Diablo 4 Season One has introduced a new type of gear to the game called Malignant Hearts, which you can use to give huge boosts to your build.
With new enemies to defeat, a bunch of new uniques to find, and 32 Malignant Hearts to collect, players should have plenty to do in Diablo 4 as they work their way through Season of the Malignant.
Malignant Hearts are exclusive to the Seasonal Realm in Season One and can’t be used by any existing character in the Eternal Realm, so you need to create a new character for this season. They also won’t be available in future seasons.
However, Malignant Hearts are worth collecting as they provide powerful additional effects to your build, helping to turn the tide against Lilith’s hordes of demons.
How to get Malignant Hearts in Diablo 4
To obtain Malignant Hearts, you need to slay Partly Corrupted enemies, a type of Malignant Monster, who will drop a Malignant Heart after being defeated.
Malignant Hearts can be captured by performing a ritual using the Cage of Binding, obtained during the new questline in Season One, which forces the enemy to be reborn as a Fully Corrupted enemy.
Once defeated, the Fully Corrupted enemy will drop a Malignant Heart for you to use.
You can also get Malignant Hearts by completing Malignant Tunnels, new dungeons introduced in Season One. You will face off against mobs of Malignant Monsters and come across two Outgrowths.
You then use Malignant Invokers, which can be crafted at Cormond’s Wagon, to summon a Fully Corrupted enemy. After the enemy is defeated, you will receive a Malignant Heart.
Related: Here are the Diablo 4 Patch 1.1 patch notes
How to use Malignant Hearts in Diablo 4
Malignant Hearts come in four different types and can be inserted into Infested Sockets in jewelry, which have colors corresponding to your Malignant Hearts—the process works the same way as socketing gems.
If you have a piece of jewelry that does not have a socket, you can add one at the Jeweler, which will provide a random Infested Socket color.
Malignant Hearts can only be inserted into slots with the corresponding color. However, Wrathful Malignant Hearts, which are black, can be used in any Infested Socket.
