The Cache Claimer objective in Diablo 4 Season 9 has proven to be one of the most frustrating tasks in the Season Journey. With its reliance on RNG-heavy cache drops—especially the elusive Ancestral Bounty Cache—many players find themselves stuck despite hours of grinding. If you’re among them, here’s everything you need to know to complete this challenge efficiently and without wasting precious Whisper turn-ins.
What is the Cache Claimer Objective?
The Cache Claimer objective is part of the Champion tier in the Season 9 Journey of Diablo 4. To complete it, you must:
- Open any Weapon Bounty Caches (2x)
- Open any Armor Bounty Caches (5x)
- Open any Jewelry Bounty Caches (3x)
- Open any Chaos Bounty Cache
- Open any Ancestral Bounty Cache
- Open 3x Greater Collection of Gold, Material, or Gems Bounty Caches
While most of these can be completed with consistent Tree of Whispers grinding, the Ancestral Bounty Cache is what often creates a bottleneck.
This objective appears under the Champion tier in Chapter 6 of the Season 9 Journey. To unlock Champion-tier challenges, players must first complete all previous chapters: Chapter 1 through Slayer. Progressing through these chapters also unlocks important seasonal rewards such as Smoldering Ash and Horadric Phials.
See also: Diablo 4 Spiritborn Leveling Build Guide for Season 9
What is an Ancestral Bounty Cache?
An Ancestral Bounty Cache is a rare version of the standard caches you receive by exchanging 10 Grim Favors at the Tree of Whispers. It contains a higher-tier reward pool and is identified by:
- The text “Ancestral Collection of…” in orange font.
- A unique Ancestral star symbol next to its name.
It’s important to note that these caches don’t drop from separate objectives—they’re just rare variants of existing cache types, which means any regular bounty cache turn-in has a small chance to roll as “Ancestral.”
You can identify caches by their item name color and prefix:
- Standard Cache: “Collection of…” – white text
- Greater Cache: “Greater Collection of…” – orange text
- Ancestral Cache: “Ancestral Collection of…” – orange text with an Ancestral star symbol
Be sure to check the item name before opening—some players accidentally open standard caches thinking they are Ancestral.
How to Increase Your Chances of Getting Ancestral Caches
Though Blizzard has not published official drop rates, we’ve observed a few things that may improve your chances:
- Play at higher World Tiers, especially Torment IV, to increase the likelihood of Ancestral item drops in general.
- Run higher-level Nightmare Dungeons and Tree of Whispers bounties regularly to farm Grim Favors fast.
- Focus on 2-dungeon bounties or PVP monster zones, as they often provide faster turn-ins for the Tree.
Still, drop rates remain heavily RNG-based—even in our experience, hitting Paragon 200+ might only net a single Ancestral Cache.
See also: Diablo 4 Horadric Strongrooms: How to Find and Get Rewards
From what we’ve seen across the community—and through our own runs—some players get their first Ancestral Cache around Paragon 160–250, while others have pushed through nearly 300 Tree of Whispers turn-ins without a single drop. This kind of inconsistency can seriously block progress for anyone aiming to finish Champion-tier objectives.
Trick to Finish Cache Claimer Faster (The Drop-Pickup Method)
There’s a reliable workaround that can drastically reduce the grind:
- Turn in 10 Grim Favors at the Tree of Whispers.
- If you get any cache that qualifies (e.g., a Greater Collection of Gold, Gems, etc., or even an Ancestral Cache), do not open it.
- Instead, drop the cache on the ground.
- Pick it back up.
- Repeat this process 2 more times.
Each time you pick it up again, it counts toward the Cache Claimer objective. This trick allows a single qualifying cache to fulfill multi-step objectives like “Open 3 Greater Caches,” without needing multiple drops.
Note: This trick only works if the cache stays in your inventory without being opened. Do not interact with it beyond dropping and picking up.
Pro Tip: When you get a cache, inspect it first. Confirm the name contains “Ancestral Collection of…” before applying the drop-pickup method. Many players mistakenly use the trick on a non-Ancestral cache and lose time.
This works as of Diablo 4 update 2.3.0 and has been functional in previous seasons as well.
Can’t Find an Ancestral Bounty Cache? Here’s What You Can Do
If you still haven’t seen an Ancestral Cache despite dozens of turn-ins:
- Be patient — the drop is purely RNG-based, and some may not find it until after 200 or more Grim Favor turn-ins.
- Use the drop-pickup trick on other parts of Cache Claimer so you can save all your remaining Grim Favors for hunting just the Ancestral Cache.
- Consider saving your turn-ins for when you see better RNG patterns (e.g., after hotfixes or patches).
- Look for “Ancestral Collection of Materials” or “Ancestral Collection of Gems” types, which seem more common.
See also: Best Diablo 4 Season 9 Rogue Builds: Death Mask & Azurewrath
Bonus: Cache Claimer Objective Tracker Table
Here’s a quick table to keep track of what you need:
| Cache Type | How Many Needed | How to Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon Bounty Cache | 2 | Use drop-pickup trick |
| Armor Bounty Cache | 5 | Use drop-pickup trick |
| Jewelry Bounty Cache | 3 | Use drop-pickup trick |
| Chaos Bounty Cache | 1 | Use drop-pickup trick |
| Ancestral Bounty Cache | 1 | Must drop naturally from Tree (RNG) |
| Greater Collection (Gold/Material) | 3 | Drop-pickup 3x on a single cache |
Final Tips to Complete Cache Claimer
- Focus your grinding on efficient bounties—look for Tree objectives that require minimal travel and offer multiple Grim Favors.
- If you find an Ancestral Cache, double-check its name and rarity before opening—it’s easy to mistake it for a standard or Greater cache.
- Don’t burn yourself out. Take breaks or swap to easier Season objectives while waiting for RNG to bless you.
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