What you need to know
- Diablo 2 and 3 each had a secret level full of demonic cows, and Diablo 4 players are trying to find this level within the game.
- There is a Discord server dedicated to finding the existence of the 'Not a Cow Level' and they are compiling evidence found throughout the game.
- The evidence such a level exists is mounting, and a recent breakthrough in data mining shows the items that may be needed to access this level.
- UPDATE OCT. 23, 2023: There has been a HUGE breakthrough in the hunt today as players have discovered that killing 666 cows in specific areas will reward one of the three relics previously only seen in data mining. The race is back on to reach the cow level.
UPDATE (OCT. 23, 2023)
It's been quiet on the dairy front since our last update in June, but today the dedicated 'Not Finding a Cow Level' Discord members have had a massive breakthrough since the tireless bovine data-mining of the Summer. Season 2 Season of Blood may have just become Season of Beef.
The three relics only seen before in data mining images are real and in the game, at the cost of sacrificing a whopping 666 cows not once, not twice, but thrice! Yes, you're going to need to kill 1998 cows.
Once your cow-killing spree is complete, it's time to purify the artifacts (and maybe your conscience) by dunking them into the holy waters of the Ken Bardhu Cow Fountain, ensuring you wash away both your sins and any lingering beef grudges.
Update posted in the Discord server today reads:
"GOOD AFTERNOON COW MEMBERS We have achieved PROGRESS(tm) on the hunt. Long time member @grampajoe discovered (the hard way) that killing 666 cows will now drop you one of the three relics, depending on the zone you kill the final cow in. Unfortunately this can only be done once per week per character. The good news is though, you can drop the relics to other party members, or share in your own stash, so the only limit is your patience to kill 2000ish cows! Armed with this knowledge, several teams have braved the grinding depths and obtained all 3 relics, in season and eternal."
The update above is only part of the puzzle, to get each of the 3 relics required you'll need to kill your 666th cow in a specific area of the game. Kill 665 wherever you choose, but your 666th MUST be in these areas for each of the relics:
- Bloody Wooden Shard - Hawezar or Kehjistan
- Musty Tome - Scosglen or Fractured Peaks
- Metallic Fragment - Dry Steppes
If you're wondering how you are going to rack up those cows, don't fear, the Discord have done the work for you. There is an interactive map here of all the cow spawn locations in the game. The 666 kills must be on one character.
Once you have acquired an item, a 666,666 second timer will commence during which you can not farm for another item in the puzzle again. (7.7 days). You can however farm on another character for 666 cows.
Once you have aquired your ill-gotten rewards, you can take them to the Cow Fountain in Ken Bardhu as mentioned in our previous findings. Purify the items and be rewarded with a Strange key to the Forlorn Hovel. This is found on the far East of Scosglen (the area that looks like a cows head).
Once inside the Forlorn Hovel, it is unlocked for your character forever. The Forlorn Hovel houses 28 cows, which you guessed it, are going to have to die — rewarding you with a stamina potion that looks suspiciously like dried milk.
This consumable applies an unknown buff for 5 minutes, and as yet the cow hunters haven't solved the next part of this quest, but it's only a matter of time before someone figures out the correct place in Sanctuary to drink this concoction.
Good luck out there in your search friends, and please, a moment of silence for the cows of Sanctuary that are about to go down.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE (JUN. 22, 2023)
While casual players of Diablo 4 still haven't finished the campaign, long-time players who are familiar with the previous games ask, where is the cow level?
Of course, the long-running joke is that there is no cow level in any of the games, but the Discord Server 'Not Finding A Cow Level' have mounting evidence that there is indeed one, or at least there will be one added to the game.
Before we take a look at their findings, let's run through the history of the elusive 'Not a Cow Level' in Diablo.
What is the cow level in Diablo?
Following the release of the original Diablo game in 1997, some players claimed that there was a special cow among a herd of cattle in the town hub area, and that clicking on it multiple times would open a red portal to a secret level full of demonic enemies. Some even created fake screenshots with Photoshop to support their claims. Because nothing says credibility like a poorly edited image. There was no cow level in Diablo yet, but the joke had taken on a life of its own.
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Fast forward to Diablo 2, and a hidden level titled 'Moo Moo Farm' was actually added to the game. Players had to obtain Wirt’s Leg, a unique item that could be found on the corpse of an NPC from Diablo 1, and combine it with a Tome of Town Portal in the Horadric Cube. This could only be done after completing the campaign on the difficulty they were playing on, and would open a portal to the Not The Cow Level. The Moo Moo Farm literally became a great farm for loot and experience, and beef.
Diablo 3 released in 2012, and not only did the loading screens tease that 'there is no cow level', but you were also able to craft a 'Staff of Herding' within the game following a laborious quest for the rare materials. The Staff of Herding did not take you to a cow level, but following the 20th Anniversary Event in 2017, Blizzard added a Bovine Bardiche to the loot table. This legendary polearm, when broken down in Kanai's Cube or used in the Ruins of Tristram would take you to the secret cow level, where loot and steak awaited you.
The Cow Level joke has bled into other Blizzard titles, even World of Warcraft got involved during the same 20th Anniversary Event, with treasure goblins in the game that when killed would open a portal to a Cow Level. The reskin of Yorgen Farmstead spawned Diabolic Bovines and a rare elite Cow King. There's also been items such as Wirt's Third Leg, and a cheat code that says "there is no cow level" when typed into chat.
Will there be a cow level in Diablo 4?
Blizzard have said there is no cow level in Diablo 4, but of course they would say that. Many players are convinced there is evidence in the game to the contrary and have even set up a Discord server dedicated to finding the truth.
One of their main discoveries is a fountain in Ken Bardhu depicting four cows. The tablet on the fountain shows text “Spill their blood to be deemed worthy.”
It may or may not be related, but there is a Bloodspiller's Helm in the game.
Interacting with the Oxen facing East will give you further text:
The Oxen Gods stand as guardians to this sacred fountain. It is said that one who presents a worthy offering cleansed in these waters may gain their blessing.
This fountain has given new hope to those who are looking for the elusive cow level, as it seems to suggest a hidden riddle that will unlock more mysteries. Data miners have already found clues from the game of items that might be needed, that resemble the components from previous games for entering the Cow Level.
- Bloody Wooden Shard - "a worn, bloodstained chunk of wood with tattered leather straps. The letter "W" has been crudely carved on one side." Could this be a part of Wirt's Leg?
- Musty Tome "the tattered leather binding of an old tom. The deep blue dye has faded with age, and all of the pages have been torn out." This looks like the Tome of Town Portal from Diablo 2.
- Intricate Metallic Fragment "a metallic fragment of unknown origin, still humming with magical energies. It appears to be part of some ancient device." Does this refer to the Horadric Cube?
- Strange Key "a large metal key. Though is appears ordinary, you feel that it has some kind of power."
- Lucky Coin "An ornate coin"
There is no evidence that these items are in the game yet, and Reddit is already rife with people claiming to have found them but having no supporting screenshots.
It may be that these items do not exist anywhere in the game as yet, and will be added at a later date. It was also a pre-requisite to complete the game to access the Cow Level in previous games, so perhaps these items could be gated behind a player defeating Uber Lilith at Level 100.
Either way, the player base has gone to further extremes to prove the Cow Level theory in Diablo 4. Some players have gone on cow-culling bloodbaths in the quest to seek the truth, reddit user r/frogbound reported back on their cow observations. This thread describes their findings on cow spawns in Diablo 4, such as their locations, group numbers, behaviors and interactions with the player and included attempts to use emotes on them. Most interactions ended badly for the cow, but still no cow portal.
They have even gone on to point out that the Eastern part of the Scosglen map looks like a cow's head, and has three cow spawns on its nose.
I’m not sold on the cow-shaped map theory and I think it’s the result of a player losing their mind in their search for juicy steaks, but the data-mined clues and the fountain find are very intriguing to say the least.
What do you think? Is there a cow level in Diablo 4?
