Diablo 4 is liable to keep players engaged for a long time owing to the plethora of features and content. One can invest hours perfecting their build and experimenting with various skills pertaining to each class. The introduction of some new gameplay systems and storylines has further encouraged players to tweak their build. Malignant Hearts have been a crucial aspect of this season.
Diablo 4 provides four types of hearts: Brutal, Vicious, Wrathful, and Devious. Each heart type offers robust buffs, some even specific to a class. Thus, it can be daunting to segregate the best from the least effective hearts. Players will benefit from this tier list to choose the best Devious Malignant Hearts for their character.
Disclaimer: This article is subjective and reflects the writer’s opinions.
Which are the best Diablo 4 Devious Malignant Hearts?
Diablo 4’s Season of the Malignant offers a total of 32 hearts, with four from each aforementioned type being reserved for every class. While all the hearts are effective on their own, their usability depends on a player’s build and playstyle. Devious Malignant Hearts are color coded as pink and offer utility-oriented buffs.
Those new to the game must first complete the main campaign to gain access to Season of the Malignant. Fans can refer to this extensive guide on Caged Hearts, how to farm them, and Infested Sockets.
S-Tier
The following are the best Devious Malignant Hearts:
- Retaliation: Players can deal a significant amount of fire damage (around 510-680) to all the foes in their vicinity in instances when an effect called crowd control is removed.
- Frozen Terror: Fans stand a chance (10-20%) to affect their enemies with fear for a few seconds. Foes impacted with fear are also inflicted with chilled status effect at 20% per second.
Retaliation is usable by every class in the game. Frozen Terror, on the other hand, is unique to the Necromancer class. This heart is liable to help players in dealing with swarms of enemies with ease.
A-Tier
The following hearts can be considered under this tier:
- Inexorable Force: This heart enables one to pull several distant foes towards them, provided one has any ultimate skill attack active.
- Punishing Speed: A player’s skill is granted around 20-30% probability of knocking down their adversaries for a few seconds. This applies when their attack speed is more than a range of 35-20%.
Inexorable Force is exclusive to the Druid class, and fans inclined to know more can delve into this article covering all Druid Malignant Hearts. Punishing Speed is one of the unique hearts for the Barbarian and incentivizes players to adopt an aggressive stance in battles.
B-Tier
The following are some potent Devious Malignant Hearts:
- The Clipshot: It grants players’ Cutthroat skills, a significant chance to slow down their adversaries for some time. Furthermore, it enables their Marksman skills to knock back their foes.
- Determination: This heart reduces the effectiveness of resource-draining effects by a certain percentage. It, however, increases resource generation by a small amount.
Players with any class can use determination, and it is effective if one wishes to generate more resources (like Mana, Essence of Fury) by sacrificing the potency of resource-draining effects. The Clipshot is applicable only to the Rogue class.
C-Tier
The following are the least effective hearts associated with the Devious category:
- The Calculated: Upon consumption of around 150-200 primary resources, a player’s next attack inflicts stun debuff on foes.
- Spite: Whenever a player is impacted by the crowd control effect, this heart grants a significant chance of affecting the surrounding adversaries with the same effect for a short duration.
The Calculated can be used by every class, but the short span of stun effect at the cost of primary resources is not a great deal. Spite is reserved for the Sorcerer class. Fans can delve into this guide highlighting the best Sorcerer leveling and end-game build for Season of the Malignant.
There are other heart types in the game fans can leverage to gain unique bonuses. Those interested can check out this tier list to learn about the best Vicious Malignant Hearts.