What the Tower is (and why players expected it to be the new XP meta)

Diablo IV Season 11 introduced the Tower as a new repeatable activity that, on paper, looks like an alternative to the Pit for fast leveling. The hope was simple: a free-to-open run with scalable tiers, quick completion times, and enough experience to compete with the most popular strategy of the season so far—repeating high-value boss kills for massive XP per hour.

In practice, Tower leveling comes down to the same rule that defines most endgame XP farms: clear speed beats difficulty. If you can’t finish a run quickly and consistently, your hourly experience collapses—even if the tier number looks impressive.

This guide breaks down how to unlock the Tower, how to choose the best Tower tier for XP, what buffs actually matter, and what real-world testing suggests about Tower XP compared to Pit Tier 100 and boss farming.

How to unlock the Tower (fast checklist)

Unlocking the Tower is straightforward and largely tied to early Season 11 progression. If you already have the Pit unlocked, you should generally have access to the Tower as well.

Unlock requirements

• If Pit is unlocked: Tower should be available.
• If not: reach Rank 2 in your Seasonal Journey.
• To hit Rank 2 quickly at max level, complete the first two Capstone Dungeons (these are typically trivial for geared characters).

Starting a Tower run (where to go and what it costs)

Once unlocked, head to Kehjistan and interact with the obelisk to open a Tower run. Like the Pit, Tower runs are free to open—no special key or consumable is required to start the activity.

The Tower uses a scalable difficulty structure similar to the Pit, meaning your tier choice is the biggest lever you control for XP efficiency.

The most important rule: pick the Tower tier you can clear in 1–2 minutes

If you’re trying to maximize experience per hour, you should treat the Tower like a timed farm loop:

• Choose a Tower tier you can complete very easily in 1 to 2 minutes.
• Avoid pushing tiers that stretch beyond 2 minutes “sometimes.” Inconsistent clears are a hidden XP loss.
• Repeat the same tier back-to-back for stable, predictable hourly gains.

Why 1–2 minutes? Because once you include loading, starting the run, and any downtime between runs, the Tower behaves like a fixed-cost activity. If your clear time rises, the fixed costs become a larger portion of the hour, and your XP rate falls sharply.

Buff discipline matters more than most players think. The Tower’s baseline XP can feel underwhelming unless you stack the easy multipliers that are available every session.

Mandatory: Elixir + one Incense

• Use an Elixir for the experience bonus.
• Use at least one Incense for the experience bonus.

Important nuance: multiple Incenses do not stack additional XP bonuses, but they can stack other benefits that make your character stronger. If extra power helps you keep clears under 2 minutes, additional Incense can still be worth it for consistency.

Optional min-max: Nightmare Dungeon with the Forgotten Wisdom affix

If you want to squeeze every bit of XP efficiency out of the Tower loop, run a Nightmare Dungeon sigil that includes the Forgotten Wisdom affix before your Tower session.

These dungeons can contain an experience shrine. When you click it, you gain a 1-hour experience buff. The idea is simple: grab the hour-long XP effect, then spend the full hour chain-running Towers at your best speed tier.

Take a look at: our Season 11 fast leveling guide for a full progression plan

What testing shows: Tower Tier 100 XP vs Pit Tier 100 (and why bosses still win)

With the buff package above (Elixir, one Incense, and the optional 1-hour XP shrine buff), repeated testing on high tiers suggests a rough benchmark:

• ~7 million XP per Tower run at around Tier 100 under optimal buffing.

That number is notable because it’s roughly comparable to Pit Tier 100 completion experience. In other words, the Tower doesn’t clearly outclass the Pit as an XP farm when both are run efficiently.

The bigger issue is that, even at strong tiers, Tower XP per hour tends to land below the best alternative this season: repeatedly farming high-value bosses (often referred to in community shorthand as “layer boss” spam). Boss loops can deliver substantially more XP per hour, which is why they’ve remained the leveling meta—despite the social downside of players idling or leeching in public runs.

When Tower farming is still worth doing

Even if the Tower isn’t the top XP strategy, it can still be a good choice depending on your goals and playstyle.

• No reliance on group behavior (no public-run AFK issues).
• Predictable pacing and repeatability.
• Free entry, making it easy to grind without setup friction.

Run the Tower if your build excels at fast, safe clears

Builds that can erase packs instantly and maintain mobility tend to get the most out of Tower loops. If your character struggles with survivability or needs ramp time to deal damage, you’ll often do better in content with higher payoff per kill (like boss farming) rather than repeated short runs.

Use the Tower as a “clean” alternative to boss spam

If you’re tired of repetitive boss resets or dislike the social friction of public rotations, the Tower can be a less annoying way to keep leveling. You may give up some peak XP/hour, but you gain control and comfort.

Practical Tower XP checklist (quick setup)

• Unlock Tower (Pit unlocked or Seasonal Journey Rank 2 via early Capstones).
• Open the Tower at the Kehjistan obelisk (free).
• Pick a tier you can clear in 1–2 minutes consistently.
• Always run Elixir + one Incense for XP.
• Optional: start with a Forgotten Wisdom Nightmare Dungeon to grab the 1-hour XP shrine.
• Repeat the same tier without “pushing” unless your clear time stays under 2 minutes.

Common mistakes that tank Tower XP per hour

Take a look at: this purified essences farming guide for popular boss loops

The biggest trap is selecting the highest tier you can barely finish. If your run time drifts to 3–4 minutes, your hourly XP often drops below what you’d get from a lower tier you can blast.

Skipping buffs because “it’s just one run”

Tower farming is repetition. Small multipliers add up over dozens of runs. If you’re committing to an hour of Towers, treat the buff setup as part of the activity.

Inconsistent routing and downtime

Even if you’re fast in-combat, long pauses between runs (inventory management, crafting, distractions) will erase the advantage of short clear times. If you’re measuring XP/hour, measure the whole hour.

FAQ

Is the Tower the best XP farm in Diablo IV Season 11?

Based on practical testing, no. Efficient boss farming still tends to beat Tower XP per hour, while Tower feels closer to Pit-level returns.

Run the highest tier you can finish consistently in 1–2 minutes. If you can’t stay under that window, drop tiers until you can.

Do multiple Incenses stack experience bonuses?

No, the experience bonus doesn’t stack from multiple Incenses. Extra Incenses can still help with power, which may improve clear speed.

How do I get the 1-hour XP buff before farming Tower?

Run a Nightmare Dungeon sigil with the Forgotten Wisdom affix and click the experience shrine inside to gain the hour-long XP buff.

Is Tower worth running if I already farm Pit Tier 100?

If your Pit runs are already fast, Tower is unlikely to be a major upgrade. It can still be a good alternative if you prefer its pacing or want a change of grind.