Cow Level Explanation

[Eyris]

Cow Level Explanation

So, the documentation I see on the Cow Level says "once per char per difficulty level". Yet I see posts talking about having chars that do "cow running", which implies doing it multiple times. How is this possible? Additionally, what does one run cows for (ie what drops do you get there), and are difficulties other than Hell worth doing?

 

[Atil]

As long as you don't kill the Cow King you can create a new portal each time you start a new game (as long as you collect the pre-requisite leg and tome).

I think Cows are run for runes, jewels, gems and socketed items. I found a Tarnhelm once, but otherwise junk.

 

[Cauthon]

You can re-open the cow portal multiple times provided you do not kill the Cow King during your visit.

 

[jjscud]

You may only kill the Cow king once per difficulty level. Assuming you don't kill the cow king, you may kill the rest of the cows as many times as you wish.

Cows are generally ran for three reasons, runes, high end socketables, and the cow king set items. High runes and high end socketables that people search for are generally only found on Hell Cows but the Cow King Set items can be found on normal and nightmare. The early cow versions are also a potential source of experience, for the right char.

 

[Eyris]

As long as you don't kill the Cow King you can create a new portal each time you start a new game (as long as you collect the pre-requisite leg and tome).

I think Cows are run for runes, jewels, gems and socketed items. I found a Tarnhelm once, but otherwise junk.

Ah, so it's actually "one Cow King kill per character per difficulty". Good to know. What about running things other than Hell Cows? Or is that not worth it?

Edit: wow, too slow. 3 more responses while I was typing up that. Thanks guys!

 

[water_moon]

You can only kill the cow king once. but if you leave before you kill the cow king you can go back, one of the reasons why lightening is pop for cow running is that the cow king is always LI.

Only the cows can drop the cow kings leathers, so it's popular with grailers (if you don't know this term, go and read the SPF FAQs, it's stickied at the top of this forum), and they're pretty good for runes IIRC.

edit: too slow...

 

[Atil]

What about running things other than Hell Cows? Or is that not worth it?

Good targets are Hell Mephisto, Pindleskin and Level 85 Areas (such as The Pit and Ancient Tunnels). Running the WSK and Baal are also good for experience if your character can handle them.

 

[Eyris]

Good targets are Hell Mephisto, Pindleskin and Level 85 Areas (such as The Pit and Ancient Tunnels). Running the WSK and Baal are also good for experience if your character can handle them.

Sorry, I meant running Norm/NM cows vs Hell. I do know about the other MF areas.

 

[Hoop76]

With the right char, you can get alot of charms and gems, not to mention runes. The only reasone i can think of running normal or nightmare besides for exp is for items with lower levels then hell.

 

[Kefir-Tribe1]

As long as you don't kill the Cow King... oh wait..

When I first read the title I thought you were after the reason for the cow level being there. That's somewhat interesting. I guess it's from the cow level rumors in.. was it d1? And the cheat code in Star Craft; thereisnocowlevel. Funny stuff. Wirt’s leg is used to open the portal, Wirt’s second leg can be found in WCIII and an other one (did the guy have three??) in WoW IIRC. Something shady is going on. Maybe its signs of Blizzard's campaign for gaining world domination... :hide:

Also worth mentioning is that it was the place for gaining (or leeching :azn: ) XP in 1.09.

 

[Puffen]

I don't want to start a new topic regarding my question since I'm too lazy and I think it fits in here somewhat. So, to the question:

What's the lore behind the cow level in diablo2, and is it ever mentioned by an NPC or in the game manual etc?

 

[sawm]

Theory has it that the cows in Diablo 1 were annoyed and angered by all the clicking that was done on them...so in Diablo 2, they've come back to exact their revenge.

 

[narfman0]

There was a biiiiiiiig rumor that started in Diablo I. You log into battle.net and you hear mention of a cow level. Eventually people "found out" how to get to this cow level, and you would hear of doing absurd things like talking to cain, rounding the fountain three times, going around to wirt then to adria five times going a certain route, then ending at the cows and circling them counterclockwise at 11:59 pm while wilding the thinkin cap helm. These stories were all just made up. We think.

Anyways, after the first fib (but seriously) was told, it really caught on. People imagined it as a glitch, even though there wasn't a cow level to speak of. Everyone who played d1 knew about the cow level, and most knew "how to get there," and by how to get there, I mean that they knew it walse false. For a while it was the greatest secret discovered of any game ever. (Secret, ehh?)

 

[purplelocust]

Sorry, I meant running Norm/NM cows vs Hell. I do know about the other MF areas.

The normal Cow King is a great source of some hard-to-find TC3 set and unique items. Killing him repeatedly with a high MF character is a great way of getting some useful items (Gull, Tarnhelm, Hotspurs, Tancred's Boots, Death's Sash) and is also good for filling out the obscure TC3 items for a grailer. To kill him repeatedly is not possible if the character who creates cows is the one who kills the Cow King, so a multiplayer game is the way to go for that. One character makes the cow level but doesn't enter it, the other enters the level, kills the Cow King with high MF, then repeats.