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The Secret Cow Level in Diablo 2 - Old School Gamer Magazine
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The ever-popular game of the 1990s, Diablo became a hub of many gaming rumors. The Jersey’s Jersey quest for one of its extensions, Diablo: Hellfire, was rumored to have a secret level. Well, secret levels in online quest-based games are nothing new for any of us. There’s always a character, a door, a key, a combination, or any other portal leading to mysterious levels deep within the game.

When players and fans heard of Diablo’s secret level, they imagined all sorts of possibilities and bonuses. The rumor went something like this: in Tristram, there’s a cow that you have to click a specific number of times. If you make the right number of clicks on the correct cow, you’d be allowed entry to a secret Cow Level.

By the way, if you’re writing a paper, articles, or essays on online gaming, the secret cow level is a popular choice of many. In fact, a number of educational essay writing services have expertise on this topic. Students availing an essay writing service like the Edubirdie service can amp up their gaming essays as well. However, make sure your writer is familiar with the game settings and terminologies so that your essay is a flawless one!

Now, this rumor was probably set off because of some glitch or maybe some hint given by the game producers. Everybody imagined a wonderful level with tons of bonuses that weren’t too difficult to get hold of.

However, neither the original Diablo game nor any of its extensions reported the incidence of any such level. People still kept searching for it, using all sorts of cheats and tricks. Nothing worked to stop the rumors.

Later on, the rumors died down with an official statement. The game owners of StarCraft added a cheat code to the program. The code interpreted, ‘There’s no cow level.’ Following this announcement, the rumor evaporated rather spontaneously.

Adding the Cow Level to Diablo 2

However, a legend had been born. Even if the gamers never intended to add a cow level to any of the Diablo games or extensions, they had an idea of audience’s interests. They needed ways to make the game rather mysterious and rewarding. However, toughening the levels or increasing them in number wasn’t the answer.

To make Diablo’s sequel, the developers had the found exactly the trick they were looking for: adding a secret level! On April 1st, 1999, a Diablo 2 Screenshot of the Week featured cows fighting. At that time, it could easily be waved off as an April Fool’s joke. However, when Diablo 2 was released, gamers once again set off to explore all possible quest items and combinations.

This time, the urge to finally set foot in the legendary cow level was ever so strong. Diablo 2 and the extension Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction, both featured this level. The quest item Horadic Cube had the ability to generate new quest items. As the players continued to try different combinations and tricks, the recipe for a secret cow level gradually worked itself out!

How Do Players Reach This Level?

The Diablo 2 Cow Level, also known as the Moo Moo farm, requires a bit of effort. The final quest in Act IV, or extension’s Act V, leads to the cow level. You have to reach and complete the ‘Eve of Destruction’ quest on the same level to create a cow portal.

In other words, you cannot change the game difficulty level if you want to reach the secret Diablo 2 cow level. To get the portal on your game screen, combine the Wirt’s Leg with a Tome of Town Portal in the Horadic Cube. A red portal will appear in the starting area of Act I.

However, there’s one limitation to the recipe required to enter this level. One character can enter the secret cow level using a certain difficulty level only once. For instance, the Kingslayer at normal difficulty has entered and completed the quest in the secret cow level. This setting cannot create another portal. Not just the main character, but all other mercenaries and supporting faculty also become ineligible.

What’s the Secret Cow Level Quest in Diablo 2?

Coming to the main question, what’s inside the secret cow level in Diablo 2? For starters, the secret cow level is a small, congested area in Act I. It’s crammed with Hell Bovines: bipedal cattle with polearms. Amongst the cluster of cows, there’s always a Cow King in every secret cow level. A character who slays the Cow King at a specific difficulty level cannot reenter the same difficulty.

Player Settings

Here are a few important terms:

  • Pre-Opener: Someone who hasn’t yet completed the Eve of Destruction quest.
  • Cow Quester:Someone who has completed the Eve of Destruction. This player is yet to set up a secret cow level portal and play inside it.
  • Ex-Opener: Someone who has finished the secret cow level at a specific character and difficulty setting.

What Makes This Level So Special?

Every gamer obviously had pretty high expectations from the secret cow level. Its inclusion in the game was, in large, due to the strong influence of gamers themselves. The developers made the level interesting yet easy enough to keep people engaged. Here’s why this level became a special one:

It had a number of cows that were crammed up in a small space. Their low resistance, slow speeds, and clusters made it rather easy to kill them.

It was the most popular place to level up in Patch 1.09 and was later nerfed in Patch 1.10. The level isn’t a cakewalk, nor is it a pile of thorns. It’s an easy way to gain a few credits, but the level ends perfectly, so you don’t keep grinding for the freebies.