Like many other people, over the weekend I worked on Diablo IV’s Server Slam, wanting to test out how they had changed the classes after the previous beta test. This time, I was focused on getting the Cry of Ashava Mount Trophy, earned from defeating the world boss Ashava. However, in fighting Ashava twice, I noticed some serious issues with this system and the limitations of the Server Slam. So, let’s get into it.

Now, before we go into the full details here, I need to give you some context. I fought Ashava twice, the first time on World Tier II (the harder mode) and the second time on (the easier mode) World Tier I. Because the Server Slam beta was capped at level 20, and Ashava herself was level 25, this was already a difficult setup. I played a Sorcerer, which wound up being great for me because I was (most of the time) at a distance from the boss.

However, I know several people who missed out on the boss because Blizzard’s servers locked them out right before the boss fight began. If you didn’t make it to the fight before it started, you were unable to participate. Additionally, the boss fight had a 15-minute timer, so if you didn’t kill Ashava (with your group) at the end of the 15 minutes, she would flee, and you’d get nothing.

I fought Ashava on World Tier II with two friends of mine, and a group of around 10-12 people total. We killed the boss with about 3 minutes or so left on the clock. However, Ashava was killing us all in one hit, and some of us (myself included) spent a fair bit of time resurrecting other players rather than attacking the boss, simply so we’d have enough people overall to fight her.

This was also complicated by the fact that when you die, you get the option to resurrect back at your last checkpoint (usually a town). However, if you do so, it is very unlikely that you’ll be able to get back to the boss before the time is up. Unless you teleport to a party member, you’ll likely wind up in a whole other group entirely. I knew this ahead of time thanks to a friend running into this issue, but since the game doesn’t tell you that outright, I heard about several people being unable to kill Ashava due to members of their group disappearing.

Instead of restarting at the checkpoint, you’re meant to let people resurrect you. However, Ashava jumps around, sometimes staying on top of your corpse (if you die from her attacks) for long periods, making it risky to resurrect you. This wasn’t much of an issue until the second time I fought her, but several players died trying to resurrect other players over the course of the fight. Additionally, the game doesn’t tell you how to resurrect other players at all, so it is something you have to figure out in the midst of things.

What struck me as odd, is that on World Tier I, just like in World Tier II, Ashava killed me (and other players) in one hit. We wound up not killing Ashava on World Tier I because there were so many of us dead at one point that it took a tremendous effort to resurrect enough people to deal damage to the boss. Also, I couldn’t see a clear difference in damage amounts that I was doing from Tier I to Tier II.

We ultimately ran out of time to defeat Ashava during the World Tier I fight. However, this led me to several conclusions. For one, Ashava’s damage was either tuned too high for World Tier I, or her defense was tuned too high across the board. Technically both could be true, because I saw no difference in my damage output between Tier I and Tier II, even though logic dictates that I should have done more damage on Tier I.

Alternately, if they wanted to keep her defense at the level it is, then they needed to extend the timer to 20 or even 30 minutes. Since the World Boss arrived every 3 hours, there would be no harm in giving people extra time. Between Ashava being over-tuned, a lack of tutorial for people who have never done these sorts of world bosses before, and the issue of people getting locked out and being unable to do the boss, there is a big problem here.

Not everyone could try the boss every 3 hours until they managed to get lucky enough to kill her. This wouldn’t be so bad if it was for bragging rights. However, some folks tried really hard to get the Cry of Ashava Mount Trophy, and since it was a beta exclusive they’ll be unable to get ahold of it. This is especially frustrating for people who got locked out without being able to even attempt the boss.

Truth be told, I think one of two things should happen. Either during Diablo IV’s launch week they should make Ashava available to possibly let players get that reward, or they should make it available for anyone who attempted to fight Ashava even if they failed. They put us at a disadvantage locking us at level 20, plus the Legendary drop rate was absolutely abysmal. So, something needs to happen for folks to have a fair deal here.

Overall, Diablo IV’s Server Slam was a fun ride, though I think they nerfed several classes (or overall class damage) a bit too hard. I’m excited for the game to launch in full, but I really do hope that Blizzard does something to make this right for people who couldn’t defeat Ashava over the weekend. The world boss functionality is an interesting idea, and the challenge was fun overall, but there were some clear issues.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!