, which is super hard to get), Vile Splendor is common enough that you can craft or find it regularly. You won’t have to spend hours looking for a Vile Splendor Sigil—you can get one with a little bit of crafting.
You Do Not Need Vile Splendor When:
You don’t need gold: If you already have billions of gold (like some high-level players), Vile Splendor won’t help you much. You’d be better off using Sigils with affixes that give you obducite (Treasure Breach), XP (Forgotten Wisdom), or Mythic items (Mythic Prankster).
You struggle with damage-over-time (DoT): If your character has low health or no way to heal quickly, the gilded pools can kill you. For example, if you’re playing a squishy Sorceress or Rogue without healing skills, you might have trouble avoiding the pool damage. But even then, you can just move out of the pools— it’s a small adjustment.
You’re pushing high Nightmare Dungeon tiers: If you’re trying to beat Tier 100+ NMDs, you might not want Vile Splendor. These high tiers are already hard, and the extra pool damage can make it harder to survive. Stick to Vile Splendor for lower to mid-tier NMDs (Tier 50–80) where you can kill enemies quickly and collect gold easily.
How to Get Vile Splendor in Diablo 4 Season 11?
Vile Splendor only comes on Nightmare Dungeon Sigils, so you need to get Sigils that have this affix. There are two main ways to get Vile Splendor Sigils: crafting them at the Occultist, or finding them as drops from certain activities.
1. Craft Vile Splendor Sigils (Most Reliable Way)
The easiest and most consistent way to get Vile Splendor is to craft Nightmare Dungeon Sigils at the Occultist. Here’s how to do it:
Get Sigil Powder: To craft Sigils, you need Sigil Powder. You can get Sigil Powder by salvaging unwanted Nightmare Dungeon Sigils (go to the Occultist, select “Salvage,” and choose the Sigils you don’t want). You can also get Sigil Powder as a drop after completing Nightmare Dungeon objectives—so even if you run a dungeon and don’t get a good affix, you’ll still get Powder.
Go to the Occultist: Find the Occultist in any major town (like Kyovashad, Zarbinzet, or Gea Kul). Talk to them and select the “Craft Sigil” option.
Craft Sigils Until You Get Vile Splendor: When you craft a Sigil, it will randomly get two affixes: one beneficial (green) and one monster affix (bad). Vile Splendor is one of the possible beneficial affixes, so you’ll need to craft Sigils repeatedly until you see Vile Splendor on the green affix. Vile Splendor is not a rare affix—you won’t have to craft hundreds of Sigils to get it. Most players get a Vile Splendor Sigil after crafting 10–20 Sigils. If you’re in a hurry, you can craft 5–10 Sigils at a time, salvage the ones without Vile Splendor, and use the Powder to craft more.
2. Find Vile Splendor Sigils as Drops
You can also get Vile Splendor Sigils as random drops from certain activities in Season 11. These activities have a chance to drop large quantities of Nightmare Dungeon Sigils, and some of them might have Vile Splendor. The best activities to farm for Vile Splendor Sigil drops are:
Azmodan’s Invasion Event (Hawezar): This is a major Season 11 event in the Hawezar region. When you complete this event, you have a high chance to get lots of Nightmare Dungeon Sigils as drops. Some of these Sigils might have Vile Splendor.
World Bosses: Killing World Bosses (like Azmodan, Duriel, or Andariel) in Season 11 can drop Nightmare Dungeon Sigils. While the drop chance for Vile Splendor is random, it’s worth doing World Bosses anyway for other rewards (like unique items).
Whispers Cache: Completing Whispers of the Dead objectives and opening the Whispers Cache can also drop Nightmare Dungeon Sigils. Again, the chance to get Vile Splendor is random, but it’s a good way to get Sigils while doing other activities.
Note: You can’t target Vile Splendor drops—they’re random. So crafting is still the best way to get Vile Splendor Sigils when you need them.
How to Use Vile Splendor Effectively in Diablo 4?
1. Choose the Right World Tier
The World Tier you play on affects how much gold you get and how hard the dungeon is.
Torment 4 (T4): Best for high-level players (Paragon 100+ with good gear). T4 gives the most gold per run (30–50 million), but the enemies are harder, and the gilded pools do more damage. If you can kill enemies quickly on T4, this is the best choice.
Torment 3 (T3): Good for mid-level players (Level 70–100 with basic gear). T3 gives less gold than T4 (20–30 million per run), but it’s easier to survive. The gilded pools do less damage, so you won’t have to worry as much about dying.
Normal/Hell: Only for new players (below Level 70). These tiers give very little gold (5–10 million per run), but they’re super easy. Once you hit Level 70, switch to T3 or T4 for better gold rewards.
2. Prepare Your Character
You don’t need a special build for Vile Splendor, but a few small changes can make your runs faster and safer:
Add movement speed: The faster you move, the more enemies you can kill, and the easier it is to avoid gilded pools. Use gear with movement speed affixes, or skills that boost your speed (like the Rogue’s Dash or the Barbarian’s Sprint).
Bring healing: Even if you’re careful, you might step into a gilded pool. Bring a healing skill (like the Sorceress’s Frost Nova with a healing aspect, or the Druid’s Regeneration) to keep your health up.
Use area-of-effect (AoE) skills: AoE skills let you hit multiple enemies at once, which means more gold drops. For example, the Wizard’s Meteor, the Necromancer’s Corpse Explosion, or the Monk’s Tempest Rush are all great for Vile Splendor runs.
3. Run the Dungeon Efficiently
To get the most gold, you need to kill as many enemies as possible. Here’s how to run the dungeon efficiently:
Full-clear the dungeon: Don’t just complete the main objectives—kill every enemy you see. Every enemy you hit drops gold, so the more enemies you kill, the more gold you get. Even small mobs (like skeletons or bats) drop gold, so don’t skip them.
Avoid standing in gilded pools: When an elite dies, watch for the golden pool on the ground. If you step into it, move out immediately. The pool stays on the ground for a few seconds, so you can come back to kill other enemies once it’s gone.
Focus on elites first: Gilded elites drop more gold than regular enemies, so kill them first. But be careful—they hit harder and leave bigger gilded pools. Use your strongest skills on elites to kill them quickly.
Collect gold as you go: You don’t need to stop and pick up every gold pile—your character will automatically collect gold within a small radius. But if you see a big pile of gold (from an elite), make sure to get close enough to collect it.
4. Repeat and Optimize
Once you finish a Vile Splendor run, check how much gold you got. If you’re not happy with the amount, try adjusting your World Tier or your build. For example, if you’re getting 20 million gold on T3, switch to T4 to get more. If you’re dying too much on T4, go back to T3 and improve your gear first.
You can also do 4-player rotations to farm Vile Splendor faster. Here’s how it works: one player uses their Vile Splendor Sigil, and everyone in the group joins the dungeon. After the run, the next player uses their Sigil, and so on. This way, you can run 4 Vile Splendor dungeons with only 1 Sigil per player—and everyone gets tons of gold.