Diablo 3 Sliver Of Terror

Flavour 25 Theme: Soul Shards Effects and Mechanics

Season 25 introduces a new type of socketable item called Soul Shards. Yous can find 7 unique Soul Shards, based on the Lords of Hell, each giving your hero a unique new power based on their demonic origin. Regardless of their differences, they share a few common mechanics:

Prime Evil Soul Shards (Fragment of Destruction, Shard of Hatred, Sliver of Terror) are but socketable in Helms.
Lesser Evil Soul Shards (Dregs of Lies, Essence of Ache, Remnant of Pain, Stain of Sin) are only socketable in Weapons.
You may merely equip one Prime number Evil Soul Shard and one Lesser Evil Soul Shard at a fourth dimension.
Each Soul Shard tin be upgraded 3 times using a new, seasonal-exclusive consumable, the Hellforge Ember.
Soul Shards tin be salvaged into 3 random gems of Marquise or Imperial quality, with a minor adventure to requite one Flawless Royal gem instead.
Soul Shards tin used in the Caldesann's Despair recipe instead of regular Legendary Gems. As a base drop, they are equal to a level 50 Legendary Gem, and are upgraded by 25 levels per Shard rank (i.e., Rank 3 Soul Shard is equal to a Level 125 Legendary Jewel for the purposes of Caldesann augmentation).
Soul Shards cannot be traded.
Lastly, Soul Shards and Hellforge Embers tin but drop in Seasonal play and volition not transfer to non-seasonal characters once Season 25 ends.

How to farm Soul Shards in Season 25?

Soul Shards tin driblet from whatever type of content and game fashion, be it Bounties, Nephalem (Standard) Rifts, or Greater Rifts. Soul Shards however take a higher chance to drop from Bosses, including an unlisted mechanic outlined below.

You tin become specific Soul Shards from specific Deed bosses in Adventure Manner as early on as level 1, making them a target-able bonus from the very start of character progression and a massive boon during leveling. The tactic works all the way to level 70 and beyond, making information technology a viable manner to farm the Soul Shards whenever you need a new scroll.

Act I: Essence of Anguish (Weapon shard) — ~25% driblet chance from any human action boss
Act II: Dregs of Lies (Weapon shard) — ~25% drib chance from any act dominate excluding Vidian
Act III: Stain of Sin (Weapon shard) and Fragment of Destruction (Helm shard) — ~12.5% take a chance to drop both (or none) from whatever act boss
Act IV: Remnant of Pain (Weapon shard) and Sliver of Terror (Helm shard) — ~12.5% adventure to drop both (or none) from any human activity dominate
Act V: Shard of Hatred (Helm shard) — ~50% drop chance from whatever act boss

While they are all powerful in their ain correct, not all of these Shards will be at their full potential outside of complete endgame builds. Some of them will fare much improve than others during the leveling process, and the actual all-time matter to exercise with your kickoff Soul Shards is to salvage them for a gamble at acquiring level lxx standard gems. It is recommended that you subcontract the following Soul Shards for leveling:

Any form — Of import at Level 1: Kill Zoltun Kulle in Act Two for a Soul Shard to salvage. This will net yous 3 random gems of Marquise or Regal quality, with a pocket-sized run a risk to give i Flawless Purple gem instead. The hazard to go Rubies of any of these tiers of quality volition be so influential to your leveling that doing 5-x runs of Zoltun Kulle well-nigh the beginning of your leveling process to guarantee the Ruby drops is not unreasonable.
Whatever class: Kill Rakanoth in Act IV for Sliver of Terror. Rakanoth is easy to reach, and this Shard volition fit virtually whatsoever build every bit it empowers y'all for every cooldown y'all add to your skill bar. The alternative Shard you can get from Act IV, Remnant of Pain, tin can as well be decent if y'all take access to a difficult crowd control skill from early on on.
Cooldown-dependent classes (Barbarian, Crusader, Wizard): Impale Azmodan for Fragment of Destruction, whose Messerschmidt's Reaver-like proc can help you become impactful cooldowns available ( Wrath of the Berserker, Akarat's Champion...) much faster.
Pet-based classes (Necromancer, Witch Doctor, Monk with an early gamble of The Crudest Boots): Kill Zoltun Kulle or Maghda in Act II for Dregs of Lies.
If y'all level via Massacre bonuses: Consider killing Malthael (despite the slow fight) to become Shard of Hatred, which scales your impairment the bigger your pull is.

iii.

How to subcontract Hellforge Embers in Season 25?

Hellforge Embers tin driblet from whatever type of content and game mode, exist it Bounties, Nephalem (Standard) Rifts, or Greater Rifts, starting at level 70. They are reasonably rare, merely have a higher drop rate compared to the other legendary consumable in the game, Ramaladni's Gift Ramaladni'south Gift.

Prime Evil Shards can only be socketed into helmets. They tin be upgraded with Hellforge Embers. All Prime Evil Shards follow the same progression path:

They all have a Base Power when they drop, prior to beingness upgraded.
At Rank 1, they will grant similar (but potentially stronger) benefits to having all 5 standard Flawless Majestic gems socketed at once. The upgrade will provide the Cooldown Reduction from Diamond (12.5-15%), Increased Experience Proceeds from Ruby (xl-l%), Resource Price Reduction from Topaz (12.v-fifteen%), Golden Find from Emerald (32-35%), and Life % from Amethyst (23-25%).
At Rank 2, they will provide a random defence-oriented stat ringlet between Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, or Vitality (950-1125), All Resistance (55-62), Armor (375-390), Melee Harm Reduction (15-20%), or Ranged Damage Reduction (15-xx%).
At Rank 3, they will provide some other special effect that is tied either mechanically or thematically to the Shard and its base ability.

4.1.

Sliver of Terror (Helm Soul Shard)

Base Power: "Your cooldowns are increased by 25%. For every skill on cooldown, you take 12.5% reduced damage and deal 12.v% increased damage." — Both the damage increase and damage reduction values are split multipliers that stack additively upward to 6 times (the maximum number of active skills on your bar) for a maximum of 75% damage increase and 75% damage reduction.

At Rank 3, Sliver of Terror will randomly provide ane of these three powers:

"Your Attack Speed and Disquisitional Hitting Chance are increased past 5% for each skill on cooldown." — This power scales up to 30% IAS and ChC, providing value to builds that calibration off Attack Speed, and/or are looking for to further their advantage and snowball farming runs.
"Yous cast a devastating Band of Burn later killing 100 enemies." — This power spawns a circular subversive field of approximately 20 yards which lasts for twenty seconds, burning everything within at a 4/sec. tick rate and with intensity that scales with the difficulty level (merely not actor number), meaning it maintains relevance throughout solo GR pushing. Using this power enforces a playstyle of focusing down lower health trash enemies to spawn the rings, and burning downwards elites as collateral. The kill counter is individual per role player, procs off Ring of Fire kills (meaning it feeds itself), and resets upon player expiry. This is a go-to gem for unmarried target-heavy builds, and a very strong option overall.
"If 3 or more skills are on cooldown, your Lightning and Fire skill damage are increased by 50%." — Similarly to how such bonuses piece of work on gear, this increase stacks additively with your other elemental damage sources. It kicks in when three skills proceed cooldown, and volition not deplete every bit long as at least one of them is withal on cooldown. This allows you to juggle between CDs to keep it active. Its provisional nature and relatively weaker effect makes information technology inferior to the other Shard rolls.

What this Shard is for: At the reasonable penalty of -25% CDR, this supremely powerful gem will reward y'all with massive damage and protection every bit long as y'all have skills on cooldown — with the potential to reward you even farther depending on its gyre and your build's chemical element of choice. With most builds having about three skills cast on cooldown at all times anyway, this Shard is the one y'all volition most probable use throughout Season 25.

4.2.

Shard of Hatred (Captain Soul Shard)

Base Power: "Yous bargain 15% reduced damage while you take 3 or fewer enemies within 25 yards. If more than than 3 enemies are inside the same distance, yous deal v% increased damage per enemy (to a maximum of 50%)." — Both the damage dealt increase and damage dealt reduction are dissever multipliers to your full damage calculation.

At Rank iii, Shard of Hatred will randomly provide one of these iii powers:

"You at present deal 10% for every enemy instead of 5% (to a maximum of 100%)." — This is a straight increase of the base outcome, and is the desirable roll for GR pushing with this Shard.
"Your Movement Speed is increased by 50%. Each enemy within 25 yards reduces your Movement Speed by 10% upward to 70%." — This bonus can exist quite useful when running over great distances, which applies to all Bounty setups.
"Killing an aristocracy enemy pulls all enemies within 40 yards to where the elite died." — This bonus is capped to a dozen or then monsters, and is quite underwhelming.

What this Shard is for: This Shard should more often than not be a consideration for no-cooldown builds during solo pushing, or Trash Killer builds in grouping play. With its optimal ringlet and with a moderate corporeality of displacement in your build, it tin can provide a consistent 100% damage multiplier during the Rift clear. It should be noted that the Shard will actually be a detriment during single target Rift Guardian fights, as it drops down to its fifteen% penalization value in fights with 3 or fewer enemies.

4.iii.

Fragment of Destruction (Helm Soul Shard)

Base of operations Power: "You movement unhindered through enemies. Each enemy you pass through receives the Mark of Destruction for 7 seconds. Each marked enemy that dies removes ane second from 1 of your skills on cooldown. If the Marking of Destruction expires earlier the enemy dies, y'all lose 2% of your maximum health as damage. Marks are non practical if you are below 35% health." — This Shard offers support and utility-oriented powers, as it provides an amalgamation of the powers of Messerschmidt's Reaver Messerschmidt'south Reaver and Illusory Boots as a base effect.

At Rank iii, Fragment of Destruction will randomly provide one of these three powers:

"When you utilise Marker of Destruction to an enemy, you increase your Move Speed by 5% for 7 seconds. Max 10 Stacks." — This is the become-to bonus for any T16 speedfarming build that demolishes the difficulty damage-wise.
"You now go out a trail of burn in your wake that slays enemies with the Mark of Destruction that are below 10% health." — These are The Executioner cull and Fire Walkers effects stacked in one, making this particular Shard desirable on Back up characters in group play.
"You have a 25% take a chance to restore 5% wellness when an enemy dies with Mark of Destruction agile." — The conditional nature (Life per Kill) and depression values of this bonus make it underwhelming and undesirable.

What this Shard is for: This Shard will exist very valuable to Support builds for group GR farming/pushing with the culling effect gyre. It should also be considered for many standard builds during T16 key farming with the move speed curlicue.

Lesser Evil Shards can simply be socketed into weapons. They tin be upgraded with Hellforge Embersouthward. All Lesser Evil Shards follow the same progression path:

They all accept a Base Power when they drop, prior to beingness upgraded.
At Rank 1, they will grant similar (just potentially stronger) benefits to having all 5 standard Flawless Imperial gems socketed at one time. The upgrade will provide the Elite Damage Increment from Diamond (20-25%), Flat Damage Increase from Ruby-red (270-300), Thorns Harm from Topaz (38,000-40,000), Crit Impairment from Emerald (130-150%), and Life per Hit from Amethyst (28,00-xxx,000).
At Rank two, they will provide a random offense-oriented stat curl between Weapon Damage Increase (10-15%), Elemental Damage (xx-25%), Crit Chance (seven-10%), or Assault Speed (12-fifteen%).
At Rank iii, they will provide some other special upshot that is tied either mechanically or thematically to the Shard and its base power.

v.1.

Essence of Ache (Weapon Soul Shard)

Base Ability: "Every time you deal Poison damage to an enemy yous increase your Cooldown Reduction and Movement Speed by ii.5% while your damage received is increased by 5% for 10 seconds. Max 10 stacks." — All of the Shard's effects stack additively for a full of 25% CDR, 25% Movement Speed, and a 50% increase in damage taken at the 10 stack maximum. Stacks are attained per enemy hit, and trigger off Poisonous substance skills (for Witch Doctors and Necromancers) or weapon damage blazon rolled into Poisonous substance (similarly to how Elemental Exposure works). This makes it available to all builds and classes by but rerolling the weapon impairment to the Poison subtype; on tiptop of that, information technology tin trigger off your Follower'due south weapon every bit well, making it extremely easy to attain.

At Rank three, Essence of Anguish volition randomly provide one of these three powers:

"When you kill an enemy, you deal the damage done by the decease blow to all enemies within 25 yards. Pets and Followers cannot trigger this effect." — This bonus provides more value to builds that swivel on a singular hard hits, or ones that are express past a small-scale surface area of effect. While you only become one detonation even when several monsters are slain at one time, it will proc Expanse Impairment.
"Your Motion Speed and Cooldown Reduction can exist increased up to 15 times by dealing Poison damage to an enemy." — This is a decent bonus for speedfarming setups, specially for the long distances of Bounties; at its maximum, it provides 37.v% CDR and Motion Speed.
"When you deal Toxicant damage to an enemy, they receive 50% increased Poison impairment from all sources for ten seconds." — This bonus functions somewhat similarly to Gem of Efficacious Toxin, increasing damage against afflicted enemies by fifty% multiplicatively for yourself and any other party members. Unlike the Toxin gem yet, the bonus does not stack for multiple Shards in the aforementioned grouping.

What this Shard is for: This is an incredibly potent Shard for a vast array of damage-dealing builds. Information technology provides a solid amount of Cooldown Reduction (that can annul the penalty from Sliver of Terror, for example), and diverse universally useful bonuses at Rank 3. Most, if not all, DPS builds can use this gem to corking result.

5.2.

Dregs of Lies (Weapon Soul Shard)

Base Ability: "You deal 25% less damage. Your pets deal 25% increased damage." — Both bonuses are multiplicative in nature and simply affect their respective categories, meaning your own damage reduced volition not affect the pets scaling.

At Rank 3, Dregs of Lies will randomly provide i of these three powers:

"Each fourth dimension your pet hits an enemy, your damage is increased past 0.5% for 5 seconds. This stacks up to 100 times. When you attain 100 stacks, the stacks speedily reset to 0." — This impairment bonus is multiplicative in nature and, once maximized, depletes at a xx stack/sec. rate. For DPS pet builds, this jewel is an absolutely mandatory inclusion.
"Killing an elite enemy reduces all your active cooldowns by v seconds." — This bonus can be useful in T16 speed farming pet builds, as cooldowns are reduced for each enemy killed from an Elite enemy pack (including the Minions). It will non proc off group members' kills.
"On receiving fatal damage, spawn a shadow that prevents your decease, restores your health to 35%, and grants +225 All Resist to all political party members while it is active. The shadow merely lasts 15 seconds." — This power functions on a sixty sec. cooldown, similarly to the Cheat Death passives bachelor to all classes. This Shard power is pretty useless to both DPS and Support builds, since ways to get a second life proc are available both in your passives and your Follower skills.

What this Shard is for: This Shard is strictly oriented towards pet builds with a baseline multiplicative pet damage increase, along with a damage buildup mechanic on ane of the iii possible rolls. The Shard can besides be adapted to speedfarming with its In-geom In-geom-like roll.

5.3.

Remnant of Pain (Weapon Soul Shard)

Base Ability: "Your Critical Hit Adventure is reduced by 15%. Attacks against Incapacitated enemies are automatically critical hits." — The rules for Incapacitation are consistent with other items in the game, and apply to difficult crowd control furnishings: Stun, Freeze, Bullheaded, Fearfulness, and Charm. Sources of damage that traditionally exercise not apply Critical Hits (such every bit Thorns) are as well included in this ability, empowering them in a non-conventional way.

At Rank 3, Remnant of Pain volition randomly provide i of these iii powers:

"When you critically hit an enemy, you increase the Assail Speed of all players by 5% for five seconds. Max 10 stacks." — This bonus functions similarly to Increased Assault Speed rolls on gear and is additive in nature. Only one of this event can exist active per party.
Hitting enemies with Common cold harm has a fifty% chance to Freeze them. Cold skill damage is increased to Frozen targets by 20%. — This is a separate damage multiplier against afflicted targets, which volition remain incapacitated for a 3 sec. menstruum.
Proceeds Passability while your Movement Speed bonus is over 50%. When you motion through enemies, y'all knock them dorsum and Stun them for 2 seconds. — This bonus undermines the base powers of the Shard by rapidly building up the monsters' crowd command immunity (successive applications of CC make monsters gradually allowed to CC). There are much better ways to displace enemies and proceeds Passability, so yous should not employ this power.

What this Shard is for: This is a more powerful have on the Ethereal Buriza power from Season 24, assuasive you lot to completely shift abroad from Crit Chance stats on gear and focus on difficult Crowd Control furnishings to guarantee your critical hits instead.

5.4.

Stain of Sin (Weapon Soul Shard)

Base Power: "You deal 25% less damage. When you kill 50 enemies, y'all spawn a pool of blood that increases the damage done to Elite enemies past 150% and lasts 15 seconds." — The puddle spreads out from the Shard-wearing player into a 45 thousand spanning circle, additively increasing damage against Elites within its radius. The kill counter to trigger the upshot tin be stacked by all party members. The wearer's damage dealt reduced effect is multiplicative in nature.

At Rank 3, Stain of Sin will randomly provide one of these iii powers:

"You gain an additional Rift Progress Orb when you kill an aristocracy pack." — The actress Orb spawns correct by the wearer and tin be triggered by all party members. This Shard is desired by all supports and tin can too exist used for speed farming builds.
"The pool of blood now negates Elite affixes inside its area." — Considering the power and survivability pitter-patter in Season 25, this bonus volition not exist necessary.
"The pool of blood now collects Rift Progress Orbs." — Stacking pickup radius is a much simpler way to attain a like event, then this bonus should non be used.

What this Shard is for: This Shard is amazing for Support characters in groups, as information technology allows the Support to spawn the buffing are of result once the Trash Killer group member does his initial clear, and helps the group mop up any remaining Elites with a massive damage bonus. The additional progress orb will also brand runs that much faster.

30 December. 2021: Guide updated with the revised values on Rank 1 and two rolls.
10 Dec. 2021: Guide revised with the finalized versions of the Shards.
xxx Nov. 2021: Guide revised with advice on farming Soul Shards.
thirteen Nov. 2021: Guide added.

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