The beta version of Diablo 4 is now available, and players with Early Access can now fight the world boss of the Fractured Peaks, Ashava the Pestilent. The necrotic beast's moves and tells will help you understand what to look out for when confronting him. In the final release version, things may very well be changed in June.
Below's all you need to know about Ashava the Pestilent in Diablo 4.
Ashava the Pestilent does not just spawn anywhere; the boss has its own dedicated area in the Fractured Peaks. Named The Crucible, this area has no enemy spawns outside of Ashava, so players may comfortably AFK there while waiting for it to spawn.
As shown above, the location of Ashava's HP is visible. You'll also earn potion charges if Ashava falls below certain thresholds.
Ashava can make many different maneuvers and attacks, and this is a list (the order appears to be random).
Bite
Ashava bites a player in front of him. This is a quick windup and does a lot of damage, so melee players must always watch out for this move when in front of Ashava.
Smash is a smash word.
Ashava raises one of its wing bones in the air, causing an AoE marker to appear. At this location, Ashava will punch its wing bones, causing players to fall away from the center of the AoE. Either exit the AoE at the appropriate time to avoid damage and knockback.
Double Smash/Swipe
Ashava releases both of its wing bones in the air, causing two AoE markers to appear. This is followed by a backward swipe. To avoid this attack, simply move to Ashava's sides when two AoE markers appear in front of you.
There appears to be a small safe spot between the two swipes if you can't get out in time, although there's so little room that it's a challenge to get out.
Leap is a term used to describe a process.
Ashava leaps at a random player. This may result in Ashava traveling quite far across the arena, so keep that in mind if you're playing a melee class like Barbarian.
Ice Swipes
Ashava raises one of its wing bones and thrusts the ice around it in a wide arc. Any player caught in the wing attack will suffer huge amounts of damage as a result of the obvious tell.
If you want to stay out of Ashava's swipe range, you can either Evade into the swipe, making use of your invulnerability frames from Evade, or stand right underneath Ashava. There's a small safe spot below Ashava, and you'll need to move little in order to avoid the swipe.
Rotten Breath
Ashava releases rotten fluid from its mouth into a cone, leaving behind puddles of the same liquid at random locations on the arena. To avoid the puddles, dodge the breath attack and avoid the puddles while fighting.
Once Ashava is low, there are no second phases or additional attacks, so it's just a matter of mastering the tells and avoiding the attacks from start to finish. This includes legendary gear and Ashava's Spoils, a bag of additional gear.
Ashava will launch four times during the Early Access weekend and four additional times during the open beta. Click here for regions' specific times.
