There\u2019s something deeply meditative about wandering through the dense, overgrown jungles of Nahantu in Diablo 4\u2019s Vessel of Hatred expansion. Long after I finished the main storyline with my Spiritborn, I found myself returning to this region over and over again, drawn by the quiet pull of those strange defiled shrines known as the Tenets of Akarat. Back when the expansion dropped in late 2024, they were a hot topic among theorycrafters and completionists alike. Now, in 2026, I decide to finally track down all 30 myself \u2014 and the experience turned out to be far more rewarding than I expected.

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At first glance, these collectibles seem like a direct replacement for the base game\u2019s Altars of Lilith. Both are sprinkled across the map, both tempt you to explore off the beaten path, and both grant a little jolt of progress. But the Tenets of Akarat work differently, and honestly, they feel more alive. Instead of simply clicking an altar and receiving a permanent stat boost, I have to solve a small puzzle or pass a combat trial tied to each shrine. That alone transforms them from a passive treasure hunt into an active part of my adventure.

How Tenets of Akarat Differ From Altars of Lilith

The main reward loop is where things diverge sharply. Altars of Lilith grant permanent stat increases and Paragon Points that apply account-wide on a given realm. Tenets of Akarat, on the other hand, give me a chunk of experience and a nice boost to my Nahantu Renown. \ud83c\udf1f That Renown is the real key: it unlocks extra skill points, bonus XP, bonus gold, and other quality-of-life perks that make every subsequent character in Nahantu stronger right out of the gate. The trade-off is that the bonuses aren\u2019t automatic. I have to earn them by tackling each tenet\u2019s unique challenge.

There are only 30 Tenets of Akarat across the entire Nahantu region, compared to 160 Altars of Lilith in the base game. This smaller number made the hunt feel manageable. I could set a goal of clearing all 30 in a weekend without burning out. And because each tenet starts as a defiled shrine surrounded by Stone Guardians, I never got bored. The objectives changed just enough to keep me on my toes.

The Four Types of Tenet Challenges

Over my weekend of exploration, I encountered four distinct puzzle styles. Understanding each one helped me plan my routes and loadouts.

  1. Combat Wave Trials

Nearby Stone Guardians trigger a wave of tough enemies. The spawns often include elites with affixes that caught me off guard the first time. I learned to treat these like miniature dungeon events. My Spiritborn\u2019s mobility made them trivial on later attempts, but my less mobile Barbarian struggled until I swapped in some crowd control.

  1. Speed Activation Puzzles

These are the ones that made my heart race. \ud83c\udfc3\u200d\u2642\ufe0f A series of Stone Guardians must be activated in quick succession, often spread out over rocky terrain or thick foliage. Distance matters here; sometimes dodging and using movement abilities gave me the extra split-second I needed. A missed jump or a badly aimed dash meant failure, so I had to respawn the tenet and try again.

  1. Pattern-Based Activation

This variant is gentler on the reflexes but tests observation. Only certain Stone Guardians can be activated \u2014 the wrong choice resets the puzzle. The solution is always displayed nearby, usually etched onto a tablet or woven into a wall carving. Once I realized I just needed to look around carefully, these became my favorite. They felt like a quiet reward for paying attention to the world\u2019s environmental storytelling.

  1. Vine Destructions

The simplest yet most visually satisfying type. The defiled shrine sits wrapped in pulsating vines. My job is to clear the area of vine clusters, usually by attacking hanging pods or root nodes. Once the last vine burst, the shrine would glow with a clean, golden light. No guardians, no timers \u2014 just a brief moment of purification.

A Personal Chasing Adventure

I still remember my first tenet. I was exploring a shadowy corner near the Kurast Docks when I stumbled upon a defiled shrine and three Stone Guardians arranged in a triangle. I killed a few trash mobs, clicked a guardian, and suddenly a champion pack materialized. I panicked, died once, but learned fast. After the fight, the shrine transformed, and interacting with it gave me around 20% of a level and a hefty Renown injection. A lore snippet appeared too \u2014 a fragment of Akarat\u2019s teachings. That moment hooked me.

From then on, I started actively hunting them. My approach was to open the map, mark areas I hadn\u2019t fully cleared, and just explore. Nahantu\u2019s zones are layered with verticality. I found tenets perched on cliff edges, hidden behind waterfalls, and even inside collapsed temples that required a short side path. Each discovery felt organic, never as grindy as hunting for the last few Altars of Lilith had felt back in the day.

The XP given by tenets scales with my character level, which kept the incentive alive even after hitting max level in previous seasons. In 2026, with seasonal content still going strong, grabbing a quick tenet in between Whisper bounties helps me finish my battle pass just a little faster. And after empowering the tenet, the cleared shrine stays cleansed on that character, providing a permanent visual reminder of my progress.

Why You Should Hunt Them Even Now

If you\u2019re like me and you skipped the tenet grind back in 2024, or you\u2019re just rolling a new character for the latest season, don\u2019t sleep on these defiled shrines. They break up the regular dungeon-crawling loop with bite-sized puzzles and combat tests that feel like a refreshing change of pace. Plus, the Nahantu Renown rewards are too good to ignore. The bonus skill points alone can unlock a new build-defining passive way earlier than usual.

I also appreciate how Blizzard tied the tenets to lore. Each cleansed shrine whispers a line from Akarat\u2019s wisdom. It gives the world a sense of spiritual depth that contrasts beautifully with the grimdark chaos we\u2019re usually knee-deep in. When I\u2019m tired of speed-farming Helltides, I head to Nahantu, pick a direction, and look for the telltale glow of a defiled shrine waiting to be redeemed.

All 30 Tenets of Akarat may be a modest number, but the journey to collect them is anything but small. They transformed Nahantu from a backdrop into a playground. And that\u2019s why, even two years after Vessel of Hatred\u2019s launch, I\u2019m still coming back to them.