Caldeum came under siege during Diablo III when Belial unleashed his forces upon the city in a desperate attempt to stop the Nephalem from reaching him.
Rather than abandoning its people, Leah insisted on helping the citizens escape through the sewers before continuing toward the Imperial Palace and confronting the supposed Emperor Hakan II.
Season 15 recreates that entire sequence as the Scouring of Caldeum Waking Nightmare, from rescuing refugees to exposing the Lord of Lies himself.
The Scouring of Caldeum Location
The Scouring of Caldeum Waking Nightmare is located in Caldeum within Kehjistan, with its entrance permanently marked on the world map.
Entering the portal takes you back to the city’s fall during Diablo III, where Belial’s forces have overrun the streets and its surviving citizens desperately need help escaping.
The Scouring of Caldeum Walkthrough
Enter the Waking Nightmare and speak with Leah, who explains that Caldeum is under attack and its surviving citizens need to be evacuated before you can continue.
Fight your way through the city while searching for refugees, then approach them so they begin following you and escort them toward any nearby sewer entrance.
You must successfully rescue at least 20 refugees before you can progress, after which you can begin making your way toward the Imperial Palace.
Explore until you locate the palace entrance, head inside, and continue into the chamber containing Emperor Hakan II to begin the final confrontation with Belial.
How To Rescue The Refugees?
Refugees are scattered throughout Caldeum and will begin following you once you approach them, allowing you to gather several people before heading toward a sewer entrance.
Escort them safely to any available sewer entrance and continue searching the surrounding streets until you have rescued the 20 refugees required to progress.
Each refugee successfully evacuated also provides a reward, making it worthwhile to rescue additional citizens whenever you encounter them while moving through Caldeum.
Refugee Rewards
Every refugee successfully escorted into the sewers provides an individual reward, giving the evacuation objective considerably more value than simply unlocking the next part of the dungeon.
These rewards can include Gold and equipment, while we even received a Lesser Soul Splinter from one of the refugees during our run.
Since multiple refugees can follow you simultaneously, gathering groups and escorting them together is an efficient way to collect these extra rewards while completing the objective.
How To Find The Imperial Palace?
Once you have rescued at least 20 refugees, continue exploring Caldeum while fighting through Belial’s remaining forces and revealing more of the surrounding map.
Search for the entrance leading into the Imperial Palace, then proceed through the interior until you reach the chamber containing Emperor Hakan II.
Speak with the Emperor to trigger the confrontation, revealing Belial and beginning the final boss encounter of the Waking Nightmare.
How To Defeat Belial?
Belial is fought across two phases, beginning in his smaller form before the Lord of Lies abandons his disguise and transforms into his much larger demonic form.
Most of his attacks are clearly telegraphed across the arena, so remaining mobile and watching the ground for incoming abilities makes both phases considerably easier.
Belial Phase 1
During the first phase, Belial fights in his smaller form and slowly follows you around the arena while using several attacks with visible areas of effect.
Keep moving whenever an attack is telegraphed, reposition outside its marked area, and deal damage whenever Belial leaves himself open between abilities.
Continue attacking until his health is depleted, triggering the transition into the second and more spectacular part of the encounter.
Belial Phase 2
Belial bends reality around the arena and reveals his enormous true form during the second phase, gaining additional attacks capable of covering much larger areas.
Watch for his large swipes and other patterned abilities, moving into safe areas whenever an attack is telegraphed before returning your attention to dealing damage.
Despite his increased size, the same principle applies throughout the fight: remain mobile, avoid the clearly indicated attacks, and continue dealing damage until Belial falls.
The Scouring of Caldeum Rewards
The Scouring of Caldeum provides several opportunities to collect loot, beginning with the individual rewards earned by successfully escorting refugees into the sewers.
Enemies encountered throughout Caldeum and the Imperial Palace provide additional drops, while defeating Belial rewards another collection of loot upon completing the Waking Nightmare.
The possibility of receiving items such as Lesser Soul Splinters from rescued refugees gives this dungeon an additional reward source that can make saving more than the required 20 worthwhile.
How To Complete The Scouring of Caldeum Quickly?
Movement Speed is particularly useful while searching Caldeum, allowing you to gather refugees quickly and escort several of them toward the same sewer entrance at once.
Prioritize groups of nearby refugees rather than repeatedly escorting them individually, and stop actively searching once you have rescued the 20 needed to continue toward the Imperial Palace.
From there, focus on finding the palace entrance as quickly as possible before confronting Hakan II and defeating both phases of Belial to complete the dungeon.
Verdict
The Scouring of Caldeum recreates one of Diablo III’s biggest Act II moments, beginning with Leah refusing to abandon the city’s people even while Belial rains destruction around them.
The journey eventually leads back to Emperor Hakan II, whose identity concealed the Lord of Lies until Nephalem finally confronted him inside the Imperial Palace.
Combining the evacuation of Caldeum with Belial’s two-phase battle makes this one of the more substantial Waking Nightmares and a remarkably faithful trip back to Diablo III.
