Diablo 4’s new Lord of Hatred expansion added some tantalizing developments in the hunt for the game’s fabled secret cow level, but so far, the level itself still remains illusive.
Players have been on the hunt for Diablo 4’s cow level, a Diablo franchise tradition, since the game first launched in 2023. Both Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 sported their own versions of the joke level (which was actually kind of lucrative), leading fans to assume Diablo 4 had one too, despite Blizzard insisting it didn’t. The base game and its first expansion both offered new clues as to the level’s whereabouts and seemed to move the ball forward, only for secret hunters to to run into dead ends both times. Lord of Hatred, however, has changed that.
As seen in the video above from a member of Diablo 4’s Not Finding A Cow Level Discord server, with the addition of the Horadric Cube (a crafting tool that granted access to versions of the cow level in previous Diablo games), dedicated cow-level truthers have finally found a use for previously discovered secret items like the stamina potion and rusty bardiche. Combining these in the cube along with a morbid new item, Neyrelle’s hand, transmutes them into an all-new item, the cow skull Trophy of the Faithful. That item, in turn, rewards a torn journal page.
That’s when things get interesting. After obtaining the page, a small boat appears off the coast of the new Skovos region. Boarding the boat sees players whisked away, all the while quotes from a bovine-related prophecy appear on screen. The small island where the boat deposits players is deserted, save for some cow statues, what looks to be a reference to Diablo 3’s secret pony level, and a cellar.
Stepping into the cellar reveals a temple of some kind, one where a ring of cows look to be attempting to perform a magic ritual. A note on the temple wall reveals a map fragment that proclaims, “This has to be it!” along with another, still to-be-determined clue.
Players are still looking to crack the cow-level code, but it remains to be seen if the cow level will actually make an appearance as part of Lord of Hatred, three years after Diablo 4’s launch. Datamining has revealed a new item, the Crown of the Cow King, is somewhere to be found in the expansion, leading many to believe the cow level’s discovery is imminent. However, it’s also possible all these clues could lead to a dead end and another multi-year wait for yet another expansion, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
Blizzard, for its part, seems to be enjoying teasing fans. During a Lord of Hatred livestream prior to launch, several Blizzard developers could be seen wearing cow-related shirts, and in an interview, Diablo 4 associate game director Zaven Haroutunian even explicitly teased a secret to be found in the Pit endgame activity, though it doesn’t seem players have discovered it yet.
On the newly discovered cow island, a room in the temple filled with human skeletons worshipping at a bovine altar is labeled as “The Waiting Room.” That could certainly be taken to indicate that everyone hoping to finally see the cow level revealed will be waiting for a long, long time.
Thankfully, Blizzard added plenty of new things to see and do in Diablo 4 while players wait for the grand cow reveal. In addition to a new campaign, Diablo 4’s Lord of Hatred expansion added two new classes with Paladin and Warlock, reworked Diablo 4’s endgame with the addition of War Plans, and even completely revamped the skill trees for each class, though that last point has players divided on whether it was a change for the better.