Hello fellow adventurers,
I hope this post finds you well. I’ve been delving into nightmare dungeons and experimenting with various builds, and a question has been nagging at me: At what level of nightmare dungeon completion does the community generally accept a build as viable?
Is it at NM 50? Higher? Lower? I’m genuinely curious to know what you all think.
I understand that different builds may perform differently, and there might not be a one-size-fits-all answer. However, I’m interested in the general consensus among experienced players. Your insights could help guide not only my gameplay but also others who are exploring nightmare dungeons and trying to gauge the effectiveness of their builds.
Please share your thoughts and experiences, and let’s keep the conversation friendly and informative. Thank you in advance for your contributions!
Best regards,
The ones where the monsters are AT LEAST 10-15 levels above you is a good start.
Great builds can easily do content that is 30+ levels above them.
I’d agree with this. On eternal realm with my druid my highest level difference from me & mobs was 36. My experience with S1 and sorc so far (without barber) the bar is much lower, so I think the level difference should factor in class you are playing.
I’d say if you can clear NMs where mobs are 20 levels higher you’re doing something right, 35+ levels (without barber) and you’ve got something awesome going on.
Monster levels higher than you.
15-20 viable
30-40 very good
40-54 top build
Can confirm all is possible with Chain Lightning sorc on eternal.
In season 30+ is very achievable even with experimental builds.
probably gonna be an unpopular answer but NMD 100s have been tuned down so hard that if your build can’t reliably clear 100s, its not viable imo. Now leveling, speed farming, and uber lilith are a different story.
Oh I agree. I don’t think it’s an unpopular opinion perse but it comes down to personal preference I guess. Tier 100 is always my personal goal. I do however know there’s a lot of people that just like to farm on an easy fast pace with whatever they think is a cool skill. I like to think of my build to be top tier and can speedclear 90s with ease. But it took some time to get the right gear and figure out a good setup for that. Id like for them to up the difficulty a bit so I can push higher.
same here… I’m at the point where I can reliably clear NMD100s with 0-2 deaths in around 8 mins… working on getting that time down to 5 mins but losing motivation to play since there’s really nothing to play for. How are you liking lightning? I find making new builds very fun and was thinking about making a chain lightning / ball lightning based build.
Ive always played lightning even pre season. I like it a lot. It’s very fast and now with the new buffs it very strong. I’ve played with ball lighting a long time ago. Used it to proc lucky hits and stuff but now I’m running a high crit chance, stun, chain lightning and lightning spear build. I haven’t really timed my clearspeed on tier 100 but it’s probably around the same as yours. I don’t really have to wait in between fights.
I understand it getting a bit boring. I’ve made a fireball sorc which is level 85 now. It’s pretty fun spamming the fireballs but nowhere as cool as the lighting sorc. 
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There is not a definitive answer here. My personal opinion, is if it can speed farm NMD 40-50, then it is viable. If it can comfortably farm NMD 50-65 them it is good. It if it can definitely clear NMD 90+ then it is a great build. You can still consider a speed farming build to be great, since there is not much incentive to run high NMDs.
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NMD 100. The new NMD 100 benchmark should be achievable by any half-decent build.
If a build can’t do NMD100, it isn’t worth putting in the time and effort to gear it up.
You mean with Barber or no Barber?
Capable of clearing whatever NM Dungeon is equal to your level with little trouble.
That would be viable. Not best. Not optimal. Not min/max. Just viable.
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Even if a build leans on seasonal power to be viable, it is a build. Seasonal power will be the norm once the game has a few seasons under its belt. And I fully expect builds to fluctuate based on how well they can leverage seasonal power.
Depends on the definition of viable. As it stands there is no real point running higher than few levels above your character level if it starts to cut down efficiency. So there are builds that scale really badly on the way to NM100, but are awesome at NM50 and helltides.
Hey fellow dungeon delvers,
Wow, I’m genuinely impressed and grateful for all the thoughtful responses to my question about nightmare dungeon completion levels. It’s clear we have a community filled with passionate and experienced players, and I’ve learned so much from your insights.
I’m going to try my best to address everyone since I feel as time goes on this information could really help out new players, and this is what I’m gathering from the conversation so far:
A Range of Perspectives
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Pronkg170, your breakdown of viable levels and your success with Chain Lightning sorc is inspiring. It’s great to see someone pushing the boundaries and even wanting more of a challenge!
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ducke4, your high standards for NMD 100s and your dedication to reducing clear times show a real commitment to excellence. Your thoughts on lightning builds have given me some ideas to explore.
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ottoattack52, I appreciate your nuanced view on what makes a build viable, good, or great. It’s a reminder that there’s room for different goals and playstyles.
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Fronkles567, Xelqypla569, and others who lean towards NMD 100 as a benchmark, your emphasis on seasonal power and the evolving nature of the game is a valuable perspective.
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GreyGhost27, your question about Barber adds another layer to the conversation, reminding us of the complexity of build optimization.
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Teapea451, your focus on efficiency and scaling is a practical reminder that there’s more to consider than just the highest achievable level.
A Warm and Wise Community
What really stands out to me is the warmth, wisdom, and willingness to share that I see in all of your responses. It’s clear there are many passionate players here. Building on that, I’ve been thinking about how we can further harness this collective expertise.
Perhaps we could organize a weekly build showcase or brainstorming session? It could be a space where we share, critique, and refine our strategies, helping each other push the boundaries of what’s possible in the game. What are your thoughts on this?
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
I’m excited to take all of this knowledge and apply it to my gameplay. But more than that, I’m thrilled to be part of a community that values collaboration, creativity, and continuous growth.
So, let’s keep talking, experimenting, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Together, we can make the journey through Sanctuary not just a challenge but a joy.
Thank you all once again for your generosity and expertise. See you in the dungeons!
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The answer is +54 levels above you. That’s what you need to be able to complete the hardest content in the game.
Viable means you can complete all the content in the game [with maybe the exception of Uber Lilith.] Generally speaking if you can complete NMD100 you just need to get lucky and dance properly and you should be able to kill Uber Lilith.
If you cannot complete all the content in the game with the build; it’s not viable. That’s my definition.
Now SKILL can be the reason you can’t complete a 100. Skill is different than build viability.
You can do this with a fireball build. You can do this with a Hydra build, you can do this with an Ice Shards builds, you can do this with a frozen orb based build, you can do this with a chainlightning unstable currents builds, you can do this with an arc lash ball lightning build…
You can probably do this with Meteor, you can probably do this with Firewall.
Build diversity is really good on the Sorc. Everyone screaming the sky is falling that the Sorceror is bad are smoking that good good. The sorceror may not have a broken build that hits in the 100m’s but those builds are the thing that’s broken.
I haven’t played with Charged Bolt, but probably that needs a buff. Lam Essen’s probably needs to be a lot stronger.
Cough Earthen Bulwark Druids. Cough
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Reading through everyone’s insights, it’s evident that NMD 100 is a significant benchmark for many, and rightly so. It represents a pinnacle of achievement in the game. However, I’m pondering on a slightly different angle. While reaching NMD 100 is an end goal, I believe there should be an earlier ‘checkpoint’ or level where we can gauge if a build is on the right track and worth investing in further. This would be especially helpful for players who are still refining their strategies or those who are exploring unconventional builds. It’s not about diminishing the value of reaching NMD 100 but about having a more immediate and accessible milestone to assess a build’s potential. What are your thoughts on this, and if you agree, what tier do you think would be a good benchmark for this purpose?
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Assuming NM 50 to be the bottom of the totem pole (can really pick any number but from my experience, 50 is when it starts to get fun)
All the way to 60-65 doesn’t feel overly harder, you can still take most hits to the face unless you deliberately stand in a long wind up attack that you can usually see coming so I’d say 70ish would be the next benchmark of a build to be able to do.
At that point on it just becomes don’t get hit very often/at all so as far as dps checks go, 85 would likely be the next point as it’s halfway to 100. 
I think NM 70 is a good first check in. (Or whatever is the old NM51 before the dungeon nerf).
It’s viable if it allows you to clear the content you wish to engage with. No more, no less. 
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