The Diablo 4 PTR has presented Diablo players with a lot of mechanics that have arguably made the game quite enjoyable. One of the events that have benefited from these additions is Helltide, with brand new mechanics and items in the form of Helltide Threat and Baneful Hearts. Well, time to go monster hunting. Here is how to get Threat and Baneful Hearts in Diablo 4 PTR.
How to get Helltide Threat in Diablo 4 PTR
Let’s talk about Helltide Threat first since it is the easiest one to get out of the two. While Baneful Hearts are indeed a tangible item, think of Helltide Threat as a state. It will be represented by a bar right below the Aberrant Cinders count.
This Helltide Threat bar will begin to fill after you defeat enemies around the region. If the enemies are more powerful, then the bar will fill up quickly. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, wrong! The bar actually moves pretty slowly, so you will have to spend quite a decent amount of time filling it up. Moreover, if you die, then you lose any Helltide Threat you might have accumulated.
If you survive the Helltide enemies, you will fill all three sections of the bar, with each one representing a Tier. After each Threat Tier is completed, a swarm of enemies will attempt to overwhelm you, with Tier 3 being the densest monster population spawn of the bunch. This is because when you fill the bar, you will become Hell-Marked, and after dealing with all those monsters, a Hellborne Boss will spawn. Defeat it to get valuable rewards.
How to get Baneful Hearts in Diablo 4 PTR
Baneful Hearts will require a couple more steps but are much simpler to follow and complete. Baneful Hearts are not dropped by any enemies but are instead found inside Tortured Gifts Chests. This means that you will have to collect a minimum of 75 Aberrant Cinders, which will appear after defeating enemies – so you will also get a Helltide Threat as a result.
You will then need to take three of these Baneful Hearts to an Accursed Ritual which will appear on your map.
There, offer them to Accursed Altars and you will begin a boss battle against a Blood Maiden, a very strong boss which, once defeated, will also grant you rare rewards for you to use and equip. Note that you don’t have to offer all the Baneful Hearts yourself since other players will be able to provide them for you.
As you can see, the difficulty of getting both Helltide Threat and Baneful Hearts will depend on what World Tier you are playing in Diablo 4. Of course, World Tier 3 and 4 will provide the best items in the world, but I suggest approaching these new Helltide mechanics with a group of friends. I tried going solo in World Tier 4 and the amount of Helltide Threat resets – aka, dying – I experienced almost drove me insane. Don’t follow my example, and collect your Helltide rewards!
