You're riding through the dust of the Dry Steppes, dodging cannibals and wondering why your stats feel just a little bit lackluster. It's the Altars. It is always the Altars. If you’ve spent any time in Diablo 4, you know the drill, but the Altars of Lilith Dry Steppes run is a particularly annoying beast because of the verticality. You think you’re standing right on top of one. You aren’t. It’s actually three cliffs up, tucked behind a dried-out shrub that looks like every other dried-out shrub in Sanctuary.
Dry Steppes is home to 33 of these statues. Finding them all is basically mandatory if you want those permanent stat boosts and the extra Paragon Points from the Renown system.
Honestly, it’s a slog. But it’s a slog that pays off.
Why the Altars of Lilith Dry Steppes actually matter for your build
Most players think they can skip these. They can't. Not if they want to push Nightmare Dungeons or actually survive the endgame grind. Each altar provides a permanent bonus to your entire account. We’re talking +2 to Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, or Willpower. In the Dry Steppes specifically, you are also hunting for those precious +5 Max Murmuring Obols boosts.
The math is simple.
Collect all 33 in this region, and you’re looking at a massive power spike that bypasses gear requirements. It’s the difference between your Barbarian hitting like a wet noodle or actually clearing a screen. Plus, the Renown. You need that bottom tier of Renown for the +4 Paragon Points. You aren't getting there easily without hitting these statues.
💡 You might also like: Batman Arkham Origins Characters: What Most People Get Wrong
The North: Kotama Grasslands and Tusmaa Rift
The northern reaches are deceptively open. You’ll find a cluster around Ked Bardu, the main hub. There’s one tucked just to the northwest of the city, hidden in a small alcove that most people breeze right past because they’re too busy trying to clear their inventory.
Further east in the Tusmaa Rift, things get vertical. There is one altar here sitting on a precipice overlooking the canyon. If you don't have your mount yet, stop reading and go get it. Doing the Dry Steppes on foot is a special kind of masochism I wouldn't wish on anyone.
The Tusmaa Rift altar is particularly famous for being "right there" on the map but requiring a massive loop around the canyon floor to actually reach the climbing point. It’s annoying. I know.
Navigation headaches in the Khargai Crags
The Khargai Crags are a mess of winding paths. There are 4 altars in this sub-region alone. One is located in the far northeast corner, right near the border of Scosglen. It’s shoved into a corner of a bandit camp.
Another one in the Crags sits in a small "U" shaped canyon. You’ll see it on your mini-map, but the entrance is hidden by a weather-beaten tent. Blizzard loves doing this. They place the Altars of Lilith Dry Steppes behind environment objects that don't highlight when you mouse over them. You just have to hug the walls. Literally. Run your horse along the edge of every cliff until you see the dull red glow.
The Onyx Watchtower and the central wastes
The Onyx Watchtower is a Stronghold. You don’t have to clear it to get the altar nearby, but it makes life easier. The altar is technically just outside the southern gate, nestled in a crag.
If you head south into the Dindot Cavern area, there’s one hidden inside a small cave-like indentation. It’s not a separate loading zone, just a pocket in the world. This one usually gives Willpower. If you're a Druid, this is your bread and butter. If you're a Rogue, it's still worth the thirty seconds of detour for the Renown alone.
Dealing with the Fields of Hatred
This is where things get spicy. There are altars inside the PvP zones.
A lot of players get anxiety about the Fields of Hatred. They think they’re going to get jumped by a Level 100 Sorcerer the second they step foot in the dust. Truthfully? Most people in there are just farming seeds or doing the same altar run you are.
There is one altar in the Alzuuda outskirts and another deeper in the red sands.
🔗 Read more: Why Kirby Super Star Still Matters: The SNES Masterpiece That Broke Every Rule
- Don't mark yourself for blood.
- Get in, touch the statue, get out.
- If you see a player with a glowing red aura, just move the other way.
The stat boost you get from the Fields of Hatred altars is usually Dexterity. For a Rogue or a DH-style build, skipping these is leaving damage on the table. It’s not worth the loss just because you’re scared of a little PvP.
The Jakha Basin and the Hidden Overlook
The Jakha Basin is home to some of the most frustratingly placed statues in the game. There is one located in the very southern tip of the Basin, near the border of Kehjistan. It is tucked behind a pillar of rock.
Then there’s the one near the "Hidden Overlook" waypoint. You’d think an overlook would make it easy to see. Nope. It’s tucked underneath a scaffolding. You have to walk behind a wooden structure to find it. This is why looking at a static map sometimes fails you; the 3D depth of the Dry Steppes makes "X marks the spot" a bit of a lie.
The Untamed Scarps: The final stretch
The Untamed Scarps are rugged. There are about 4-5 altars scattered here depending on where you draw the regional line. One is in the far southwest, almost in the water.
There’s another one near the Temple of Rot. This area is high-level and crawling with flies and pestilence-type enemies. The altar is sitting in a ruined doorway. Most people miss it because they are trying to outrun the poison pools.
Slow down.
Clear the mobs.
Touch the statue.
If you die right after touching it, it still counts. The buff is permanent and instant. You don't need to survive the encounter to keep the +2 Strength.
Common mistakes and misconceptions
The biggest mistake I see? People trying to find these while the world map is covered in Fog of War. You cannot effectively find Altars of Lilith Dry Steppes locations if you haven't revealed the map first. The landmarks you need to orient yourself just aren't visible.
Also, the "Statue Glow."
The red glow of a Lilith Altar is actually quite dim during the "daylight" cycles of the game's dynamic weather. If you’re having trouble seeing them, try doing your hunt during the night cycle or when it’s raining in-game. The contrast makes that red aura pop against the brown and tan rocks of the Steppes.
Detailed Stat Breakdown for Dry Steppes
For those who need to know exactly what they are getting before they commit to the trek, here is the rough distribution for the 33 altars in this zone:
Intelligence is heavily represented in the northern sectors. Strength is scattered throughout the central wastes and the Scarps. Willpower is mostly found in the eastern canyons. The Max Obols upgrades—which are arguably the most important for gambling at the Purveyor of Curiosities—are usually found in the most remote corners, like the edges of the Fields of Hatred or the coastal cliffs.
The most efficient pathing
Don't zigzag.
Start at Ked Bardu. Work your way clockwise. Head north through the Kotama Grasslands, loop east into the Tusmaa Rift, then head south through the Khargai Crags. From there, hit the Onyx Watchtower area, dive into the Fields of Hatred, and finish in the Untamed Scarps.
This route minimizes back-tracking. Use your map pins. You can only place one pin at a time on the standard UI, but it’s enough to leapfrog from one statue to the next. If you have a second monitor, keep a high-res map open. If you don't, you’re going to be hitting 'Tab' every thirty seconds. It’s annoying, but it’s the only way to ensure you don't miss that one statue hidden in the middle of a random goatman path.
Final tactical advice for the Steppes
The Dry Steppes is a high-mobility zone. Use skills that grant Unstoppable or extra dashes. The terrain is full of "barriers"—those little bone walls or rock piles that NPCs put up. If you're on a horse, these are a nightmare because they’ll spook your mount and put it on cooldown.
Keep an eye on your Renown tab (default 'W' on PC). Sometimes the game glitches and doesn't show the "Altar Claimed" text on the screen, but the counter will always update. If you think you clicked it but aren't sure, check the regional progress. 33 is the magic number. Once you hit 33/33, you never have to do this again for the rest of the season (or ever, depending on the current Eternal/Seasonal carry-over rules Blizzard has implemented).
Actionable Next Steps
- Check your current count: Open your map, go to the Dry Steppes region, and press the button for "View Rewards" to see if you are at 33/33.
- Clear the Waypoints first: Don't hunt altars without having the Ked Bardu, Alzuuda, and Jirandai waypoints unlocked. You need these for fast travel when your inventory inevitably fills up.
- Prioritize the Fields of Hatred: Get the PvP zone altars out of the way early in your session when you're fresh. Nothing sucks more than being 30 statues deep and getting tilted because someone ganked you at the 31st.
- Use a checklist: Whether it's a digital interactive map or a mental note, track the sub-regions. It is much easier to say "I've finished the Jakha Basin" than to wonder which of the 33 you missed when you're sitting at 32/33 and staring at a blank map.
- Mount up: Ensure your mount's "spur" charges are ready. The distances between altars in the Dry Steppes are larger than in the Fractured Peaks. Speed is your friend.