Diablo 4 Smoldering Ashes Explained

Learn about Smoldering Ashes, a currency in diablo iv used for Season Blessings, and how to earn them by progressing the Battle Pass.

Smoldering Ashes are a currency in diablo iv that players can use to create season-long buffs. These buffs are called Season Blessings and provide account-wide passive upgrades for all characters created during a season. The Season Blessings available in Season 1 are:

• Urn of Aggression: Boost to XP earned from Monster kills (3% per level).
• Urn of Bargaining: Boost to the amount of Gold earned from Vendor Sales (5% per level).
• Urn of Reclamation: Boost to the chance of rare materials from salvage (10% per level).
• Urn of Prolonging: Boost to the duration of all Elixirs (15% per level).
• Urn of Malignance: Boost to the chance of powerful Malignant Heart Drops (5% per level). Malignant Hearts drop after completing the campaign.

You can only spend your Smoldering Ashes when you reach certain level requirements or journey unlocks. This prevents players from immediately gaining advantages by purchasing tier skips.

How to Get Smoldering Ashes in diablo iv

To get Smoldering Ashes in diablo iv, you must progress the free version of the diablo iv Battle Pass. All players acquire Smoldering Ashes regardless of whether they purchase tier skips. To progress the Battle Pass, free or paid, you must complete parts of your season journey, which is a special section of the UI that opens during seasonal content. Completing tasks within the Journey grants Favor, which advances your Battle Pass tiers. Playing the game and performing any action also grants a small amount of Favor.

Smoldering Ashes are awarded at the following Battle Pass Tiers and corresponding Player Levels:

• Tier 8 (Player Level 40): 1 Ash
• Tier 18 (Player Level 53): 1 Ash
• Tier 28 (Player Level 62): 1 Ash
• Tier 38 (Player Level 71): 1 Ash
• Tier 48 (Player Level 78): 1 Ash
• Tier 52 (Player Level 80): 1 Ash
• Tier 58 (Player Level 82): 1 Ash
• Tier 62 (Player Level 86): 1 Ash
• Tier 68 (Player Level 89): 1 Ash
• Tier 72 (Player Level 90): 1 Ash
• Tier 77 (Player Level 93): 1 Ash
• Tier 82 (Player Level 97): 2 Ashes
• Tier 88 (Player Level 100): 3 Ashes

The amount of Smoldering Ashes received is limited early on but increases significantly as you progress into the end game.

Best Seasonal Blessing Buffs for Smoldering Ashes in diablo iv

Based on Season 1 data, the recommended Seasonal Blessings are:

• Urn of Aggression
• Urn of Prolonging
• Urn of Malignance (seasonal)

The Urn of Aggression is highly recommended for leveling, especially in the end game, as most XP is gained from monster kills. This buff assists in climbing end-game levels and reaching other Smoldering Ashes targets. It is also helpful if you reroll characters mid-season.

The Urn of Prolonging enhances the duration of all Elixirs, which is beneficial for both herb farming and increasing XP per hour. Longer-lasting build buffs also provide extended periods of critical stats.

The Urn of Malignant is a major purchase for Season 1, making it easier to acquire rarer Malignant Hearts. It is recommended as your first Urn purchase to increase your chances of finding stronger Wrathful Malignant Hearts as you enter World Tier 3.

The Urn of Bargaining and Urn of Reclamation are generally considered less valuable unless a seasonal mechanic specifically focuses on them. Dismantling typically provides enough resources for item upgrades or crafting. Gold is often a non-critical stat, even with the 40% gold cost reduction for respeccing, and is primarily an issue when frequent build changes are needed, particularly for classes like Druids. However, the reduced gold costs for respeccing save millions of gold.