Nephalem Rifts (formerly known as Loot Runs) are a special type of game within Diablo 3, designed to provide an intense challenge and fast paced action over a 10-15 minute dungeon crawl. They are reminiscent of boss runs from Diablo 2, but will take place in special dungeons with fully-randomized enemies in special dungeons, and will therefore play unlike any of the normal Act game content. Even the end bosses are randomized and unpredictable.
Nephalem Rifts are enabled by finding Nephalem Rift Keys, which are taken to a special NPC in town. Players may choose to explore multiple Nephalem Rifts in the same game, likely after getting stacked up, but will need to turn in a Loot Run Key for each one, and as with the three portals to the Realms of the Infernal Machine event, only one Loot Portal can be active at a time,
Nephalem Rifts will be added to Diablo 3 classic in a free patch, with no ETA yet given. They will also be included in Reaper of Souls when it launches.
- Loot Runs events have some features in common with Nephalem Trials, and more details should be revealed at Blizzcon 2013.
Contents
Loot Runs Announced
This feature was first revealed in Blizzard's official Reaper of Souls FAQ, in a section about new game modes:[1]
Two new game modes -- Loot Runs and Nephalem Trials -- are being added as well, providing fun and rewarding challenges for players to tackle when they’re not busy saving the world.
Shortly after that announcement the developers confirmed that Loot Runs would be patched into Diablo 3 as well as appearing in Reaper of Souls:[2]
Loot Runs are randomized dungeons, monsters, and a mini-boss that drops sweet loot. Also, they’ll be pre-patched for free. #D3RoS –Diablo
Randomized Adventures
One of the key elements of Nephalem Rifts is how randomized they are. They do not take place in any of the current Acts, but will use tile sets from the acts in new configurations and are populated with randomized selections of monsters. These will mix up the usual play formula considerably, since monsters never normally found in a given area will occur in Loot Runs.
Each Nephalem Rifts has a special end boss or bosses who are also randomized, selected from a long list of possible end bosses, most of whom are much-upgraded versions of current quest bosses. Some Loot Runs will even feature two bosses, much like the pairs of Ubers faced in the Infernal Machine event.
Several screenshots showing off what appear to be Nephalem Rifts were included in the Gamescom 2013 press kit. These show dungeon tile sets known from Acts 1, 2, and 3, but all have monster types that are never found in those areas in D3C, and that sort of randomized variety is what Nephalem Rifts are said to feature.[3]
Act One dungeons with Fallen Angel enemies.
Act Two ZK's dungeons with new Act 4 skeletons.
Act Three dungeon with new Act 5 skeleton types.
Datamined Information
Code strings in early Reaper of Souls datamined information lists some information about how to enable Loot Runs and the content that will be found on them. The information is from an early version of the game and will likely see modifications by the final product.[4]
SPOILER WARNING
These details can be considered spoilery, so stop reading here if you want to preserve surprises
From the information in the RoS datamining, Loot Runs are an end game feature, enabled only after a player finishes Act 5 on Inferno difficulty. (Or possibly enabled for any difficulty once Act 5 is beaten on that difficulty.) There are multiple (at least 10) different Loot Run dungeons, all of which are randomized each time. Players earn the right to enter them by finding Loot Run Keys and taking them to Zoltan Kulle, who returns as an NPC in Reaper of Souls.
Zoltan Kulle opens the portals -- only one at a time may be active -- and players pass through them to conduct Loot Runs.
LootRunKey - Bring this to Zoltun Kulle and he will open a portal to a Loot Run.
The data strings on Loot Runs are incomplete, but they give indications of the content.
LootRunBar - You have started a Loot Run!
- Kill enemies to fill this bar. When it is full, a portal will open to the Loot Run guardian.
LootRunBarComplete - You have opened a portal to the Loot Run guardian! Enter the portal and defeat it!
- LootRunBarComplete_title - Loot Run Boss Portal
LootRunComplete - You finished your first Loot Run!
- When you find additional Portal Keystones, take them to Zoltun Kulle to open new Loot Runs.
LootRunItemPickedUp - You have found a Portal Keystone!
- Take it to Zoltun Kulle to open a Loot Run.
MenuLabel - No Loot Runs
- Line0 - Finish what you're doing now, then I'll open another portal for you.
MenuLabel - Loot Run
- Line0 - Be patient. I cannot open another portal for you until the raid guardian is defeated and everyone has returned.
Loot Runs sound much like the Infernal Machine portals, in that only one can be active at at time and another one can not be opened until the previous one has been defeated.
Nephalem Rifts Bosses
A list of available loot runs bosses, from Reaper of Souls datamining. Though Loot Runs are said to be coming to Diablo 3 as well as Reaper of Souls, all the following strings are for the expansion. It's not known how Loot Runs will differ, if at all, in D3V.
As with the other datamined strings, these are not final and subject to change before release.
Encounter_Name - The Cultist Legion
- Encounter_Join_Instruction - Triggered by {s1}
- TestBossEncounter_Info_Text - Cultist Legion
- TestBossEncounter_Taunt_Text - Wave Fight Challenge
Boss_Alcarnus_01_SkeletonKing_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Random Boss Fight
- Boss_Alcarnus_01_SkeletonKing_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Boss!
Boss_Keep_01_Gluttony_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Random Boss Fight
- Boss_Keep_01_Gluttony_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Boss!
ZoltunKulle_Encounter_Name - Boss: Random Boss Fight
- ZoltunKulle_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Boss!
Boss_Keep_01_Despair_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Library of Fate
- Boss_Keep_01_Despair_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the demon Despair!
Boss_Keep_01_Gluttony_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Gluttony
- Boss_Keep_01_Gluttony_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat Ghom, the Lord of Gluttony!
Boss_Keep_01_SpiderQueen_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Lair of the Spider Queen
- Boss_Keep_01_SpiderQueen_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Spider Queen!
Boss_Alcarnus_01_SkeletonKing_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Crypt of the Skeleton Monarch
- Boss_Alcarnus_01_SkeletonKing_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Skeleton Monarch!
FallenChampion_Summoner_Encounter_Name - Boss: Rokrak
- FallenChampion_Summoner_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Brutal Fallen Master
Boss_Belial_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Battle for Caldeum
- Boss_Belial_Taunt_Text - Defeat Belial, Lord of Lies!
Boss_SpiderQueen_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Lair of the Spider Queen
- Boss_SpiderQueen_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Spider Queen!
Boss_SkeletonKing_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Crypt of the Skeleton King
- Boss_SkeletonKing_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Skeleton King!
Boss_Siegebreaker_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Demon Gate
- Boss_Siegebreaker_Taunt_Text - Defeat the demon Siegebreaker!
Boss_MistressOfPain_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Maiden of Lust
- Boss_MistressOfPain_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Maiden and destroy the final Sin Heart!
Boss_Maghda_Encounter_Name - Boss: Maghda's Den
- Boss_Maghda_Taunt_Text - Defeat Maghda!
Boss_Gluttony_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Larder
- Boss_Gluttony_Taunt_Text - Defeat Ghom, the Lord of Gluttony!
Boss_Despair_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Library of Fate
- Boss_Despair_Taunt_Text - Defeat the demon Despair!
Boss_Butcher_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Butcher's Lair
- Boss_Butcher_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Butcher!
LittleBelial_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Crypt of the Skeleton King
- LittleBelial_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Skeleton King!
Boss_Keep_01_Maghda_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Malefique
- Boss_Keep_01_Maghda_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the cruel Malefique
Boss_Keep_01_Despair_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Despair
- Boss_Keep_01_Despair_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the vicious Despair
Alcarnus_01_Despair_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Despair
- Alcarnus_01_Despair_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the vicious Despair
Boss_Alcarnus_01_Warden_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Reformed Warden
- Boss_Alcarnus_01_Warden_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Reformed Warden
Boss_Keep_01_Warden_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Reformed Warden
- Boss_Keep_01_Warden_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Reformed Warden
Boss_Keep_01_MistressOfPain_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Mistress of Pain
- Boss_Keep_01_MistressOfPain_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the alluring Mistress of Pain
Boss_Alcarnus_01_MistressOfPain_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Mistress of Pain
- Boss_Alcarnus_01_MistressOfPain_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the alluring Mistress of Pain
Boss_Keep_01_SpiderQueen_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Spider Queen
- Boss_Keep_01_SpiderQueen_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Spider Queen
SpiderQueenB_Encounter_Name - Boss: Spider Queen
- SpiderQueenB_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Spider Queen
Boss_Alcarnus_01_SpiderQueen_01_Encounter_Name -Boss: Spider Queen
- Boss_Alcarnus_01_SpiderQueen_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Spider Queen
Boss_Spider_01_Warden_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Reformed Warden
- Boss_Spider_01_Warden_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Reformed Warden
Boss_Spider_01_Maghda_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Malefique
- Boss_Spider_01_Maghda_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the cruel Malefique
Boss_Spider_01_MistressOfPain_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Mistress of Pain
- Boss_Spider_01_MistressOfPain_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the alluring Mistress of Pain
Boss_Spider_01_SkeletonKing_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Crypt of the Skeleton Monarch
- Boss_Spider_01_SkeletonKing_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Skeleton Monarch!
Boss_Spider_01_Despair_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Despair
- Boss_Spider_01_Despair_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the vicious Despair
Spider_01_Gluttony_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Gluttony
- Spider_01_Gluttony_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat Ghom, the Lord of Gluttony!
Boss_Cath_01_Warden_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Reformed Warden
- Boss_Cath_01_Warden_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Reformed Warden
Boss_Cath_01_Despair_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Despair
- Boss_Cath_01_Despair_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the vicious Despair
Boss_Cath_01_SkeletonKing_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: The Crypt of the Skeleton Monarch
- Boss_Cath_01_SkeletonKing_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Skeleton Monarch!
Boss_Cath_01_Gluttony_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Gluttony
- Boss_Cath_01_Gluttony_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat Ghom, the Lord of Gluttony!
Boss_Cath_01_MistressOfPain_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Mistress of Pain
- Boss_Cath_01_MistressOfPain_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the alluring Mistress of Pain
Boss_Cath_01_SpiderQueen_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Spider Queen
- Boss_Cath_01_SpiderQueen_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Spider Queen
Boss_Crypt_01_Warden_01_Encounter_Name - Boss: Reformed Warden
- Boss_Crypt_01_Warden_01_Taunt_Text - Defeat the Reformed Warden