Diablo II

There Is No Cow Level

The Secret Cow Level — officially the Moo Moo Farm — is a hidden area in Diablo II filled with Hell Bovines: bipedal, polearm-wielding cows who exist solely to be farmed. It's the most iconic farming zone in D2 history and one of the best places to hunt runes, bases, and charms thanks to its unmatched monster density.

Originally an Easter egg referencing the "there is no cow level" cheat code from the original StarCraft, the cow level became the endgame farming meta for millions of players. If you've played D2, you've run cows.

How to Open the Portal

1. Kill Baal on the difficulty you want to farm. Normal Baal → Normal cows, etc.
2. Get Wirt's Leg — Portal to Tristram from Act 1 and click Wirt's corpse (lower-left area).
3. Get a Tome of Town Portal — Buy from Akara in the Rogue Encampment.
4. Transmute Wirt's Leg + Tome of Town Portal in the Horadric Cube while standing in Act 1 Rogue Encampment.
5. A red portal appears. Enter at your own risk.

Requirements by Difficulty

The Cow King — And the Lockout

The Cow King is a Super Unique boss somewhere in the Moo Moo Farm. He's Lightning Enchanted and drops the Cow King's Leathers set (Horns, Hide, Hooves).

Here's the rule that defined an era of D2 etiquette: in original D2 / Lord of Destruction, if the Cow King dies in a game you created, you can never open the cow portal again on that character in that difficulty. Period. Permanent. No fix.

The critical details:

• The lockout only applies to the game creator. If you join someone else's game and they opened the portal, you can kill the King without consequence.
• It doesn't matter who lands the killing blow. If the King dies in your game, you're locked.
• Your merc, your party, a random player — if anyone kills him in your game, it's over.
• The lockout is per-character, per-difficulty. Losing Normal cow access doesn't affect Hell.

Note: This restriction was removed in Diablo II: Resurrected (2021). In D2R, you can kill the Cow King in any game without losing portal access. See our D2R Cow Level Guide for the updated rules.

Best Builds for Cow Farming

What Drops in the Cow Level

Hell Bovines (mlvl 81) can drop:

• Runes — Up to Ber. The density makes cows one of the best rune-hunting zones.
• Bases — Monarchs, eth elite weapons, white armors for runewords.
• Charms & Jewels — Grand charms, small charms, jewels drop constantly.
• Cow King's Leathers — The 3-piece set drops from the Cow King himself.

Cows are not great for unique hunting — there's no boss drop bonus. For specific uniques, boss runs are more efficient.

Farming Tips

• Herd before you nuke. Pull large groups together before AoE. More cows per cast = more loot per second.
• /players 8 in single player for maximum drops. In multiplayer, fill the game.
• MF matters less here. You're farming for runes and bases, not uniques. Prioritize kill speed.
• Don't kill the Cow King in your own game (D2/LoD only). Herd away from him or leave him alive.
• Full clear the map. Cow packs cluster near edges and corners — don't skip them.

FAQ