The Ember Grades
The ember remembers the blade, not the iron.
on every endgame boss card you may choose a grade. Each grade makes the boss tougher (health ×1.25, damage ×1.06) and pays Grade Ember for it; grade 0 is the boss as you know him. Hral forges your relics on with Grade Ember (page Relics).
A boss you fell for the tenth time is not the same as the first time. He remembers you, more clearly each time, and at the great forge Hral can hear how clearly. What falls off he calls Grade Ember and beats it into the relics. Borin says a miracle and a curse bear the same handwriting. Hral says nothing and keeps forging.World Chronicle · Anvil-master Hral and the Ember Grades
How the Ember Grades work
From Ashfall 3 every endgame boss carries a ladder of voluntary grades: dungeons mystic and abyssal, world bosses, epochs, titans. Grade n opens once grade n−1 of that boss is down; the other bosses of a chain start at half your best grade.
Per grade: health ×1.25, damage ×1.06. XP and gold +20% per grade while the daily or weekly loot is open. At grades 3, 6, 10, 15 and 20 an ember mark is added (Wrath, Ember Shield, Ember Burn, Ember Plate, Afterglow).
Every win from grade 1 gives Grade Ember = square root of the boss's hardness. The daily-loot win is free, every repeat costs one ember charge from Hral's ember bowl (24 slots, a new one every 60 minutes, offline too). At grades 5, 10, 15 … each boss gives one Grade Seal once.
Nobody fights bosses offline, so there is no Grade Ember offline — but the ember bowl fills up. The Ashfall keeps everything: ladders, best times, Grade Ember, Grade Seals, relic levels. You will be weaker afterwards and pick a lower grade yourself. In World Ablaze every boss has its own ladder.
The ladder
Every grade makes the boss tougher and pays more. These grades bring something new:
| Grade | Reward (daily loot) | New from this grade |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | +20 % | Achievement and frame Glimmer · Voice from the ash |
| 2 | +40 % | Achievement and frame Blaze · Voice from the ash |
| 3 | +60 % | Ember mark Wrath · Achievement and frame Forgefire · Voice from the ash |
| 4 | +80 % | Achievement and frame Inferno · Voice from the ash |
| 5 | +100 % | Grade Seal · Achievement and frame White Heat · Title „Grade Bearer“ · Voice from the ash |
| 6 | +120 % | Ember mark Ember Shield · Voice from the ash |
| 7 | +140 % | Voice from the ash |
| 8 | +160 % | Voice from the ash |
| 9 | +180 % | Voice from the ash |
| 10 | +200 % | Ember mark Ember Burn · Grade Seal · deep drone in battle · Voice from the ash |
| 11 | +220 % | Title „The Unforgotten“ · Voice from the ash |
| 12 | +240 % | Voice from the ash |
| 15 | +300 % | Ember mark Ember Plate · Grade Seal |
| 20 | +400 % | Ember mark Afterglow · Grade Seal · Voice from the ash |
| 25 | +500 % | Grade Seal · Voice from the ash |
After that the ladder goes on until you fail.
Titans of Ash
Three new weekly titans beyond Kholmoss, each with its own ember grade ladder.
Voices from the ash
At these grades the ash speaks to you:
You asked him for the first time. He does not answer right away.Grade 1
Twice. The ash does not remember faces, only paths.Grade 2
The ember grows brighter when you give it resistance.Grade 3
Four rungs deep. Down here no one counts in days any more.Grade 4
Five. A dozen smiths died before this number.Grade 5
The anvil rings differently when it knows you.Grade 6
Here stands the wall. Whoever touches it leaves a hand behind.Grade 7
Eight. Someone carved your name into the stone, and it was not you.Grade 8
Nine times you asked the fire. It listened.Grade 9
He has not forgotten you. He only waited for you to come back.Grade 10
White heat. Nothing about you is chance any more.Grade 11
Twelve. The ash has stopped counting and begins to wait.Grade 12
Remembered twenty times. Some day he will remember more than you.Grade 20
Now he knows your name. Do not say it back.Grade 25
