Diablo veterans have a habit of saying that the true game begins with an endgame, and Diablo 4 is no exception. I couldn't wait to speedrun my campaign playthrough to reach the endgame and see what is offered to paragons. With the game shifting the series more toward the MMO realm, there are now events that happen on a timer, one of them being the Helltide event, where players collect can Aberrant Cinders and open Tortured Caches filled with end-game drops. The event is not active at all times, and you'll want to pay attention to its intervals to reap the benefits!
Helltide timer - When does the event begin in Diablo 4?
The Helltide event is the source of Forgotten Souls in Diablo 4, so it's important to do them as often as possible if you want to start upgrading your gear in the endgame. It runs on a timer, and you can easily track it with this website that provides a countdown to each one. This is an easy way to stay on top of things.
Helltide events last one hour when they're active and rotate at 75-minute intervals, so several occur throughout the day. If you're looking to farm these events, logging in when one's about to start is a good idea, and now you can find out when they're active without being in the game.
What is a Helltide event in Diablo 4?
The Helltide events appear on your map with a giant red outline, so they are very hard to miss if you're scrolling around the World Map. They are unlocked upon completion of the campaign and hitting level 50, so they aren't anything you have to worry about if you're still plugging away at the leveling process.
Enemies found in the Helltide event are tougher, but that's offset by having the chance to get a Forgotten Soul and stronger loot. This is one of the core endgame activities offered in Diablo 4 at launch since you'll be bottlenecked with your gear upgrades at some point, and this is the only way to get the Forgotten Souls so far.
For more Diablo 4 news and guides, check out Can you play Diablo 4 without playing the previous games? on Pro Game Guides.
Eli Becht is a Contributing Writer at Pro Game Guides. He's an avid fan of battle royales such as Fortnite and Warzone to MMOs like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV. He has been covering video games since 2017.