In Diablo 4 Season 8, Forgotten Souls have quickly become one of the most in-demand materials in the game. They're critical for upgrading and rerolling Ancestral gear, especially when you're chasing perfect affixes like double crit rolls or specific class-based stats. The problem is, these Souls run out fast, far faster than many other crafting materials.

While you may have piles of Obducite, Tempering materials, and Diablo IV gold, you'll often find yourself stuck with barely any Forgotten Souls when trying to fine-tune your best items. This bottleneck has gotten so bad for some players that they've stopped farming new gear altogether, simply because they can't afford the upgrade costs anymore.

If you're in the same situation, this guide is for you. Below, we'll break down the best and fastest ways to farm Forgotten Souls in Diablo 4 Season 8, based on testing, feedback from top players, and insight from our team.

Why Forgotten Souls Are Crucial in Season 8

Forgotten Souls are mainly used to upgrade and reroll the affixes on high-end gear. In Season 8, many players are heavily focused on Ancestral items, and rerolling these can cost multiple Souls per attempt. Trying to hit ideal stats—like double Crit Chance or Crit Damage, Cooldown Reduction, and class-specific bonuses—means spending dozens, sometimes hundreds, of Souls per item.

Unlike other materials, Forgotten Souls aren't something you passively accumulate in large quantities unless you go out of your way to farm them. That's where this guide comes in.

1. Helltides (Chests, Events, and Salvage)

Helltides remain one of the most reliable and efficient ways to gather Forgotten Souls. These events appear regularly and allow you to earn Souls in multiple ways:

• Opening Tortured Gifts (chests) across the Helltide zone.

• Completing Helltide events which can drop Souls as rewards.

• Salvaging legendaries found during Helltide runs.

If you commit to clearing as many chests and events as possible during each Helltide window, you'll quickly see your Soul count climb. While you might only get a few Souls here and there, the consistency adds up—players often find themselves with hundreds, if not thousands, after a few solid Helltide sessions.

This is a “slow and steady” approach, but it's great for players who already enjoy doing Helltides for other loot and materials.

2. Seasonal Bosses and Reputation Caches

In Season 8, one of the best new methods for farming Forgotten Souls is by killing seasonal bosses, especially Belial on Torment 4 difficulty. Here's why this method is so effective:

• Each boss drop includes 7–9 Forgotten Souls from hoard chests.

• Every six runs, you get a seasonal reputation cache with 35–40 extra Souls.

• You can chain runs for hours, earning thousands of Souls in a relatively short time.

This method shines because it's consistent and scales well. Many players have reported pulling in 10,000 Souls in under 8 hours with an efficient group.

The seasonal reputation system also allows you to convert your rep into caches that include Forgotten Souls. This adds another layer of farming efficiency, especially if you're already progressing through the season's content and hitting reputation milestones.

3. Tree of Whispers (Material Caches)

The Tree of Whispers is another valuable, though inconsistent, source of Forgotten Souls. Specifically, Greater Material Caches can include Souls, sometimes in large quantities.

Some players have received over 100 Forgotten Souls in a single cache, while others report getting as little as 5–10. This randomness makes it difficult to rely on the Tree exclusively, but it's a decent supplementary method.

A key frustration players have voiced is the lack of clarity around which caches drop Souls. For example, some buy Masterworking Caches hoping for Souls, only to find Obols or Obducite instead. If you're going to use this method, stick to the Greater Material Caches specifically labeled to contain crafting materials.

4. Nightmare Dungeons (For Legendary Salvage)

Nightmare Dungeons don't drop Forgotten Souls directly, but they're excellent if you want to farm legendaries for salvage. Salvaging legendary gear can yield a Forgotten Soul, and Nightmare Dungeons are often faster and easier to run than other activities like Infernal Hordes.

• Many Nightmare Dungeons can be cleared in under a minute with a good build.

• They also drop Obducite and Distilled Fear, making them even more worthwhile.

If you're already grinding Nightmare Dungeons for XP, glyph upgrades, or Sigils, salvaging your loot along the way is a great way to slowly build up a Soul stash.

5. Infernal Hordes (Lower Efficiency)

Infernal Hordes are still listed as a Forgotten Soul source in-game, but in practice, the drop rate is underwhelming.

• Our testing resulted in around 500 Forgotten Souls per hour during intense farming.

• Compared to other sources, this method is slower and less rewarding for the time investment.

That said, if you're farming Hordes anyway for Obducite or boss summoning materials, the Souls are a nice bonus. Just don't rely on Hordes alone if Souls are your priority.

Many players have voiced concerns that even after multiple hours of Hordes, they didn't have enough Souls to fully upgrade one build. If Forgotten Souls is your goal, better options exist.

6. Legion Events and Dark Citadel

Large-scale events like Legion Events and the Dark Citadel can also drop Forgotten Souls. However, these events are best considered supplementary sources rather than primary farming routes.

• They do drop legendaries, which can be salvaged for Souls.

• The Souls from event chests and enemy drops are inconsistent and low in volume.

These events are worth doing if they pop up while you're in the area or as part of your usual rotation. But if your goal is to farm Forgotten Souls specifically, you'll want to combine this with other activities.

7. Bartering for Reputation Caches

Once you've completed the seasonal storyline and built up your reputation, you unlock the ability to barter for reputation caches that contain Forgotten Souls.

The process isn't always clear to new players. To redeem your rep, visit the main hub bulletin board and exchange excess reputation for caches. These caches often contain generous amounts of Souls.

This method is especially valuable in the mid-to-late season, when you've likely maxed out your seasonal rep and have nothing else to spend it on. Turning it into Souls is one of the best uses of that surplus.

How to Combine Methods for Best Results

If you want to maximize your Forgotten Soul farming without burning out, the best approach is a hybrid strategy that combines several methods:

• Start your day with Helltide rotations to passively farm Souls and salvage materials.

• Run Nightmare Dungeons in between Helltide windows to stock up on salvage gear.

• Chain seasonal boss runs (Belial on T4) in a group for quick reputation gains and Souls.

• Redeem seasonal rep as soon as you unlock the barter system for bonus caches.

• Do Legion and Citadel events only when convenient or nearby.

• Ignore Infernal Hordes unless you're farming Obducite or other specific rewards.

This loop ensures that you're constantly collecting Souls from multiple angles, helping you avoid burnout and making the grind feel more natural.

Final Tips to Get the Most Forgotten Souls

• Always salvage legendaries you don't need instead of selling them.

• Use Sacred items as salvage fodder when you're out of legendaries—they drop often and still provide Souls occasionally.

• Keep your inventory clean so you can quickly salvage and return to farming.

• Join groups when running Belial or Nightmare Dungeons—more kills mean more Souls.

Conclusion

Forgotten Souls have emerged as one of the most frustrating bottlenecks in Diablo 4 Season 8, especially for players trying to optimize their builds. While gold, Obducite, and Tempering Diablo 4 materials are everywhere, Forgotten Souls require deliberate farming strategies to keep your stash healthy.

Whether you prefer boss farming, Helltides, or dungeon running, the methods above give you a solid path to keep your upgrades flowing. Don't let low Soul counts stop your character progression—mix these strategies into your play sessions, and you'll always have enough Souls to roll for that perfect crit-heavy weapon or armor.

If you're still low on Souls after trying all these, chances are you're just not farming bosses enough. Prioritize Belial on Torment 4, max out your seasonal rep, and the Souls will come flooding in.

Good luck out there—and may your affixes always roll in your favor.