Nightmare & the Ember Throne

#The road to the Throne

Once you've beaten the Cinder Lord and your combat level reaches 40, the endgame opens up:

1. Nightmare lairs. Beat lair bosses in Nightmare for Emberstone and sigils.
2. The three sigils. Collect the Sigil of the Sun, of the Mire and of Cinders.
3. The Ember Throne. Offer them at the Warden's Altar and face The Ashen King (level 70).
4. Empower your best gear to +5 with Emberstone, and push ever deeper into the Ashen Depths.

#Nightmare lairs

From combat level 40, every lair entrance offers a second button: Enter in Nightmare.

In Nightmare:

• Every monster in the lair is 24 levels higher.
• The boss has at least 3× its life and hits about as hard as a late lair boss of its new level (the early lairs' bosses gain the most; each lair's page shows its own numbers). It hits 10% harder for each hero past the first, and every Nightmare boss makes the ground erupt under you (see Champions & Bosses).
• Everything that drops has a much higher item level, so it can roll bigger numbers than anything in the regions.

And the rewards:

• A good chance at Emberstone from every Nightmare boss, and a small chance at the Ashfall Rune.
• A chance at the region's sigil from the bosses of the three middle regions:

Sigil	Dropped by Nightmare bosses of
Sigil of the Sun	The Sunken Tomb and Raider Hideout (Sunscorch Desert)
Sigil of the Mire	The Drowned Grotto and The Rat King's Warren (Mirefen Swamp)
Sigil of Cinders	The Forge of Ruin and The Obsidian Spire (Cinder Wastes)

• The boss is more likely to drop its lair uniques.
• A better chance at summon-granting uniques.

Clearing your first Nightmare lair earns Waking Nightmare, and collecting all three sigils earns Keeper of Sigils.

#The Ember Throne

The Ember Throne is the great raid of Ashenvale.

#Opening the Throne

1. Carry one of each sigil: Sun, Mire and Cinders.
2. Go to the Warden's Altar, far north-east of Emberfall.
3. Offer the sigils. Your party members standing at the altar go up to the Throne with you, and the rest of your party can follow later without sigils of their own.

#The Ashen King

At the top waits The Ashen King, level 70, with a guard of the Cinder Wastes' finest around him. He fights like every boss (see how bosses fight), but everything is bigger: his slam, his fire rings, and the knights he calls when he's hurt. He grows stronger with every hero who comes up with you.

Solo, he's a coin flip even for a well-geared hero. With two to four friends, he's a hard but fair fight. Bring a group.

#What he drops

The Ashen King is the richest kill in the game:

• Ashen Ichor, the rarest crafting orb, every time. Elsewhere it only turns up now and then from high-tier Ember Rift guardians. See Temper.
• A pile of Emberstone.
• At least one Throne unique, guaranteed, with good chances at more:
  • Kingsbane
  • Pyre of Kings
  • The Ashen Sceptre
  • Aegis of the Throne
  • The King's Signet
  • Heaven's Fall
  • Oathbreaker
• A chance at the Emberwyrm Pendant, the Everflame Rune, and the legendary Cinder Whelp.

Defeating him earns Kingslayer and the title the Kingslayer.

#After the King

The endgame doesn't stop at the Throne:

• Empower your best pieces with Emberstone, all the way to +5.
• Temper their weakest properties with Ashen Ichor.
• Climb the Ember Rifts. They go up tier after tier with no end, with a weekly leaderboard for every class and party size.
• Push the Ashen Depths. They never end, and Echoes from depth 15 down can drop Emberstone. Deep Delver and Abyss Walker each come with a title.
• Head north: the Rimefall Highlands and the Gloamwood are the toughest regions of all, with lair bosses of their own.
• Hunt world bosses with a group.
• Fill your Collection Log. See Collection Log & Achievements.