Diablo 4: How To Get Boss Summoning Materials

In Diablo 4’s Season of the Infernal Hordes, Unique items have been greatly buffed, making them essential for many builds.

The best way to farm these Uniques is by defeating Pinnacle Bosses, which are tougher versions of campaign and seasonal bosses with specific loot tables.

To challenge these bosses, you’ll need Summoning Materials, which can be collected from endgame activities like Nightmare Dungeons and Helltides.

Let’s break down everything you need to know about summoning materials, where to get them, and the best farming spots.

What Are Summoning Materials?

All these summons are used to call Pinnacle bosses. These bosses are the primary source of Mythic Uniques and as such are one of the most desirable by players seeking to obtain items such as the Harlequin Crest or Tyrael’s Might.

Each Pinnacle Boss can be summoned in two modes:

Normal: Drops one set of loot with a 1.5% change of dropping a mythic/unique item.

Tormented: Consumes material 3X and drops 5X the loot with a 7% chance for a Mythic Unique item. In the following section, we’ll discuss best locations for each of the summoning materials and the amount required to defeat each boss.

Summoning Materials Overview

Best Farming Spots for Summoning Materials

Stygian Stones

• Best Source: Infernal Hordes (T7+ Resource Chests)
• Usage: Needed for summoning all Tormented Bosses.
• Drop Rate: Around two stones per run.
• Strategy: Open the resource chest in Infernal Hordes Tiers 7 and 8. You’ll gather enough stones quickly if you clear these efficiently.

Exquisite Blood

• Best Source: Helltide – Blood Maiden Boss
• Usage: Lord Zir (9 for Normal, 27 for Tormented)
• Drop Rate: High chance from Blood Maiden; guaranteed drop from Hell Fiends.
• Strategy: Farm Helltide Blood Maiden and Hell Fiends for Exquisite Blood. The summoning altar for Lord Zir is in the Darkened Way dungeon, Fractured Peaks.

Distilled Fear

• Best Source: Nightmare Dungeons (T21+)
• Usage: Beast in the Ice (9 for Normal, 27 for Tormented)
• Drop Rate: Guaranteed from T21+ Nightmare Dungeons.
• Strategy: Focus on clearing high-tier Nightmare Dungeons to get Distilled Fear. The Glacial Fissure dungeon, south of Kyovoshad, is where you can summon Beast in the Ice.

Living Steel

• Best Source: Helltide – Tortured Gifts Chests
• Usage: Grigoire (9 for Normal, 27 for Tormented)
• Drop Rate: Living Steel chests in Helltide drop up to five per chest.
• Strategy: Farm Helltide events to gather Living Steel quickly. Grigoire is located in the Hall of the Penitent dungeon in Kehjistan.

Malignant Hearts

• Best Source: Whisper Caches
• Usage: Varshan (5 for Normal, 15 for Tormented)
• Drop Rate: Common from Whisper Caches, rare from Elites.
• Strategy: Focus on completing Whisper objectives to get caches, then exchange any dropped body parts at the Alchemist for Malignant Hearts. Varshan is found in the Malignant Burrow near the Tree of Whispers.

Pincushioned Dolls

• Drop Source: Beast in the Ice
• Usage: Andariel (2 for Normal, 6 for Tormented)
• Strategy: Defeat Beast in the Ice to farm Pincushioned Dolls. Andariel, one of the toughest bosses, is in the Hanged Man’s Hall in Kehjistan.

Sandscorched Shackles

• Drop Source: Lord Zir
• Usage: Summons Andariel (requires Shackles alongside Dolls)
• Drop Rate: One for Normal, five for Tormented.
• Strategy: Focus on Tormented Lord Zir runs for efficient farming.

Shards of Agony

• Drop Source: Grigoire
• Usage: Duriel (2 for Normal, 6 for Tormented)
• Strategy: Defeat Grigoire to farm Shards. Duriel is in the Gaping Crevasse dungeon in Kehjistan.

Mucus-Slick Eggs

• Drop Source: Varshan
• Usage: Duriel (2 for Normal, 6 for Tormented)
• Drop Rate: High for Tormented Varshan kills.
• Strategy: Focus on defeating Varshan to gather eggs efficiently.