Corrupted Ashbringer

Ashbringer in its pure (left) and corrupted (right) state

Corrupted Ashbringer is a Legendary Two-handed Sword in Diablo III, added in Patch 2.2.0. It requires character level 70 to drop.

The unique Legendary power switches between two modes which provide different benefits:

• Raising skeletons has no internal cooldown but a relatively low chance of triggering per kill, and of course is useless against bosses that don't summon minions. However, the skeletons do not have a timed life, are invulnerable, and deal roughly 100% damage as Physical. They do move quite slowly, so a fast-moving character may leave them behind easily.
• The exploding skeletons upon mode switch have a very small radius (10 yards at most), but their blasts may overlap, potentially dealing full 5000% damage to a single foe.
• The empowered sword lasts approximately 10 seconds, and adds extra damage to every attack, regardless of its Proc Coefficient. The extra damage will not trigger at all on Damage Over Time effects. For other skills, it happens one time per cast, usually damaging the first enemy hit, or the one closest to the center of area of effect. The empowered sword glows white in-game during this period.

Unlike most Legendary items, the Ashbringer's unique power may not be extracted via Archive of Tal Rasha transmutation in Kanai's Cube.

Stats (Level 70)

The Ashbringer is one of the few items with bonus damage against undead.

Corrupted Ashbringer
Legendary Two-Handed Sword

• 3120.0 – 3488.0 Damage Per Second
  • [2314 – 2576]–[3112 – 3490] Damage
  • 1.15 Attacks Per Second

Properties:

• +[1177 – 1439]–[1410 – 1788] Poison Damage
• One of 3 Magic Properties (varies):
  • +946–1125 to a primary stat
• +2 Random Primary Magic Properties
• +9–15% Damage to Undead
• +1 Random Secondary Magic Property
• Chance on kill to raise a skeleton to fight for you. Upon accumulating 5 skeletons, they each explode for 1000% damage as Holy and the sword transforms into Ashbringer for a short time. Attacking with Ashbringer burns your enemy for 5000–6000% damage as Holy.

Stories tell of a great paladin who wore a single gauntlet of silver and wielded a mighty sword with a flashing jewel. He dispatched thousands of Risen Dead and Wretched Mothers, but fell to a tragic end. This sword bears some resemblance to the legends, but its jewel is dark and threatening. Perhaps there is more to the story?

Trivia

This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.

• Corrupted Ashbringer is a reproduction of the Ashbringer, an iconic artifact from World of Warcraft. Its flavor text and power to transform into a purified form is a reference to its evolution throughout Warcraft lore. Ashbringer was forged with the power of the Holy Light and was a powerful weapon against the undead, used by the leader of the Paladin order, It became corrupted when used by the leader's son to murder him, and was later purified and returned to the Paladin order.
  • If one listens in-game and in the character screen, they can hear faint whispers, similar to the World of Warcraft item.
• The floating skull of the dark form always gazes at the player, regardless of the sword's angle to the camera.