Players will be spending a lot of time in the new and improved Helltides during Season 4, as so many facets of the activity has been reworked! We’re going to be taking a look at all the relevant changes, so let’s dive right in. You can also check out the best way to level using Helltides right here.
Lower Level Availability
First off, the big news is that we’ll be able to get into Helltides immediately when we make a new character. Blizzard have added Helltides to World Tiers 1 and 2, which means we can use the activity for efficient leveling from the get go. The rewards are different in the first two World Tiers, as we won’t be getting endgame materials, but the XP is still very good! You will still need to either complete the campaign or skip it to be able to access them, however.
Threat Levels
Helltides now have three threat tiers. As you defeat monsters and open chests the threat meter will fill up and you’ll move up the ladder. Each tier increases the frequency and danger of monster ambushes. Dying or defeating the final ambush will reset your meter.
Stronger monsters fill the gauge up faster, and eventually you will get Hellmarked. This will spawn a maximum monster density ambush on you, which will also include a Hellborne boss. The Hellborne are very much like Blood Seeker from Season 2. They are class archetypes and use class skills against you.
Blood Maiden Boss and Baneful Hearts
There’s a new currency you may have noticed above, the Baneful Hearts. These drop from Tormented chests and from Hellborne demons and Doomsayers in the Helltide, with the Hellborne bosses having a guaranteed drop. You need three of them to summon the Blood Maiden, the new Helltide boss. You can summon her at the three Accursed Altars marked on the map:
If you contribute to the summoning of the boss (by adding at least one heart) you will get increased rewards from her.
Even More Improvements
- The Profane Mindcage is a new Elixir, which will increase the level of Helltide monsters by 10 and boost Aberrant Cinder drop rates. It drops from Hellborne bosses and will only be available in Season 4.
- Monster density had been improved overall, and Helltides are now the best way to get raw XP.
- There are Hellspires in the zone and if you stand near them you lose health and spawn in enemies, similar to the Season 2 mechanic.
- Helltide-specific Whisper bounties have been added, and Whispers have been buffed across the board as well!
- There are also brand new events to be found in Helltides. Doomsayer, Iron Wolf and Demonic “pop-up” events can be found all over the map. The Doomsayer events also have a Treasure Goblin variant.
- The Aberrant Cinder pick up radius has been increased.
- Opening Helltide chests is now much faster.
- In case you missed it from Season 3, Helltides are now almost permanently up, with only a 5 minute break between them.
Here’s a video overview of the changes: