I kept trying to force an Aura Paladin-style setup in Diablo 4 and it always felt like I was working harder than the build was. Then Sundered Night dropped, and the whole thing finally clicked. If you're still piecing the kit together, it helps to keep an eye on Diablo 4 Items so you can plan around what you're missing instead of guessing. With this Unique 2H Axe equipped, fights stop being "run up and swing" and start being "turn on an aura and watch the room get erased". It's not flashy in a combo-heavy way. It's more like the game forgets you're supposed to press buttons.
What the axe actually changes
The big deal is the effect: using any Aura skill auto-drops Consecration. Stand in it and your Aura Potency jumps by 180%. You'll notice it fast. Your screen gets layered with glowing zones, and enemies that usually take a couple rotations just… don't. The healing is real too, especially in messy pulls where you'd normally chug a potion and pray. One thing that caught me off guard: the buffs won't stack, but the damage instances do, so if you keep auras rolling, mobs sitting in overlapping fields get cooked.
Where it drops and what you'll pay
If you want to target farm it, you're basically living in Grigoire's world for a while. Grigoire the Galvanic Saint is the boss you're after, and his lair is just south of Ked Bardu. The fight on Torment isn't the scary part once you know the patterns. The annoying part is the toll booth: you need 12 Living Steel to open the reward chest. No Steel, no loot, no pity. Plenty of people forget, port over, clear the run, then stare at the chest like it personally insulted them.
Farming Living Steel without losing your mind
Living Steel means Helltides, and yeah, it can feel like chores if you drift aimlessly. Do it with intent. First, get in early and start stacking cinders right away. Second, skip the tiny chests unless you're desperate; they're bait. Third, hunt the Tortured Gifts of Mysteries (the orange ones) because they're the closest thing to a steady paycheck. You'll still have dry runs, but you'll hit 12 Steel a lot quicker this way, and that's what keeps the Grigoire loop moving.
The tradeoff and how it plays long-term
The obvious downside is you're giving up a shield, so anything tied to Block Chance or shield-based nodes takes a hit. On paper that looks rough, but in practice the Consecration healing plus the damage reduction makes you sturdier than you'd think, especially in mob-heavy content. It also nudges you toward a more aggressive style—keep your auras active, keep enemies inside the light, and don't overthink it. If you're trying to squeeze the most out of the setup, it's worth checking D4 items to round out cooldown and survivability so the build stays smooth when the content starts hitting back early in a pull.
