How to unlock Diablo 4 Helltide events

Diablo 4 Helltides are events that happen randomly across Sanctuary when you set the game to Nightmare World Tier difficulty or higher. These pop up every few hours and you can kill enemies and collect currency to exchange for gear and other goodies. Helltides are also the best place to look for Fiend Roses. If you're ready to learn more about these potentially lucrative events, here's everything you need to know about Diablo 4 Helltides. 

Diablo 4 Helltides: How to unlock the event 

First up, to even see Helltides on the map, you need to make sure you've switched the World Tier to Nightmare. To unlock anything beyond Veteran, you must finish the main campaign and complete the Priority quest that sends you to your first capstone dungeon, Cathedral of Light. You'll need to be around level 50 to complete it and, depending on your class, it can be pretty tough.

Once you've completed the dungeon and switched the difficulty, you might need to wait for a Helltide to spawn. They are only active for an hour and spawn every few hours, so don't worry if you don't see one immediately. It's obvious when one spawns though as the area on the map will go red, and you'll get an on-screen message, alerting you that a Helltide has started.

Earn Aberrant Cinders to open Tortured Chests 

Once you arrive in the area where the Helltide is active, you'll see that Aberrant Cinders, a type of currency, drop whenever you kill enemies. You can keep track of how many you've collected by checking the icon near your minimap, and you'll need these to open any Tortured Chests you find.

Tortured Chests are visible on the map, though they won't spawn right away, so keep checking if you don't see any. Each chest offers different rewards, similar to the Whispers of the Dead caches, and you'll need to spend your Aberrant Cinders to open them. Each chest can only be opened once, so choose wisely unless you have a bunch of cinders or aren't targeting a specific gear slot.

These chests contain several pieces of gear, resources—including the chance of a Fiend Rose—and gold. Bear in mind that you've got a good chance of getting a Sacred Item from these chests, too, as well as anywhere else whenever you kill enemies on Nightmare difficulty.

Group up for an easier time 

While it's perfectly viable to farm Helltides solo, things will go a lot faster if you team up with other players. This is especially true for the boss that occasionally spawns during the Helltide and will almost certainly need a group of players to defeat. 

It's also worth noting that if you die during a Helltide event, you'll also lose some of the Aberrant Cinders you've collected, so it's even more important to try to keep yourself out of trouble until you get to a chest to spend them.