After defeating the last boss on Nightmare, the next step is usually to prepare for Hell difficulty. However, in Season 10, many Hero Siege players encounter a significant progress bottleneck at this stage.
Many characters still have room for leveling up, their equipment is mostly transitional gear acquired during campaigns, and their Ether Tree may not provide sufficient combat power. Entering Hell too early often results in low monster-clearing efficiency, high survival pressure, and unsatisfactory overall rewards.
Therefore, when transitioning from Nightmare to Hell, it's essential to first determine which aspect of character growth is most lacking. This typically boils down to three areas: level, combat power, and gold for acquiring transitional equipment.
Best EXP Farming
In Ebontharn, when players have just finished Nightmare, their Hero Siege characters are usually around Level 80-100. It's advisable to level up to Level 100 and quickly acquire the first few Hero Levels.
The boost from early Hero Levels is significant, providing a more stable attribute base for entering Hell difficulty. Farming EXP in Forest of the Slain in Act 8-1 is recommended.
Once inside the area, find Gladsheim Halls and clear them repeatedly. Entry is relatively easy; it doesn't rely on Ether Tree and requires no special equipment or setup. If your character has completed Nightmare Campaign, they have the basic requirements to level here.
Dungeon has two levels with a simple route and good monster density. The first level is larger, allowing you to clear monsters along the way; the second level is smaller and more concentrated, making it suitable for repeated runs.
You can farm here all the way to Level 111, which is around Hero Level 11. For characters who have just finished Nightmare, Act 8-1's advantage lies in its stability, safety, and minimal preparation.
If Campaign isn't complete, progressing through the main story is the priority. Act 8-1 is more suitable for late-game Nightmare and for characters who need to level up after defeating the final boss.
Satanic Zone Relics
After leveling up, if you still feel your damage is insufficient in Hell difficulty, you can start using Satanic Zones unlocked after completing Nightmare to further boost your combat power.
Before entering, it's recommended to check the effects and reward types offered by the current zone. For the transition from Nightmare to Hell, Relic and EXP-related zones are more worthwhile, with Relic rewards directly improving damage performance.
Relics are especially important for characters in Hero Siege Ebontharn who haven't yet completed their gear build. Even without complete Satanic items, obtaining Relics that match your current build can significantly supplement key attributes.
Caster builds should prioritize +Skills and Skill Damage, while Physical builds are better suited for Crit Chance, Crit Damage, and Physical Damage.
Immediately after Nightmare ends, characters often lack several small stat boosts, such as damage, critical hit chance, or skill levels. Individually, these differences may not seem significant, but their cumulative effect can noticeably reduce mob clearing efficiency in Hell difficulty.
Relics can quickly replenish these stats during this phase, allowing characters to gradually adapt to Hell difficulty's power level even before their gear is fully developed.
Farm Gold Next
After reaching Level 100 and acquiring some Hero Levels and Relics, if you still lack transitional gear, you can start farming Hero Siege gold.
I recommend players go to Highland Graveyard in Act 6-1 and repeatedly clear Unmarked Grave. This provides a stable income even on Nightmare difficulty, and the mob clearing pressure is relatively low, making it suitable for characters who have just completed Nightmare.
Gold Find
During Nightmare transition phase, you don't need to prepare a full, high-cost Gold Find build. Any Hero Siege gear you already have that has a Gold Find attribute can be used directly.
Regular drops and low-tier Satanic Gear are worth checking. Equipment like Treasure Hunter's Boots and Tal's Pendant can provide extra gold, and Charms with Gold Find can also be added to your current setup.
For Relics, keep an eye out for King's Crown, Hand of Midas, and Fortune Card. At this stage, focus on maximizing your existing Gold Find; there's no need to aim for a specific Gold Find value.
Using equipment acquired during campaigns, increasing Gold Find to 150%-200% shouldn't be difficult for new characters.
Highland Graveyard
The advantage of Highland Graveyard is that regular monsters in Hero Siege Ebontharn continuously drop gold, without relying on bosses or special events.
A complete run of Unmarked Grave Dungeon takes approximately 3-5 minutes. If you already have a decent Gold Find, a run can typically yield around 10K gold. With increased movement speed and monster-clearing efficiency, the entire cycle can be further shortened.
This farming method doesn't require high difficulty. The difference in gold gain across different difficulties is not significant, so there's no need to increase the difficulty if your sole goal is to farm gold. Nightmare allows for faster and more consistent clearing, making it more suitable for characters at this stage.
For characters who have just finished Nightmare, 10K gold is sufficient for many transitional needs. You typically only need to get a few basic pieces of gear to get your build working, many of which cost around 1K-2K gold.
Running Highland Graveyard for several rounds will give you enough gold to upgrade several key gear pieces before entering Hell.
None of these three methods require a mature Ether Tree or expensive gear; they are essentially transitional solutions for Hero Siege characters who have completed Nightmare but haven't yet established themselves in Hell.
Once you've improved your level, Relics, and Gold reserves, re-entering Hell will generally be a much smoother experience.
