Diablo 4: Helltide Guide

There are so many things you can do in Diablo 4 once you beat Lilith and the campaign. All Diablo players will tell you that the game’s full experience starts once the credit rolls. One of the new activities that you can partake in once you reach the end of the game is the Helltide.

As the name suggests, this event will pit you against an endless horde of the forces of Hell and the Prime Evils.

What Is Helltide?

In Diablo 4, Helltides are demonic events that randomly appear all around Sanctuary. The game’s lore says that Helltides are caused by a surge in demonic activity in the surrounding area. This phenomenon causes the thin line between Hell and Sanctuary to get blurred and it’s up to you to prevent the chaos.

During Helltide events, Lilith’s demons are more powerful and they come in numbers unlike any other you’ve faced in the game so far. Additionally, monsters in a Helltide area are further empowered and have a higher level than your character so the challenge is there.

As with any other aspect of Diablo 4, the tougher the challenge, the better the rewards. In the case of Helltides, you’re going to have a lot of opportunities to get rich, level up quickly, and to get more loot. There are also exclusive items that you can get during these events.

Helltides last for about an hour and it appears randomly across the world. After each Helltide, there will be a waiting period of 1 hour and 15 minutes before the next one arrives. If you want to fully experience what the game has to offer and if you want more loot for your character, Helltides is an excellent endgame activity.

How to Participate In Helltide

Just because you beat the game, doesn’t mean you can participate in Helltides immediately. First off, these are not available to players who are in World Tier 1 or 2. If you want to participate in these events, you need to beat the Cathedral of Light Capstone Dungeon in Kyovashad.

Once you do, you’ll unlock World Tier 3 and have access to Helltides in the game. Keep in mind that you can participate in Helltides at a party or on your own. If you want an easier time though, we highly suggest going to these events with a group. Aside from the extra firepower, you’re also going to get extra XP.

Now, it’s true that Helltides appear randomly on the map but they’re in a fixed set of four connected areas per region. One way to know where the next one is is by simply inspecting an area. Areas that are about to have a Helltide will appear reddish in hue. This is caused by the skies turning red. Make sure to use the waypoints in the game so you can easily look for the next event.

To give you an idea, here’s a list of the zones per region.

Special Helltide Events

As if Helltide events aren’t challenging enough already, the game throws in a few special events that make Helltides even harder to beat. Completing these special rewards grant you with even more rewards though.

Roaming Boss - Kixxarth, Helltide Assassin

Kixxarth, Helltide Assassin, can spawn in various areas in the affected zone. You’ll know where it is as it’s marked with a Boss icon on the map. It moves around constantly so always be prepared when he’s around.

If you want to take on Kixxarth, the first thing you should know is that he’s very durable. It will take you minutes to beat Kixxarth on your own. Aside from his tankiness, Kixxarth’s biggest asset is his ability to crowd-control nearly everybody within his range. Here are his main attacks and skills:

Aggro Pounce:

• A single-target focused attack that will hit the target multiple times. During this attack, Kixxarth will chase you down before stopping in place too.
• Once you get hit, it will be hard to move away unless you have any mobility skills. It can deal with heavy damage if you take the full brunt of it, so always have a spare dodge charge just in case.

Crimson Flare

• As he pounces around using Aggro Pounce, Kixxart will leave behind a crimson trail that can deal damage if you stand around it. Its damage can take you by surprised so move constantly.

• Because of this ability, it’s best to engage with Kixxarth in open areas so you have more space to move.

Doomfear

• This is an AoE attack that causes Fear to all affected units. Kixxarth constantly used this attack which can be problematic for those who fight up close.
• If you run away because of Fear, it’s best to take that time to recuperate and heal before jumping back in. Just prepare as Kixxarth might use Aggro Pounce while you’re away.

Kixxarth might be a bit of a challenge to beat but the rewards you get from him are well worth it. Let’s discuss what those rewards are a bit later.

Portal Invasion

This type of event will happen in place of World Events while you’re in the Helltide. The goal here is to prevent Occultists from completing their ritual, thus preventing them from summoning more demons. After killing all of the Occultists, you’ll then have to face a Helltide Commander which is the bigger challenge.

Other Events

There will be World Events happening around Helltides too. They’ll be marked by an orange circle on the map. These are your typical events found in Sanctuary but since it’s the Helltide, expect enemies to be much tougher. It’s worth going through the trouble of finishing these events for the extra rewards.

Helltide Rewards

By now you’re probably wondering, what’s the point of joining Helltides? For better rewards of course. For starters, Helltides are a great way to earn a ton of XP, loot, and gold, due to the fact that there’s an endless wave of high-level enemies coming at you during these events.

Most importantly, however, what you’re here for are special rewards that will make the trouble worth it.

Aberrant Cinders

Aberrant Cinders are a special resource that drops exclusively during Helltide events. This is one of the best rewards out there. Aberrant Cinders are used to open Tortured Gifts throughout the Helltide’s zones. It’s kind of like how Whispering Keys work in the game.

Each of the Tortured Gift you find on the map will have a particular gear linked to it. To put it simply, one Tortured Gift in the zone will drop helmets. In the next zone, there’s a Tortured Gift that drops boots.

This makes it easy for you to target farm any Legendary, Unique, and even Uber Unique items in the game. If you’re doing the Helltide event in a party, don’t worry about others stealing your Tortured Gift as each one is unique per player.

Here’s a list of Tortured Gifts during Helltide.

Collecting Aberrant Cinders is easy. Just keep beating enemies and completing objectives, and you’ll get one eventually. However, you need to keep in mind that if you die, you lose half of your Aberrant Cinders. As such, you need to be extra careful.

Furthermore, the Aberrant Cinders you have will get lost once the Helltide event is over. If you join another one, your Aberrant Cinders count will reset.

If you’re looking to farm them, here’s what you can get out of each enemy.

Fiend Rose

Fiend Rose is one of the rarest crafting materials found in Diablo 4 as it’s only found in specific nodes during Helltide-affected zones. This is used to upgrade your gear and even re-roll some of its stats.

If you’re particularly fond of a weapon, then you can bring it with you to higher levels with the help of Fiend Rose. Aside from nodes, you can also get Fiend Rose from enemy drops, chests, and Silent Chests within Helltide.

Since this is one of the rarest crafting materials in the game, we highly suggest reserving it for when you really need to upgrade your special gear.

Forgotten Souls

Forgotten Souls are basically just like Fiend Rose. These are used for upgrading your gear and are a highly-valuable resource in the game as well. You can get it the same way as Fiend Rose.

The problem, however, is that Forgotten Souls are a lot rarer. They don’t have special nodes like Fiend Rose. You can only get them by opening Tortured Gifts within Helltide.

Tips For Your Helltide Runs

Team Up

Teaming up with others is probably one of the best things to do for any of the end-game content in Diablo 4. You don’t need to worry about losing your drops to your allies as the Helltide rewards each player individually. 

Being in a team is important, especially for squishy classes that don’t have summons like Sorcerers and Rogues. The extra XP will go a long way in helping you out as well.

Avoid Tight Spots Against Kixxarth

It can be very tempting to charge at Kixxarth once he appears on the map but a little strategy can make this battle of attrition easier. Kixxarth will travel on a set path once he appears. Look for areas in his zones that are spacious.

Fighting Kixxarth in a tight space is a recipe for disaster, considering how most of his attacks are AoE. Luring him to open areas will also prevent getting swarmed by enemy mobs.

Target Specific Gear

There aren’t a lot of opportunities to target specific loot in the game and Helltides do just that for you. Every time you enter a Helltide event, think about the specific gear that you need. Aberrant Cinders are a commodity so you wouldn’t want to spend your time farming for loot you don’t actually need.

Don’t Get Greedy

Sure, it can be tiring to have to go to Tortured Gifts again and again to spend your Aberrant Cinders. However, that extra effort is more preferred compared to losing half of your Aberrant Cinders when dying. Each time you have enough to open a Tortured Gift you’re targetting, use it immediately. 

Look For Local Events

The best way to farm Aberrant Cinders in Helltides is by doing local events. This puts you in front of event chests, elites, and dozens of enemies. Events can take around 2-3 minutes to beat, tops. 

Ride The Helltide

Helltides might not be the hardest endgame content of Diablo 4 but it sure is rewarding. Helltides are always going to be around in Sanctuary so if you’re running out of things to do, it’s time to bring your friends and start slaying the forces of Hell.