Blizzard says there's a "very, lengthy progression in place" beyond level 100 in Nightmare dungeons, however, it doesn't continue forever
Diablo 4 buy items Nightmare dungeons will scale beyond level 100, but Blizzard says there is something of a final boss encounter that's designed to become your character's capstone.
In an organization interview GamesRadar+ attended, associate game director Joe Piepiora confirmed that Nightmare dungeons could keep getting more challenging even past level 100, but there's a limit to the game's difficulty. Piepiora said Diablo 4 wasn't made to endlessly scale together with your character which you'll eventually face a "pinnacle boss encounter" that'll test the limits of every level 100 builds.
"[Diablo 4] isn't intended to become played forever. So you will find creatures that you'll continue to fight at higher and better difficulties [beyond level 100], but this really is content where you will be kind of pushing yourself to observe how far you are able to take your build, instead of trying to reach some endless grind of rewards in the future beyond level 100."
Piepiora adds that there is going to be an unspecified point past level 100 where you've "received the utmost power of gear," and also at that point, you are able to reroll and respec your character before you feel you've maximized your build. And then, and just then, based on Blizzard, are you going to want to undertake the defacto final boss from the Nightmare dungeons? An encounter that Piepiora suggests will require you several tries before using a chance at beating.
"At level 100, we all do have a pinnacle boss encounter we would like players to interact with which has been balanced to ensure that it's extraordinarily, extraordinarily challenging," he explained. "Players that reach level 100 will have an extremely hard time on this boss encounter. And the expectation is you take your class, you realize your build, you've maximized exactly what you possibly can about this, and also you really have learned encountered perfectly. And that's going to become the way that you are able to maybe remove it."
This particular boss, who remains unnamed for that time, isn't made to provide powerful loot - ideally, you've already bagged the very best gear you are able to - it comes down to giving players a feeling of accomplishment. You haven't beaten the sport, especially because it is a live-service game that will presumably be receiving content updates for several years to come, but you've proven that you have built quite a badass character.
"That's the purpose, would be to say, 'I have managed to get an incredibly powerful character build together. This is my capstone, this really is the goal that I have for myself within just a period of time after I've reached level 100'. You know, this is the aspirational piece, we would like players to chase. There are cosmetic things, there are other rewards you are able to get from that encounter. But it's not about getting good gear at that time. Like that's a type of like the purpose of obtaining the gear would be to fight that that one boss."
I know an enormous part of my own Diablo 4 items endgame is going to be terrorizing, and being terrorized by, other players within the Fields of Hatred PvP zones, which Blizzard recently referred to as "a chaotic arena of danger and threat."
Can't you watch for that June 6 release date? Don't lose out on the new Diablo 4 open beta in May.