Why this Helltide route works for both Baneful Hearts and Divine Favor

In Season 11, the most consistent way to farm Baneful Hearts and rack up Divine Favor quickly is to treat Helltides as an elite-hunting circuit rather than a chest-opening session. The key change is that Baneful Hearts are no longer reliably tied to opening Tortured Gifts on high World Tiers; instead, they’re strongly associated with killing Duriel-aligned threats inside Helltide—especially Harbingers and Pangs of Duriel.

Because Divine Favor increases rapidly from killing enemies in Helltide, the same “keep moving, keep killing” approach that produces more elite encounters also produces faster Favor gains. Done correctly, you can walk out of a single Helltide with a meaningful stack of Hearts and a huge Favor jump, then spend that Favor on board rewards like caches and progression materials.

What changed about Baneful Hearts in Season 11

If you’ve noticed that Tortured Gifts aren’t consistently dropping Baneful Hearts anymore—even on the highest difficulties—that’s expected. The game now places more weight on Baneful Hearts as a summoning resource tied to Duriel-related progression. Since Duriel’s influence is woven into Helltides, the most reliable Heart income shifts toward killing the right enemies rather than gambling on chest outcomes.

In practical terms, this means your route should be built around spawning and finding Duriel’s most dangerous minions, then killing as many elites per minute as possible.

Pre-Helltide setup (do this before you enter)

1) Activate the right Essence of Pain variant

To increase the frequency of the ambush-style elites that matter most, activate Essence of Pain in its corrupted version so that Pangs of Duriel can ambush you more often. More ambushes means more elite kills, which is the engine behind both Baneful Hearts and fast Divine Favor.

2) Equip a speed-farming build, not a bossing build

This strategy rewards movement and clear speed. Prioritize:

• High mobility (movement speed, teleports/dashes, low downtime)
• Fast area coverage (wide AoE, chain clears, instant casts)
• Elite burst (to delete Harbingers and ambushers without slowing your loop)

3) Consider movement-enhancing Rune Words

If you have access to Rune Words that improve traversal, they can meaningfully increase your elites-per-minute. Options mentioned for speed include Rune Words that replace your evade with a teleport-like movement option, and others that grant stacking movement speed for short durations. The exact choice depends on your build’s rhythm, but the goal is the same: reduce travel time between packs and keep your kill chain uninterrupted.

Each Helltide typically provides two active farming zones (and in some cases more). You don’t need to “do everything.” Two zones are enough to generate strong returns if you keep your pace high and avoid time sinks.

Step 1: Enter the first Helltide zone and start a kill loop

As soon as you enter, begin moving through the zone in a broad circuit. Your priority list should look like this:

• Harbingers and other high-value elites
• Pangs of Duriel ambushes
• Dense packs that keep cinders flowing while you hunt elites

Step 2: Ignore summoning Duriel during the farm loop

Don’t stop your route to summon Duriel during the Helltide loop. The time cost is rarely worth it compared to what you gain by staying in motion and generating more elite encounters. You also don’t need to “play for cinders” early—cinders will naturally pile up as a byproduct of nonstop killing.

Step 3: Skip Hellspires and Ravenous Soulspires

Both spire events can be tempting, but they often slow you down. Since your main profit comes from elite kills and ambushes, it’s usually more efficient to keep moving through the zone and let elites come to you. Treat spires as optional only if they are exceptionally convenient and don’t break your circuit.

Step 4: Open Tortured Gifts only when it’s convenient

Chests still matter for loot, materials, and occasional extra value, but they are not the core of Baneful Heart farming in this approach. Use this rule:

• Farm first until you have a healthy pile of cinders.
• Open chests as you stumble upon them without detouring far off your route.
• Clear multiple Tortured Gifts in the zone before you leave it, including higher-value (orange) ones, so you don’t waste travel time later.

Step 5: Inventory reset, then repeat

When your inventory is full, teleport to town, salvage or sell quickly, then jump back in and continue the circuit. The strength of this method is repetition and uptime: the more minutes you spend killing, the more Hearts and Favor you generate.

After you’ve opened the convenient chests in the first area and your elite density begins to feel less efficient, swap to the second zone and repeat the same elite-first loop. Two zones is typically enough to keep your pace high without overcomplicating the route.

How Divine Favor scales so quickly in Helltides

Divine Favor increases rapidly from Helltide kills, which is why this route works even if your main goal is Favor rather than Hearts. Compared to many other activities, Helltide offers near-constant combat with strong pack density, so your Favor counter climbs steadily as long as you maintain uptime.

Fast Divine Favor is valuable because it accelerates claiming board rewards, including early progression items and higher-tier caches that can contain materials and loot used for upgrades and endgame preparation.

Efficiency tips to maximize Baneful Hearts per Helltide

Keep your loop tight

Wide detours kill your returns. If you find yourself running long distances without fighting, adjust your circuit to stay inside the densest routes and event clusters.

Prioritize elite sound/visual cues

Harbingers and ambush elites are your primary targets. Train yourself to react to elite cues immediately—delete them, loot quickly, and keep moving.

Don’t over-loot mid-farm

Pick up what matters, but don’t turn every stop into a sorting session. The fastest runs treat town trips as quick resets, not prolonged inventory management.

Opening chests is most efficient when you can chain several in a single sweep. Build cinders naturally while farming elites, then spend them in a short burst before you rotate zones or reset inventory.

What else you gain while doing this

Even if you enter Helltide strictly for Baneful Hearts and Divine Favor, this route also tends to produce:

• Gear upgrades from constant elite drops
• Boss materials from Helltide activity and elite kills
• General crafting and progression resources from repeated chest openings

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Tortured Gifts still matter for Baneful Hearts?

They can still contribute, but they’re no longer the most reliable source. In Season 11, focusing on Harbingers and Pangs of Duriel inside Helltide is typically more consistent than banking on chest drops.

Should I summon Duriel during Helltide to improve my farming?

For this specific strategy, it’s usually better to skip summoning during the loop. The time spent setting it up often reduces your elite kills per minute, which is the main driver of Hearts and Favor.

Are Hellspires and Ravenous Soulspires worth doing?

Not if your goal is speed. They can be fun and occasionally rewarding, but they often slow the route compared to simply running through dense areas and hunting elites.

Downtime. Standing still to manage loot, detouring far for a single chest, or waiting out events reduces kill volume, which directly reduces Favor per hour.

What kind of build performs best for this farm?

Any setup with high movement speed, strong AoE clear, and quick elite burst. If your build can maintain nonstop kills while moving, it will naturally generate more Baneful Hearts and faster Divine Favor.