Diablo 4 Helltide

What are Helltides?

Helltides are one of Diablo 4's main end-game systems, first accessible in World Tier 3: Nightmare. They randomly erupt in one of the game's 5 Regions and last 60 minutes. Within the Helltide:

• Monsters are tougher: monsters are 2-3 levels above the player in WT3 and 7-8 levels in WT4
• Monster density increases: in addition to being tougher, monsters are in larger groups
• Land becomes hell-like: vegetation dies, lava flows, and meteors periodically hail down

Acquiring Cinder currency

The intent of Helltides is to acquire Aberrant Cinders (or "Cinders" for short), which are used to open special Chests in the Helltide, called Tortured Gifts. Cinders come from a variety of sources, like:

• Killing Monsters: generally, the tougher the monster (e.g., an Elite or Boss), the more Cinders
• Completing Events: Cinders drop from monster waves and are given as a completion reward
• Opening objects: the Helltide has a handful of unique objects that give Cinders when opened

Losing Cinders

If a player dies, they lose roughly half their Cinders, which incentivizes players to open Helltide Chests as soon as they have enough Cinders; otherwise, the player might run out of time to accumulate enough Cinders again.

Leaving the Helltide

Unlike the PvP currency, Seeds of Hatred, which are lost when leaving the Fields of Hatred, a player's Cinder balance remains intact if they exit the Helltide. Given all of the great loot Helltides offer, it's not uncommon for players to quickly teleport to town to free up Inventory space.

Helltide times

Helltide frequency

Helltides occur every 1 hour and 15 minutes. Players will receive a message informing them that a Helltide has begun (it doesn't say the location -- players will have to check their map for that).

Using Helltides.com to plan

For players wanting to know when to hop into the game to catch a Helltide, we highly recommend the third-party site, Helltides.com. It tracks:

• Helltide countdowns: the time to the next Helltide or the rime remaining in the current one
• Helltide Region: which of the 5 Regions the Helltide has erupted in
• Helltide Mystery Chests locations: updated (with user votes) to show the latest locations
• Event locations: the most efficient way to quickly accumulate Cinders

Helltide duration

Helltides last 60 minutes. A warning will be given to the player when 5 minutes are left, informing them that the Helltide will recede soon.

After the Helltide ends, players lose their current Cinder balance, and the area that the Helltide was in returns to its normal state.

Helltide Chests

Helltide Chests can only be opened with the required amount of Cinders. They spawn in predictable locations (as tracked by Helltides.com); however, the placement of the coveted Mystery Chests swaps between a few spots (also shown on Helltides.com).

Helltide Mystery Chests

The main goal of Helltides is to open up as many Helltide Mystery Chests (i.e., Tortured Gifts of Mysteries) within the 60 minutes as possible. These Chests are the best source of loot in the game. While they're the most expensive Chest to open, at 175 Cinders, they're well worth it, and players should avoid the other Helltide Chests unless they run out of Mystery Chests to open.

Mystery Chest locations

Depending on the Region the Helltide is in, there's 2 or 3 Mystery Chests to open at a time, and their locations change at the top of every hour, providing a fresh 2-3 Chests to open (for a total of 4-6 during the Helltide's duration).

For example, imagine a Helltide started in the Fractured Peaks at 9:30AM. Players would have until 10:00AM (i.e., the top of the hour) to acquire enough Cinders to open the 2 available Mystery Chests. At 10:00AM, the Mystery Chests would be assigned new positions (sometimes they stay the same), and the player would have until 10:30AM to open these new ones, for a total of 4.

Half the time, Helltides begin 45 minutes into the hour, allowing only 15 minutes to get enough Cinders for the first batch of Mystery Chests, which is quite difficult to do. Having 30 minutes, like the example above, is challenging, but doable for practiced players.

Helltide Mystery Chest loot examples

Helltide Chests for specific slots

The majority of Chests within a Helltide offer loot for a specific equipment slot (the type of item the Chest contains will be displayed above the Chest).

These Chests' return on (Cinder) invement is poor compared to their Helltide Mystery Chest counterparts, so it's recommended to skip them unless all of the Mystery Chests have been exhausted. Each equipment slot Chest costs:

Helltide Chests for specific slots loot

Players can expect the following loot from these Helltide Chests:

• Higher chance of Legendary and Unique items (for a certain slot)
• Higher chance of Fiend Rose
• Higher chance of Forgotten Soul
• Elixirs
• Gold

Helltide Events

Meteor showers

Periodically, meteors will rain down from the sky, causing significant damage if they hit players (don't have the map open for too long or be AFK). Players are shown the meteors' landing radius a second or two beforehand, so they can Evade out of the way. Also, the resulting lava pits from the meteors cause fire damage when walked on.

Portal Invasion Event

The Portal Invasion Event only appears in Helltides and requires players to destroy 7 Portals that spew waves of monsters out of them. For the Event's Mastery Objective, the player must defeat a Helltide Commander Boss, which changes based on the Region the Helltide is in.

Summoning rituals

Throughout the Helltide, players will find groups of Helltide Conjurers, Prophets, and Zealots gathered together performing summoning rituals. If not interrupted by the player, these rituals spawn a variety of demons, like Balrogs, Succubi, and even Helltide Harbingers.

Helltide Summoning loot

• 5-6x Cinders

Helltide Bosses

Helltide Harbingers

Helltide Harbingers are Elites spawned from falling meteors and summoning rituals by Helltide Conjurers. These demons drop Cinders and Forgotten Souls. Also, they explode and radiate fire when killed, so players should retreat after slaying them or risk losing their hard-earned Cinders.

Helltide Harbingers can be spotted on the minimap with their skull and horns icon.

Helltide Harbinger loot

• 5-6x Cinders
• 1-2x Fiend Rose
• 1-2x Forgotten Souls
• 1-2x Veiled Crystal
• Items
• Gold

Helltide Assassins

Kixxarth

Helltides have a roaming Boss, named Kixxarth: Helltide Assassin, which is a demonic insect known for having tons of Life -- so much that it has 6 Healing Potion Charge drops. If a player isn't in a group or a big damage dealer, it's recommended to skip Kixxarth, since too much Cinder-earning time may be eaten away by the Boss.

Helltide Commanders

Helltide Commanders appear after completing the objectives of the Portal Invasion Event, a Helltide-specific Event that requires players to destroy a series of portals before demons pop out. Their difficulty is about the same as a Dungeon Boss.

Cruxx

Nemnos

Helltide Commander loot

• 5-6x Cinders
• 40-60x Obols
• Items
• Gold

Helltide objects

Damned Souls

Damned Souls are plentiful in Helltides and can passed over unless they have a red glow, which signifies that they drop Cinders.

Damned Soul (red glow variety) loot

• 3-5x Cinders
• Gold
• Healing Potion

Fiend Rose

The Fiend Rose Crafting Material is used to Enchant items at the Occultist and is only found in Helltide areas, so players should get them when they seem them. It has distinct wiry branches, red flowers, and a greenish glow.

Fiend Rose loot

• 2-3x Fiend Rose
• 3-4x Cinders
• Items

Screaming Hell Vein

Players should get every Screaming Hell Vein they see, as they not only drop Cinders, but are also the only place to get Forgotten Souls, used in the Enchanting of Sacred and Ancestral items.

Screaming Hell Vein loot

• 3-4x Cinders
• 1-2x Forgotten Souls

Tortured Souls

Tortured Souls closely resemble Wretched Souls and can be skipped unless they have a red glow.

Tortured Souls loot

• 3-5x Cinders
• Gold
• Healing Potion

Wretched Souls

Wretched Souls, which look similar to Tortured Souls, are scattered throughout the Helltide. Unless the player needs a Healing Potion, they can be ignored, except when they have a red glow. These rarer Wretched Souls drop Cinders.

Wretched Soul (red glow variety) loot

• 3-5x Cinders
• Gold
• Healing Potion