One of the newest additions to Diablo 4 that breaks the tradition is the world bosses, and Ashava is one of them. If you have played the betas previously, chances are you have fought this behemoth of a dragon. And Ashava is tough to fight unless you are high-level and are equipped with the appropriate gear. But fear not, as I fought Ashava a few times to understand how the boss works, so you don’t have to fumble around after you reach world tier 3 and encounter him for the first time.
Diablo 4 Ashava: Spawn Locations and Timings
As previously mentioned, the world bosses in Diablo 4 appear randomly in certain places, and Ashava is no different. Throughout the many encounters I have had with Ashava, he has specifically appeared in five locations. Refer to the map image below to learn the areas. Before the boss fights, you will find a flashing logo on the map showing the approximate time the battle will begin. Spawn at the nearby fast-travel point, and ride into the boss area using your mount in Diablo 4.
As for timings, it is a tad bit difficult to track the exact times at which Ashava appears. The world boss system in Diablo 4 is a randomized rotation, where the three bosses appear every six hours numerous times. This means if luck permits, you have a chance of stumbling upon Ashava multiple times in a day if you miss out the first time.
Thanks to the efforts of various players, there are numerous ways to track the times Ashava appears. One great resource which we use is a Twitter account called Diablo 4 World Boss Timer. This account tracks the boss’s appearance timings accurately.
How to Defeat World Boss Ashava in Diablo 4
Ashava is a world boss that heavily relies on its Area of Effect (AoE) and elemental poison attacks. There are four attacks that Ashava does in total:
- The first is the common one, where the dragon slams the ground hard with its wings. Ashava does this right near his face. When you see the yellow outline appearing in front of him, immediately dash towards his belly.
- The second attack involves Ashava sweeping his wings across the field in a circular motion. Players that keep a distance from the boss will take damage from this attack. Dodge closer to the boss or away to safety to avoid this attack. However, we recommend dodging closer toward Ashava in this case, as that is much safer than dodging away.
- The third attack sees Ashava chomping at Diablo 4 players standing near his face. In this situation, dodge right under his belly. This is the safest place, and trying to dodge away is not only risky but also not worth it.
- The fourth attack begins after you bring Ashava’s health down to 1/4th. Ashava will breathe a poison mist, which forms a total of five randomized pools of poison. Therefore, standing on top of it will gradually bring your health down. We mention how to combat this issue down below in a bit. For now, remember to ignore the puddle and attack the dragon. If you cannot do ranged damage, ensure that you are keeping an eye on your health, and replenishing it when it goes below 60%.
- The final attack sees Ashava using both wings to deal AoE damage in front of itself on the ground in Diablo 4. Immediately, it will pull the wings towards itself, resulting in the gravel from the ground rising in a straight line, damaging players standing near it. The best course of action here is to dash forward toward the path of the wings, through the middle. As shown below, doing so protects you from any incoming damage.
The best way to deal with Ashava is to stay under its belly. That way, most of its attacks will hardly ever touch you. The only thing damaging you will be the poison puddles. To deal with these, grab some legendary gears, and level them up at the blacksmith. This is the same place where you will frequently salvage materials in Diablo 4.
We suggest putting a ring that gives you high poison resistance and armor that gives you healing received and armor. For my Rogue, I use Band of Corruption, giving me poison resistance, and Bonewave armor of Elusive Menace, giving further poison resistance. This makes it a minimum of 45.8% resistance. Furthermore, I use a mix of various armor pieces that increases my stats. That ensures that my attacks are faster and also stronger.
Rewards for Defeating Ashava in Diablo 4
Upon successfully annihilating Ashava, The Pestilence, the game rewards you with some great loot. The most common reward you receive is gold, which you can use to purchase and upgrade. The second guaranteed loot drop is three pieces of sacred gear. These are vastly superior versions of existing gear with increased stats.
If your RNG luck is high, you will receive a Glyph that you can use on the Paragon board. Typically the game drops magic glyphs. Finally, you will receive a legendary grand cache. This cache further drops higher-quality loot like legendary gears, gold, materials, and gems. The cache also drops Nightmare Dungeon Sigils, which help transform normal dungeons into Nightmare Dungeons.
