Death's Breath (DB) is a crafting material that may be dropped by Elites, Treasure Goblins, and Resplendent Chests above level 61 in Reaper of Souls. DBs are not found in Diablo 3. This material is the higher tier version of the Demonic Essence crafting material, which has the same drop rates from the same sources, though only from enemies and targets below level 61.
Deaths Breaths are required for many crafting purposes, including training Artisans, enchanting, upgrading gems, and crafting. Since they are account bound (BoA), drop primarily from Elites, and drop at higher rates on higher difficulties, they function as a bottleneck on crafting and other item upgrading functions in Reaper of Souls, forcing players to spend a fair amount of time playing the game and harvesting Death's Breaths (and other materials/gems) rather than simply buying them.
Death's Breath Drop Rates
Blizzard provided the drop rates for Deathss Breaths when complaints about their infrequency were voiced shortly after the launch of Reaper of Souls.
- Normal – 15%
- Hard – 18%
- Expert – 21%
- Master – 25%
- Torment 1 – 31%
- Torment 2 – 37%
- Torment 3 – 44%
- Torment 4 – 53%
- Torment 5 – 64%
- Torment 6 – 77%
These items can drop from Elites (Yellows or Blue Champions), Purple Uniques, as well as from Treasure Goblins and Resplendent Chests. Many players insist their drop rates from sources other than Blue or Yellow Elites are much lower than the officially listed figures, but Blizzard disputes that.
Death's Breath drops in the Westmarch Commons.