In Diablo Immortal, the Shadows are one of the two main factions that compete in the Cycle of Strife. Read on to learn about the Shadows, how to join them, and other faction details!

How to Join the Shadows

Finish 'The Cycle Begins' Questline

Before you can join the Shadows, you need to finish The Cycle Begins.

To start this questline, you need to complete the Bilefen questline, obtain the Timeworn Scroll from the Ancient Arena, and reach Character Level 43.

Afterward, follow the questline through in Westmarch to learn more about the Cycle of Strife and unlock the ability to enter the Shadows.

Enter and Win the Shadow Lottery

One way to join the Shadows is to enter and win the Shadow Lottery offered by the Mysterious Patron in Westmarch.

The Lottery is only open at 12 PM, 6 PM, and 9 PM server time daily for 1 hour at a time, so make sure to enter on time.

Upon winning the Lottery, the Mysterious Patron will challenge you to defeat three Ancient Champions, after which you will become a Shadow.

Note that the Shadow Lottery will not be available the week after a Cycle of Strife ends.

Receive an Akeba's Signet Invite

Another way to join the Shadows is to receive an invitation from a Shadows member who uses Akeba's Signet.

This Signet can be obtained by Shadows members who once again win the Shadow Lottery and defeat three Ancient Champions.

Using Akeba's Signet rewards Shadows members with Honor and Rank Experience, so it is worthwhile to recruit new members.

Shadows Faction Tasks

Increase Your Shadows Rank

In the Shadows, increasing your rank is the first thing you should do after joining.

Other primary Shadows Activities are gated behind Shadows Ranks, so be sure to raise it as soon as possible.

Increasing your Shadows Rank is also important as doing so provides your character with increased damage and defense every rank, so never neglect leveling it up when you can.

List of Shadows Ranks

Rank	Stat Boosts
Initiate	・1-4% Damage Increase ・1-4% Defense Increase
Apprentice	・5-8% Damage Increase ・5-8% Defense Increase
Watcher	・9-12% Damage Increase ・9-12% Defense Increase
Hunter	・13-16% Damage Increase ・13-16% Defense Increase
Blade	・17-20% Damage Increase ・17-20% Defense Increase
Phantom	・21-24% Damage Increase ・21-24% Defense Increase
Unseen	・25-28% Damage Increase ・25-28% Defense Increase
Whisper	・29-32% Damage Increase ・29-32% Defense Increase

How to Increase Your Shadows Rank

Shadows Activities and Farming Methods
Participate in the Assembly
Join or Form a Dark Clan
Complete Dailies and Challenge Quests
Challenge the Path of Blood
Complete Contracts
Raid the Vault
Compete in the Rite of Exile

Participate in the Assembly

The Assembly is a Shadows solo activity that happens on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM server time.

During this activity, Shadows are granted Akeba's Blessings which they must share with other Shadows to obtain Marks and other rewards.

The Assembly is an easy and quick source of Marks, so catch it often and spread Blessings and Marks to help out your fellow Shadows.

Join or Form a Dark Clan

Shadows can also join or form Dark Clans, which is mandatory if they want to participate in the Rite of Exile.

Dark Clans can only be formed or joined when the Assembly is active, and it costs 250 Platinum for a Clan to turn their group into a Dark Clan.

In addition, Dark Clans gain access to important features such as Clan Focuses, which are goals that provide large amounts of Marks, and Advantages, which are unlockable boosts that affect both Shadows progression and regular gameplay.

There are no disadvantages to being in a Dark Clan, so always form or join one during a Cycle of Strife.

Complete Dailies and Challenge Quests

The primary way to progress in the Shadows is to complete your Daily Quests and Challenge Quests.

These Quests are composed of doing the other Shadows Activities, such as completing Contracts and raiding the Vault.

Doing these Quests provides the player with Marks that contribute to their personal Shadows Rank and their Dark Clan Rank, so always make sure to complete them.

Challenge the Path of Blood

The Path of Blood comprises multiple floors of enemies which you need to battle through to obtain Marks.

They are similar to Challenge Rifts in that you go through one floor of the Path at a time, and each floor gets progressively more difficult the higher you go.

Make sure to clear the Path of Blood often to earn as many Marks as possible for your Rank and your Dark Clan.

Complete Contracts

Like Bounties, Contracts are tasks you can pick up from the Bartender to earn Gold, experience, and Marks.

You can complete up to 3 Contracts per day, and up to 5 Contracts per week, so clear them out when you can to maximize the Marks you earn.

Raid the Vault

Raid the Vault is a 4-player activity that allows you to enter the Vault of the Immortals and raid it to obtain Gold, Hilts, Marks, and even Legendary Items.

The main goal of this activity is to earn the rare material Essentia by stealing it from Chests found in the Vault of the Immortals.

Players will have to destroy Vault guards, prevent Wardens from sounding the alarms, and defeat the Treasury Guard at the end to obtain as much Essentia and loot as possible.

If Wardens manage to sound the alarms, the Immortals themselves can enter the Vault raid and begin PvP combat against the Shadows.

Raid the Vault is only open from 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM server time, so make sure to be on time if you want to pursue Vault Raids.

In addition, you can only join Vault Raids if you own a Shard of the Living Night, which is a resource obtained from the weekly Shadows Contracts.

Compete in the Rite of Exile

The Rite of Exile is the culminating activity for the Shadows, as it will determine if Shadows will overthrow the Immortals for the week's Cycle of Strife.

On Sundays at 8:00 PM server time, the ten highest-ranking Dark Clans will send in 8 of their best members to fight against the server's current Immortals.

The Rite of Exile is composed of ten simultaneous 8v8 fights, where the Shadows will need to win six battles to overthrow the Immortals, and the Immortals only need to win five battles to maintain their reign.

If the Shadows prevail over the Immortals, the highest-ranking Dark Clans will send in 3 of their best members to fight The Immortal and assert their dominance over the enemy faction one more time.

The final act of the Rite of Exile culminates in all ten highest-ranking Dark Clans fighting each other to become the next Immortals, with the winning Dark Clan becoming Immortals, and their leader becoming the new Immortal.

How to Unlock the Rite of Exile

Participate in the Shadow War

The only way to unlock the Rite of Exile is to be part of the top 10 clans participating in the Shadow War. Dark Clans can register for the Shadow War every Monday-Tuesday.

The Shadow War is a PvP tournament between participating clans to decide the which clan is the strongest and most deserving of the title Immortal, along with its perks and rewards.
Shadow War Guide: How to Join and Rewards

Dark Clans

Clans Within The Shadows Faction

Dark Clans are player-made clans within the Shadows faction. These clans work towards the Rite of Exile by engaging in various activities and challenges. The top 10 clans earn the right to participate in the Rite of Exile, making the whole process highly competitive.

How to Create a Dark Clan

Simply head to The Unspoken in the Court of Whispers and complete Akeba's Challenge. You'll be taken to a small room with an altar. Interact with altar and defeat all monsters within the time limit. You'll be brought back to the Court of Whispers to fill out a Dark Clan form.

Take note that only Shadows can create Dark Clans. Creating the Dark Clan also costs 3000 Platinum.

Existing Clans Can Convert to Dark Clans

Existing Clans can convert themselves to Dark Clans at the cost of 250 Platinum — provided their clan leader is a member of the Shadows. Similar to Creating Dark Clans, this is only possible during the Assembly every Monday to Saturday at 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (server time).

How to Join Dark Clans

Head to The Unspoken in the Court of Whispers and select the Join Dark Clan tab after clicking the View Dark Clan button from his dialogue box. You can see all available Dark Clans on your server from this tab. Choose one that fits your goals and apply. You'll be invited into the Dark Clan on its leader's discretion.

Alternatively, Dark Clans may also directly invite Shadow members upon their discretion.

Dark Clan Focus and Advantages

Dark Clan Focus

Clan leaders can set their clan's focus every Saturday. Once set, clan members can progress their clan's focus by completing the corresponding task the leader has set. These can range anywhere from running the path of blood to completing contracts and vault runs.

Clan-Wide Benefits

Dark Clan Advantages are clan-wide benefits that offer helpful buffs for every member during specific activities. The clan gains more advantages as it reaches higher ranks and members can contribute to these ranks by participating in various activities related to the Rite of Exile.

Who Are the Shadows?

One of the Cycle of Strife PvP Factions

The Shadows are one of the two rival factions that compete in the Cycle of Strife.

They are a collective of adventurers whose goal is to expose the weakness of the Immortals and determine if they are still worthy of their titles.

Shadows in-game do much of the same, as they aim to strengthen themselves and test the Immortals by raiding the Vault and challenging their positions in the Rite of Exile.

Compete to Become Immortals

The primary goal of Shadows in Diablo Immortal is to overthrow the current Immortals of their server and become Immortals themselves.

They do this by forming Dark Clans and obtaining enough Marks through Activities such as Contracts, the Path of Blood, and Vault Raids until they become worthy enough to join the Rite of Exile.

Joining the Shadows and defeating the Immortals at the Rite of Exile is one of the only ways to become an Immortal in Diablo Immortal.

Diablo Immortal Related Guides

All Tips and Tricks Guides

Beginner Tips

How to Change Servers	List of Settings and Best Settings to Use
List of All Attributes and Their Effects	How to Change Skills
Battle Pass Guide	Should You Buy the Empowered Battle Pass?
Daily Reset Times: All Things To Do Daily	All Icons and What They Mean

Character Upgrade Guide

Legendary Gear Farming Guide	How to Upgrade Skills and Skill Rank
How to Get and Use Charms	Leveling Guide
How to Upgrade Gear Ranks	How to Raise Combat Rating
Set Items Guide	Awakening Guide
What Is the Max Level Cap?	Best Rank 10 Legendary Reward
Best Level 50 Legendary Reward	Best Level 60 Legendary Reward
Best Level 5 Paragon Set Item Reward	Best Level 25 Paragon Set Item Reward

Game Mechanics

Dungeons Guide	Helliquary Guide
Paragon System Guide	Bestiary Guide
What is the Legacy of the Horadrim?	Elder Rift Guide
Challenge Rift Guide	List of Zone Events
List of Class Consumables	Jeweler Guide
Blacksmith Guide	Shadows Faction Guide
Immortals Faction Guide	How to Change Difficulty
Gambling Guide	What Is the Vault?
Lairs Guide	How to Kill Treasure Goblins
How to Heal	Can You Play Diablo Immortal Offline?
How to Use Ultimate Skills	What To Do About Crashing: All Error and Bug Fixes
How to Save Your Game	How to Establish Warband Camp
Shadow War Guide	How to Use the Town Portal
Adventurer's Path Event Rewards	Hero's Journey Guide

Achievement Guides

Haunted Altars	The Guards' Story
Blood Resurrection	Blood Apparition
Revealing the Path	Lord Martanos
Hiding in Plain Sight	Blasphemous Texts
Shrubbery	Barbarian Spirits
Siegebreaker	-

FAQs

How to Extract and Transfer Essences	How to Use the Repair Client
How to Get Crests	How to Change Classes
Can You Play Solo?	How to Identify Equipment
What Can You Buy in the Market?	How to Get Cosmetic Sets
How to Use Voice Chat	What is Magic Find?
How to Make a Clan	Character Customization Guide
AFK Timer Length: How Long is the AFK Timer?	How to Pause the Game
Best Faction: Should You Join Shadows or Immortals?	How to Use Auto Navigation
How to Redeem Codes	How to Change PC Resolution
How to Hide the Chat Box	Shadow Lottery Explained
Achievements Guide: All Rewards and How to Unlock	All Soft and Hidden Caps
What Happens When You Die?	What To Do If You Can't Sign In to Battle.net
How to Report Players	Will Diablo Immortal Have Transmog?
What is Potency and How to Increase It	What are Unbound Gems and How to Get Them