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How to get and use glyphs - Diablo 4

Getting and using Diablo 4's glyphs is a vital part of any endgame build.

Josh Broadwell

July 5, 2023 2:40 PM

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Getting Diablo 4 glyphs is essential to surviving the endgame. These rare items are what powers up your Paragon Board, though it’ll take plenty of grinding and patience to get them. Even then, the glyph you get might not be the one you want.

What are glyphs in Diablo 4?

Glyphs slot into your Paragon Board and augment your skills, and they’re vital if you want to stay as strong as possible while playing on higher World Tiers. Diablo 4’s glyphs come in dozens of different forms. Some power up your stats, others tweak the effects of specific skills, and a few even complement your build’s special features, such as the Sorcerer’s Crackling Energy.

All Glyphs start at a low level, but you can spend XP to upgrade them and increase the bonuses they offer.

How to get glyphs in Diablo 4

Glyphs drop at random from high-level activities, which means the best way to get them is by running Nightmare Dungeons. These dungeons are at the core of your endgame activities, so you’ll be completing plenty of them after finishing the campaign anyway.

There’s no guaranteed method of obtaining a glyph. You might get lucky and find one in a chest, they could drop from elite enemies, or you may be rewarded with some after defeating a dungeon’s boss. Nightmare Dungeons only become available once you unlock World Tier 3, so you’ll need to finish the campaign and clear the first Capstone Dungeon.

How to use glyphs in Diablo 4

Your Paragon Board has pre-determined slots for glyphs, but you have to work to access them You can only place a glyph once you open a path to it by activating nodes on the board, and you can only activate nodes when you level up. Paragon Points replace skill points in the endgame.

Since it takes so much time and XP, make sure you plan ahead before unlocking nodes on the board. Check your glyph description too. Most glyphs have bonus effects that activate when you unlock a set number of nodes around it.

How to upgrade glyphs in Diablo 4

A special stone called the Awakened Glyphstone appears at the end of every Nightmare Dungeon once you defeat its boss. Interact with the stone, and you’ll have the option to spend XP on your glyphs and bump their level up a bit. This process also takes quite a bit of time and XP, so plan carefully when upgrading as well.

If you're wondering what else to do after defeating Lilith, check out our Diablo 4 endgame guide for a look at how the game's next cycle works. If you want to reclass, the Barbarian is a solid choice if you build them the right way.

Josh Broadwell

Contributing Editor

Josh is a freelance writer and reporter who specializes in guides, reviews, and whatever else he can convince someone to commission. You may have seen him on NPR, IGN, Polygon, or VG 24/7 or on Twitter, shouting about Trails. When he isn’t working, you’ll likely find him outside with his Belgian Malinois and Australian Shepherd or curled up with an RPG of some description.