Soul Ash is the currency used by the Runecarver in Torghast to craft and upgrade Legendary gear. It's difficult to "farm" Soul Ash in World of Warcraft because of the weekly resets on both Torghast wings, which only allows players to harvest Soul Ash for each wing only once a week. There are reliable methods to establishing a Soul Ash farm and keeping a steady flow going between weekly resets, but those wells do dry up slightly after a bit.
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Soon after entering the Shadowlands (and after finishing The Maw intro), opportunities for Soul Ash farming arise. Bolvar will task the player with rescuing other members of the Alliance and the Horde in Torghast. These quests are one-time only, but are an alternative for those who don't have the patience to push their Torghast layers higher day in day out. After completing Torghast a few times and completing the introductory quests, players should have enough Soul Ash to craft a Legendary. Maybe they'll even be able to upgrade it.
Updated August 8, 2021 by Erik Petrovich: Soul Ash farming in Shadowlands is a bit less of a grind than it used to be, thanks to the inclusion of four new levels of Torghast and an overall increase in payout for completing levels of the sprawling dungeon. While these amounts increased with the 9.1 update, the amount required to forge and upgrade Legendaries has stayed the same, making end-game progression just a little bit more manageable for most players. With the removal of the limit on the resource, it's easier than ever to farm Soul Ash.
6 What Is Soul Ash Used For?
Soul Ash is a new resource in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, one that is exclusively used with the Runecarver to create Legendary items. These upgrades can be done procedurally or all at once, depending on how much Soul Ash the player has on hand. With the removal of the Soul Ash limit in 9.1, it's a bit easier to collect the resource over a span of time without worrying about wasting one's time.
Initial Legendary "Purchase"
The initial cost of acquiring a Legendary item from the Runecarver is 1,250 Soul Ash for an item of Item Level 190. 1,250 Soul Ash is just over the normal amount for completing the Torghast questline to rescue Anduin, meaning players will have to go on at least one run of the randomly-generated dungeon to afford their entry-level Legendary.
Upgrade System
Legendary items can be upgraded five times to a maximum of 260 Item Level. Each step of upgrade progression costs more Soul Ash than the last, except for the fifth and sixth upgrades which each cost the same amount with a different amount of additional Cinders.
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- Rank One (Entry Item): 190 Item level for 1,250 Soul Ash
- Rank Two: 210 Item Level for 2,000 Soul Ash
- Rank Three: 225 Item Level for 3,200 Soul Ash
- Rank Four: 235 Item Level for 5,150 Soul Ash
- Rank Five: 250 Item Level for 5,150 Soul Ash and 400 Cinders.
- Rank Six: 260 Item Level for 5,150 Soul Ash and 1,650 Cinders
These ranks can be bought all at once, or in steps as the player amasses enough of the resource to afford it. They can also be crafted initially at higher Item Levels; however, players will have to fork over the entire cumulative amount for an instant max-level item – this comes out to about 21,900 Soul Ash alongside 2,050 Cinders. That's a lot of Torghast runs!
5 Complete Wings In Torghast Until Layer 12
- Total Soul Ash: 1,040 Soul Ash for each wing, drops in smaller amounts as player continues through floors
- Repeatability: Not repeatable, layers stay unlocked permanently once reached for that wing and it's best to just do the highest-level available
When first starting out in Torghast, players can only do layer one of each wing. When the player completes layer 1, the second layer will unlock for each wing. This even includes the wing that wasn't completed at layer 1. The higher the layers go, the more effective a Soul Ash farm it is. However, the individual reward for each layer actually goes down as the layers go up. This means that completing a layer 2 run of a wing in Torghast will result in both layer 1 and layer 2 rewards, but the layer 2 reward will be significantly less than the layer 1 reward.
Completing layer 2 unlocks layer 3 unlocks for both wings, and so on. A layer 12 reward is measly on its own, but completing a layer 12 Torghast run fresh will grant the player all eight layers of rewards. It's usually best to switch between wings at every level. This will maximize the Soul Ash earned and avoid wasting time doing layers that players will get the reward for either way.
4 Complete Layer 12 Of Both Wings Each Week
- Total Soul Ash: 2,080 Soul Ash, 1,040 for each wing
- Repeatability: Each wing can be completed once each week, starting again at the weekly reset
When players unlock the maximum layer of Torghast, it stays unlocked. Players don't have to progress through Torghast from the start every week. Instead, they can jump in, do the level 12 layer for each wing, and jump out. They don't lose rewards for not completing earlier layers, either. Every layer's reward piles up into one big Soul Ash drop for each wing. At layer 12, each available wing drops 1,040 Soul Ash. This means that when both wings are completed, the player will receive a total of 2,080 Soul Ash.
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Only two wings are available each week, preventing players from farming Soul Ash quickly; however, this the limit was removed with the 9.1 update. Unfortunately, the Twisting Corridors wing in Torghast does not reward Soul Ash, only cosmetics and a mount usable in the Maw on the final layer. Considering it costs 1,250 to create a new legendary piece of gear, and 750 to improve it to just the second upgrade level, it's best not to waste time in the Twisting Corridors when it comes to establishing a regular WoW Soul Ash farm.
3 Send Companions On Adventures In The Maw
- Total Soul Ash: Varies, tends to drop in a random number of Tokens which can be used to redeem 250 Soul Ash
- Repeatability: Adventurer missions can be completed when they show up, usually more than once a week
The Command Table is unlockable for each Covenant and performs largely the same function it has in the last few expansions. The player acquires companions that they can send on custom Adventures, which take real-life time to complete. When done, those companions gain experience and abilities. Meanwhile, the player receives various rewards, ranging from small sums of gold to crafting materials and beyond. It actually ends up being one of the fastest ways to get Soul Ash aside from repeated Torghast runs.
An adventure in The Maw might randomly pop up on the command table, which always yields some amount of Soul Ash upon completion. These adventures have special effects, though, that players should check on before sending companions to The Maw. They're also much harder than the others on offer – after all, Soul Ash is a valuable currency. These usually pop up once a day, so keep an eye out and send only the best companions.
2 Rescue Baine To Start Searching For Jaina and Thrall
- Total Soul Ash: 850 Soul Ash, encapsulating all but the Anduin-focused story quests
- Repeatability: Not repeatable, these quests are only completable once per character
The introductory questline for Torghast involves helping Bolvar Fordragon locate Baine Bloodhood, Jaina Proudmoore, and former Horde Warchief Thrall from the clutches of The Jailer. The quest to rescue Baine doesn't grant any additional Soul Ash; however, the following questline that leads to Jaina and Thrall does. The quest "Explore Torghast" rewards 200 Soul Ash for locating a hint for Jaina's location in Torghast. It doesn't matter which wings are available currently – the clue can be found anywhere.
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The following quests, "Remnants of Hope" and "Information for a Price", grant 150 Soul Ash together. Meanwhile, the quests to find Thrall ("Finding A Witness" and "Lest The Trail Go Cold") provide 50 each. The quests that directly involve saving Jaina and Thrall grant 200 each, making for a grand total of 850 extra Soul Ash just for talking to Bolvar while completing Torghast.
Soul Ash farming is a drawn-out process. Making sure to pick up even the non-repeatable sources of the resource is essential to acquiring a legendary faster.
1 Complete The Questline To Find Anduin In Torghast
- Total Soul Ash: 300 Soul Ash, completing the Shadowlands Torghast questline
- Repeatability: Not repeatable, can only be completed once per character
The questline to find Anduin, titled "Signs of the Lion" is the only one that grants the player any Soul Ash for completing the Twisting Corridors. The Twisting Corridors are 18 layers deep, though, so players should be prepared to spend a considerable amount of time in the Tower of the Damned.
This quest only gives 50 Soul Ash upon completion, but its follow-up (and the final quest in the questline) grants 250 Soul Ash for witnessing the "No More Lies" cutscene, added in 9.1.