Diablo 4 Season 15 Soul Splinters Comparison

Season 14 is now in its final stretch, and Season 15 has not started yet. That makes this a good time to look at the new Soul Splinters without treating the PTR numbers as final.

Soul Splinters are seasonal socketables designed for jewelry. They give your character a strong effect, but each one also comes with a drawback. Blizzard tested eight different Splinters in the 3.2.0 PTR, and four of the most interesting ones are Hellfire, Black Soulstone, Anguish, and Lies.

Here is what each one actually does and where it fits.

Soul Splinters at a Glance

These are the highest PTR values. The effects scale with Diablo 4 items quality, and Soul Splinters can be upgraded.

Splinter of Hellfire

Hellfire is probably the easiest Splinter to understand. It gives up to 100%[x] increased damage, but you lose 100% Critical Strike Chance.

That is a huge tradeoff.

For a build that depends heavily on critical strikes, giving up all Critical Strike Chance can completely change how the build works. For a build that gets little value from crit, however, the damage multiplier becomes much more interesting.

So Hellfire is not simply a universal damage upgrade. Its value depends heavily on how your build gets its damage.

Splinter of the Black Soulstone

Black Soulstone works differently. Killing enemies lets you absorb a soul for 15 seconds. Each soul increases your damage by up to 5%[x], while also increasing the damage you take by 0.5%.

The effect stacks, but it does not refresh.

This makes Black Soulstone more interesting in content where you are constantly killing enemies. Your damage can build as the fight continues, but the defensive cost grows at the same time.

It is a classic risk and reward mechanic, and the value will naturally change depending on how difficult the content is.

Splinter of Anguish

Anguish focuses on two very familiar offensive stats: Critical Strike Chance and Attack Speed.

At the highest PTR tier, it provides up to 35%[+] Critical Strike Chance and Attack Speed, but increases Primary Resource costs by 30%.

For a crit-focused build, those bonuses can be extremely valuable. The downside is much more noticeable on builds that already struggle with resource generation.

In other words, Anguish looks powerful, but your skill rotation still has to support it.

Splinter of Lies

Lies is the most different of the four.

Instead of focusing mainly on combat damage, it increases Gold Drop Rate and Crafting Material Drop Rate by up to 100%, while also giving 25% Bonus Experience.

The price is severe: you are always Weakened and Vulnerable.

That makes Lies much more suitable for progression and farming than difficult combat where survivability matters.

It is easy to see why players would be interested in it early in a season, but the downside becomes much harder to ignore when pushing harder content.

Which One Fits Which Situation?

There is no single winner based on the PTR numbers alone.

Hellfire: Builds that do not rely heavily on Critical Strike Chance
Black Soulstone: Continuous mob clearing and sustained combat
Anguish: Crit-focused builds with good resource management
Lies: Experience, Gold, and material farming

The important part is the tradeoff. Every Splinter gives something powerful, but none of these effects comes for free.

Soul Splinters are one of the more interesting parts of the Season 15 PTR because they can change how a build approaches damage, resources, farming, and survivability.

However, these numbers should still be treated as PTR information, not final Season 15 balance. Blizzard specifically uses the PTR to test systems, fix bugs, and make adjustments before a season goes live. The PTR also had known Soul Splinter issues involving Vulnerable, movement speed, and interactions between multiple Splinters.

For now, the best way to look at Hellfire, Black Soulstone, Anguish, and Lies is not to ask which one is strongest, but which one fits your build and what you are actually trying to do.

The U4GM Team