Helltide World Events Explained - Diablo 4 Guide - IGN (2024)

Welcome to the guide covering the Helltide World Events! Helltides are a type of World Event that unlocks in the post-game of Diablo 4. On this page we'll talk all about what Helltides are, when they unlock, how to progress through them, and what kinds of rewards you can expect to get from them!

How to Unlock Helltides

Helltides are unlocked naturally in the game after completing the Campaign. You no longer have to unlock World Tier 3 in order to unlock Helltides - after completing or skipping the campaign, you'll get a Priority Quest from Doomsayer Pira titled "The Helltide Rises".

Once you talk to them, the game will give you the pop-up and a run-down on Helltides.

Helltides Explained

The Helltide itself refers to an area on the map that's covered in a deep red, showing you the area that the Helltide encompasses.

Within the Helltide the environment and enemy types change-- it's essentially a demon invasion on the map. These happen semi-frequently and last for an hour, so be sure to farm them when they're up. As for actual progress, you can't necessarily "beat" a Helltide, you're simply able to farm the areas once they're open.

These areas are very important though as they give a multitude of rewards and gear and a whole lot of experience, as the primary objective in a Helltide is to slay as many enemies as possible and complete world events.

Sometimes Whispers of the World Tree will also co-occur with a Helltide, making it a great place to complete bonus objectives and kill two birds with one stone.

Threat Meter

The Threat Meter, added in Season 4, can be found to the right of your screen once you’ve entered a Helltide. The meter fills as you take part in Helltide events and kill enemies and bosses.

The Threat Meter is split into four quarters, denoting Threat Levels 1 through 3. Reaching a new Threat Level will spawn a group of enemies on you - and when your Threat Meter is full, you become Hell-Marked, causing a wave of monsters to attack you, including a powerful Hellborne.

Hellborne enemies are strong elite monsters who may take a long time to kill!

Blood Maiden

Upon entering the Helltide, you'll see a demon icon on your map, labelled Accursed Ritual. There, you'll find three Accursed Altars, which each require one Baneful Heart to activate.

Baneful Hearts drop from powerful enemies in the Helltide like Doomsayers and Hellborne, and call also be found in Tortured Gifts.

When 3 Baneful Hearts are placed in the altars, the Blood Maiden will be summoned, notifying all players in the area.

Players who contributed to summoning the Blood Maiden will receive additional rewards.

Wolf’s Honor

During Season 4, you'll earn reputation with the Iron Wolves by participating in Helltide events.

Spending lots of time in the Helltide? Put points in the Urn of Iron Season Blessing to boost your reputation with the Iron Wolves from Helltide activities.

Aberrant Cinders

While within the Helltide you'll be able to collect a unique item, called Aberrant Cinders. You get these by completing any objective within the Helltide, slaying monsters, completing events, interacting with world objects, or opening Tortured Chests.

These go away when the Helltide expires, so be sure to spend them before the timer expires. You can spend them on Tortured Chests that you can find in various places around the Helltide.

You will also lose half of your current Aberrant Cinders when you die as well, so be sure to be very careful while exploring!

There are multiple types of Tortured Chests, which can drop all types of gear. The cost of Aberrant Cinders varies per Gear type, so be sure you have the correct amount for the type you want.

• Tortured Gift of Protection (Helmets, Chest Armor, Gloves, Legguards, Boots) - 75 Aberratn Cinders
• Tortured Gift of Jewelry (Rings and Amulets) - 125 Aberrant Cinders
• Tortured Gift of One-Handed Weaponry (Weapons and Off-Hands) - 125 Aberrant Cinders
• Tortured Gift of Two-Handed Weaponry (Two-Handed Weapons) - 150 Aberrant Cinders
• Tortured Gift of Mysteries (Assorted Gear) - 175 Aberrant Cinders

The Tortured Chest of Mysteries is a special chest that only spawns in one certain location on the map for the active Helltide. To find more information about the locations of these chests, check out our Helltide Mystery Chest Locations Guide!

These chests all give the loot on the box, ranging from all types of quality, from Rare Gear all the way up to Unique Gear, and Sacred and Ancestral as well.

They also award a small amount of Forgotten Souls and Fiend Roses, a type of Material used for Upgrades and Enchanting which we'll cover below.

Fiend Roses and Forgotten Souls

These are semi-rare materials that are only obtainable during Helltides currently, so be sure to take some time to farm these events when they're active!

Fiend Roses and Forgotten Souls share a lot of similarities in terms of how you get them.

• Killing Elites within the Helltide
• Opening Tortured Chests within the Helltide
• Picking the rare Fiend Rose plan within the Helltide (Exclusive for Fiend Roses)
• Interacting with the Screaming Hell Vein within the Helltide (Exclusive for Forgotten Souls)

They may feel infrequent to get at first, but once you spend enough time within the Helltide, you'll see that you can come across them fairly quickly for the amount the game asks you to use for Enchanting and Upgrading.