In the original Diablo, there were rumors that clicking on cows can send you to a secret cow level. This wasn’t actually the case, but the developers did take notice of it and came up with a plan to actually add these secret levels in the next installments. If you are wondering about Diablo 3 Secret Levels, this guide will show you how to unlock them.
Now, if you have dissected Diablo II well enough, you might have also played that unique hidden cow level in the game. The tradition, however, has been kept alive in the latest iteration, i.e. Diablo 3 where we have a couple of hidden levels that can be accessed through a specific portal corresponding to the particular level.
The portal for each level requires you to gather some materials so that you can build the portal to open the entry path. The following are some hidden levels you can unlock in Diablo 3.
For more help on Diablo 3, read our Builds, Crafting and Farming Guide.
Diablo 3 Secret Levels Unlock
Whimsyshire
Also known as the secret Pony level (due to its cartoony colors and presentation), Whimsyshire will require you to gather some materials which can be hard to find if you haven’t beaten the game at least once.
In any case, we are here to help you out with the requirements you need to fulfill to enter the fantasy, rich colored secret level in the game.
Staff of Herding
To find the entrance to Whimsyshire secret level, you need to build a Staff of Herding first. The items you will need for this are:
1. Black Mushroom – These mushrooms aren’t very common. You can find one in Cathedral in Act 1, in a room where you will also find some mobs.
2. Shibone – This item will spawn randomly so you will have to rely on your luck a bit to find it fast. Leoric’s Manor is the place in Act 1 where you should look for this item in a room with a long table and fireplace in it.
3. Liquid Rainbow – In Oasis, during Act 2 ( a side quest, you will get from a NPC to the south of the map), this item will spawn in the Mysterious Cave in a chest. The old man you will save can open the chest for you.
4. Wirts Bell – You can buy this item from a merchant in the city in Act 2.
5. Gibbering Gem Stone – It can be one tricky item to find as it’s a pretty random drop so you may have to spend some time to find it. In Act 3, in Cavers of Frost, it can be a random drop from Chiltara. You can find it in Fields of Slaughter where you will have to fight with some mobs.
Since it’s a chance event, and if you have exited the Caverns, you will have to try again. The process will be repeated until you get what you desire. Finding Chiltara in the dungeons appears the safest bet to me as she will drop this Gem Stone for sure.
6. Plans for the Staff of Herding – You can have them in Act 4 from Izual. It’s also a random spawn so don’t get annoyed if you don’t get it the first time.
7. 50,000 gold – This is the price to craft the items mentioned above.
8. Plans for the Nightmarish Staff of Herding – You can buy it from Gorell the Quartermaster in Act 4 for 1 gold. Easy enough? Well, not as much as it seems as you will have to do it at Nightmare difficulty. And, you will also need 200,000 gold to craft the staff.
How to Enter the Whimsyshire Level
After you have gathered the staff, you have entitled yourself to enter the magical realm as many times as you want. To enter Whimsyshire secret level, head back to Act 1 and get access to Old Tristram road (you can choose any quest). Get the area of this road that lies in between the New Tristram and the Old Ruins.
You need to find the red glowing light over the southern cliff bridge. That is where the Ghost of the Cow King will appear from. Talk to the ghost and when the conversation is over, you will see a more colorful spectrum that will also lead you to the entrance of Whimsyshire.
It’s important that you don’t think that the colorful zone will be for kids. The monsters inside can give you tough time, and I will recommend that you should at least be level 30 before you enter this area.
Development Hell
This secret level is not that hard to find. At the higher difficulty level, during Shattered Crown quest in Act 1, there will be four crypts you enter in instead of 3. The 4th one (which will not appear at the lower difficulty level) is the entrance to Development Hell.
The monsters inside this level are named after the development team, so they named it as such. Jay Wilson of course (the game director), is the most notorious monster in there, and if you manage to take him out, you will get the Feat of Strength achievement unlocked. Overall, it’s a fun level, especially when you kill some familiar names being shown as monsters.
Quality Well Secret Level
Quality Well is an intriguing secret area found at the well in the Old Tristram of Act 1. This level is an Easter Egg and somewhat similar in concept to the Development Hell level. The difference is that Quality Well uses the same map tiles as The Cave Under The Well, and it houses Blizzard Employees that worked on Quality Assurance (QA) during the development of Diablo III.
There aren’t any achievements associated with the level nor any bosses. It is just an Easter Egg.
To get to this Easter Egg, start the quest “The Fallen Star: Rumford at the Gate” in Act 1. Now talk to Rumford to get the quest which will open the Old Tristram Road. Go along the road until you see a well at the center of the zone. The Quality Well has a 1% chance of spawning, so keep your eye out.
