Each season in Diablo 4 has a set of Season Blessings that provide you with certain bonuses that can be unlocked and upgraded.
These provide you with bonus rewards, boosts, and more depending on the season but in order to unlock and upgrade them, you will need Smoldering Ashes.
Smoldering Ashes used to be obtained via the Battle Pass but things changed when Season 8 came out and they are now tied to your progression with the Season Journey.
How To Collect Smoldering Ashes?
Smoldering Ashes can be collected as rewards from the Season Journey, which allows you to collect different amounts depending on the Season Chapter that you are on.
Some Smoldering Ashes may come as rewards for the completion of a chapter while others may be rewarded for completing objectives.
Once you have completed a chapter or have completed an objective, collecting the rewards from them will provide you with Smoldering Ashes if they are included.
Smoldering Ashes Uses
Smoldering Ashes are used to place points into Season Blessings, which provide your character with bonuses during each season.
These are beneficial as they can provide you with better progression and make grinding more rewarding depending on what you get.
Not all seasons will be the same and some of the Season Blessing will be tied to obtaining rewards, XP, season-related materials or currency, and more.
Reallocating Smoldering Ashes
If you have placed Smoldering Ashes into the Season Blessing or would like to remove them and use them for another Season Blessing, this can be done.
You can reallocate blessings from the Season Blessings menu, which will allow you to choose a different urn to get a blessing of your choice.
This makes it convenient for you to change the active Season Blessings depending on what you are currently doing during the season.
Is Smoldering Ashes Pay to Win?
Smoldering Ashes is not pay-to-win because everyone can earn them, which means that as long as you progress with the Season Journey, you can get them.
This makes it important for players to progress during the season and makes it more rewarding for those who grind hard to complete the Season Journey chapters.
Verdict
Back then, you would have to grind hard to get Smoldering Ashes and these would come at some of the later points in the game such as when you would reach Level 40.
Thanks to the update that came out in Season 8, you can get Smoldering Ashes as early as you complete some of the Season Journey chapters and challenges.
Using Smoldering Ashes right away is recommended since you will be able to make use of their bonuses and can even reallocate them if you prefer other ones.
