Set just after the events of Diablo 2, players of Diablo Immortal take on the role of a new breed of heroes tasked to protect Sanctuary from the remnants of evil after the defeat of the Prime Evils. Thankfully, the Horadric Order had anticipated such an occasion and, through Horadric Vessels, offer Sanctuary’s protectors with guidance on how to slay evils from the Nine Hells. Players of Diablo Immortal activate a Vessel as soon as they put them in the Legacy Shrine inside the Sanctum of Iben Fahd.
Vessels are one of many items that provide buffs to characters, and may provide bonuses when upgraded regularly. Doing so requires Culling Stones, special upgrade materials located exclusively in chests inside the Sanctum. Opening these chests require Aspirant’s Keys, which are found in various areas in the Diablo game.
About Horadric Vessels & Culling Stones
Lore-wise, Horadric Vessels are objects that contain the Essence or souls of some of the most powerful scholars of the Horadrim. These Vessels allow Horadric scholars to impart their knowledge to those they deem worthy. In terms of gameplay, Horadric Vessels serve as the free-to-play stat boosters that players can access without necessarily paying real money. Similar to other endgame progression systems in Diablo Immortal, Horadric Vessels can be improved should players provide them with enough materials to make them suitable for both ordinary and broken Diablo Immortal builds.
These materials come in the form of Culling Stones, items exclusively used to improve Horadric Vessels. However, in order to access Culling Stones, players first have to open special Chests inside Iben Fahd’s Sanctum. The only way they can open those Chests is through Aspirant’s Keys.
Acquiring Aspirant’s Keys
If players are afraid of Diablo Immortal making free-to-play progression extremely difficult in the context of Aspirant’s Keys, they don’t need to worry much. The game offers many ways to obtain the item across a game session. Depending on the player’s plans, they may be able to obtain quite a lot of Aspirant’s Keys in a day. Here are some of the most popular methods to obtain Aspirant’s Keys in Diablo Immortal.
First Kill Of The Day Track
When players log into Diablo Immortal daily, they may be able to earn various rewards by completing various objectives. One such reward may be any number of Aspirant’s Keys through the “First Kill of the Day” rewards track. The number of Aspirant’s Keys gathered is usually five, but may change every week. As such, Diablo Immortal players shouldn’t make the mistake of skipping out on these rewards.
Finish Iben Fahd’s Sanctum Depths
One of the many activities Diablo Immortal offers on a daily basis is the Sanctum Depths, which essentially allows players to visit the Sanctum and defeat various enemies to earn Aspirant’s Keys. Theoretically, players can get at least four Keys for free by doing this, which then can help them open around three Chests. However, players should note that while Bounties can stack in rewards when skipped for days at a time, skipping out on a Sanctum will have players lose out on potential Keys for that day.
Hilts Trader
Players who have extra Hilts would want to try exchanging them for Aspirant’s Keys via the Hilts Trader. A set of five Aspirant’s Keys can be obtained for 50 Hilts, and can be purchased once a day.
This might seem like a fair bargain, although players may want to save up their Hilts for other upgrades instead. Hilts can also be used to purchase Legendary Crests and even Enchanted Dust, which helps for players also hunting for Legendary Gems.
Kion’s Ordeal, Blessing Of Daedessa
When players join either the Immortals or the Shadows in Diablo Immortal, they’re able to do a wide variety of events. In the case of the Immortals, they can do something called Kion’s Ordeal. This may grant them the Blessing of Daedessa, which allows them to get Blessed Chest that may contain Aspirant’s Keys when doing Elder Rifts.
The catch here is that, should the Immortals fail Kion’s Ordeal, they have to do an additional set of objectives or else the Shadows will get the Blessing instead. Players who have this Blessing active should make use of the opportunity to farm Elder Rifts
Battlegrounds PVP
Players who loved Diablo Immortal’s PVP component may want to consider joining the game’s Battlegrounds PVP. Ranking up in the Battlegrounds gives players various Keys, which incentivizes the players’ progress.
Different numbers of Keys earned across each rank:
- Bronze: 5 Aspirant’s Keys per Rank Up
- SIlver: 6 Aspirant’s Keys per Rank Up
- Gold: 7 Aspirant’s Keys per Rank Up
- Legend: 10 Aspirant’s Keys for reaching the Rank
Empowered Battle Pass
Players who have extra cash and want to invest in their character growth may consider upgrading their Battle Pass into the Empowered Battle Pass. Leveling up the Battle Pass will give players various rewards, including Aspirant’s Keys scattered across various levels, similar to the Diablo 3 grind. These vary per Battle Pass, so players should note which ranks hold Aspirant’s Keys and if the purchase is a worthy investment.
Limited Bundles
Players who have the money but don’t want to get the Empowered Battle Pass may go straight ahead and purchase Limited Bundles that have particular sets of rewards within them. What’s notable here is that a lot of the Limited Bundles contain a lot of Aspirant’s Keys, and the number each Bundle has depends on what players avail. Here are the current Limited Bundles:
- Aspirant’s Supplies (1 per Week): Aspirant’s Keys x 170
- Magnate’s Supplies (1 per Month): Aspirant’s Keys x 170 (plus 30 Legendary Crests, 30 Normal Gems)
- Pit of Anguish Trove (1 purchase): Aspirant’s Keys x 60 (plus 10 Legendary Crests, 1560 Eternal Orbs)
- Champion’s Trove, Hell 2 (1 purchase): Aspirant’s Keys x200 (plus 13 Legendary Crests, 1800 Eternal Orbs)
Diablo Immortal is available for iOS, Android, and PC.