Helltides are special zones in Diablo 4 that can be extremely rewarding if you know what to look for. This guide will provide the necessary information to get the most out of them.

What are Helltides

Helltides are special zones that are created on the world map filled with Cultists and Demons. Monsters found within the Helltide will always be three levels above us, making them a great option to grind levels and items.

They even have unique World Events with bosses as well as unique materials and items to pick up.

Looting a chest from an active Helltide event in Diablo 4

These zones have special loot chests that drop plenty of valuables, from elixirs to gear and even Boss Summoning Materials. These are often the big objectives for Helltides, and we’ll cover them more shortly.

How to Access Helltides

As of Season 4, Helltides are accessible once a character has completed the campaign, this also makes them accessible to characters that have skipped the campaign as well.

Once we’ve completed the campaign or skipped it, check out the map to find the Helltide Zones when they’re active. Helltides will be active in only one region at a time, swapping every hour.

A Helltide event displayed on the map of Diablo 4

Helltides always begin every hour, on the hour, and last 55 minutes. This gives us nearly a full hour to get all the rewards we can from this content.

Helltide UI Explained

While inside the Helltide, there will be additional UI elements shown next to our map. Something that looks like the image below.

Diablo 4 Helltide Event additional UI elements on the screen

At the top of this UI is the time remaining for the current Helltide. Outside of this, this information can be found by hovering over the Helltide Marker on your World Map.

Just below that are the Helltide Currencies; Aberrant Cinder (Left) and Baneful Hearts (Right). These are currencies we’ll want to keep track of as we slay enemies in the Helltide, and we’ll explain these in the section below.

Helltide Threat Meter

The final part of the UI is the Helltide Threat Meter. This meter will continue to fill as we slay enemies without dying. Unlike with Aberrant Cinders, this meter will fully reset on death.

This meter consists of three segments, each increasing the aggression and density of monsters in the Helltide. In addition to this, as each segment fills, it will immediately spawn additional monsters near us. The additional enemies from the scaling aggression will often be spawned on us by a Hellwyrm.

A Hellwyrm emerging to deploy enemies - part of a Helltide event in Diablo IV

A Hellwyrm emerging to deploy enemies

Once filled, it will slowly begin to drain. Much like when it fills, while it empties it will summon enemies. When we survive this duration, a Hellborne will be summoned to fight us.

These Hellborne are Special Elites, similar to the Blood Seekers from Season 2’s Blood Harvests. They take the form of the currently available player classes. There is more information regarding these foes in the section detailing the Helltide below.

What to Look for in Helltides

Helltides are packed with many interesting events and encounters, but these are the main things we should look for when diving into them.

Aberrant Cinders

Aberrant Cinders are a special Helltide-only currency that will expire when a Helltide ends. These can be earned by doing anything in the Helltides, with varying amounts based on what you do.

Should we die at any point in a Helltide, we will lose half of our currently held Cinders. This value is also reset to zero when the Helltide ends in preparation for the next Helltide.

This Diablo 4 gold is used exclusively to open Tortured Gifts, special Helltide Chests that allow us to target farm gear and other useful items. We’ll go in-depth later on the best ways to collect these Cinders.