Strongholds are a major focus of Diablo 4, they’re former towns or forts that are overrun by enemies and should you be able to cleanse them, you’ll unlock their features as a town with vendors, sometimes a Waypoint or unlock access to new Dungeons, Events, or Side Quests. This page will guide you on completing the Vyeresz Stronghold in Hawezar.

The Vyeresz Stronghold in Diablo 4

Deep in the swamps of Hawezar, this village is said to harbor a great mystery.

Vyeresz Stronghold Objectives¶

1. Find and Destroy the Serpent’s Eyes
2. Survive the Cultist Onslaught
3. Defeat Dianthus

Where to Find the Vyeresz Stronghold¶

The Vyeresz Stronghold is a level 40 but it will scale with your level once you go above that, and could cause you to come across some tougher encounters. You’ll find the Stronghold to the south of Hawezar, but can be easily reached by heading east from the Zarbinzet Waypoint.

How to Complete Vyeresz Stronghold¶

• Find and Destroy the Serpent’s Eyes

Once you’ve arrived at the Vyeresz Stronghold you’ll need to track down Serpent Eyes and destroy them. In order to find the first eye you’ll want to head up to the northwest corner and enter the shack to find it at the back of the room. For the second eye you’ll want to head into the other in the southeast corner. After you’ve acquired the eyes, approach the door in the center of the area and insert it to open it.

• Survive the Cultist Onslaught

Unfortunately, the door will get stuck so you’ll need to survive an onslaught of normal and elite enemies for 50 seconds. These can’t be easily dealt with by continuously using AoE (Area of Effect) and Ultimate Skills. Once you’ve survived the onslaught proceed through the door and follow the path around until you come across Dianthus. If you’re not bothered about exp, then you can sprint into the boss arena, as the enemies won’t follow you.

How to Defeat Dianthus¶

You’ll have a smallish area to fight Dianthus in, so pay close attention to the ground to avoid his AoE attacks. Dianthus is a larger, stronger version of the Nangari Longfang which can be found in swamps throughout Hawezar. You’ll want to keep your distance and wait for it to use its attacks before going in and making use of Basic/Ultimate Skills. It has a few attacks to beware of and we’ll have a rundown of its attacks below:

• Lunge

Throughout the battle Dianthus will lunge towards you and stab its claws into the ground. If this makes contact with you, then you’ll take a little bit of damage. However, you should be able to avoid this if you use your dodge ability.

• Poison Blast

Whilst you’re fighting Dianthus it’ll frantically spin and shoot out balls which are poisonous. The best way to avoid this is to sit really far back, so you can look for a gap and then wait for it to pass.

• Poison Pool

Diantus will summon pools of poison throughout the battle. If you stand in it your health will gradually deplete and it’ll slow down your movement speed. You can easily avoid it by luring the boss away from it.

Overall, Dianthus is slightly trickier than some of the other stronghold bosses you’ll come across, but you can take it down with ease as long as you do the following. Avoid fighting it near the Poison Pool otherwise your slowed movement speed will make it harder to dodge its other attacks. Take out any ads that spawn otherwise any damage you take from them will make it easier for the boss to one shot you. Finally, don’t get too greedy and only go in and use up your stronger attacks and retreat otherwise you’ll find it harder to avoid the Poison Blast.

Vyeresz Stronghold Rewards¶

So now that you’ve finally cleansed the Stronghold (or are reading ahead to see if it’s worth it), what are your hard-earned rewards? You’ll be rewarded with +100 Hawezar Renown and the Shadow Plunge dungeon.