All Diablo games have a secret cow level, right? According to Blizzard, Diablo 4 doesn’t, yet. But that hasn’t stopped players from joining forces in an attempt to uncover the mythical space.
In the run up to Diablo 4’s record-breaking launch, development chief Rod Fergusson insisted the action role-playing game does not include a secret cow level, or any secret level for that matter, because Blizzard wanted to keep the tone and feel “grounded”.
“We wanted to make sure it felt authentic to the kind of gothic, dark themes we have. We’ve been really focused on trying to keep it as grounded as possible,” Fergusson told Kinda Funny Games. “And because of that, there’s no secret level in Diablo 4 that people might be looking for as per previous games. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be in the future.”
Now Diablo 4’s out in the wild, it seems an entire chunk of the playerbase simply refuses to believe Blizzard. It’s deliberately misleading players, they insist, trying to throw them off the scent. That’ll keep the secret cow level a secret for longer and make its eventual discovery more of a surprise. Who cares about the truth, anyway?
Undeterred, redditor Altnob collected the various theories and discoveries Diablo 4 players have come up with and dumped them in a detailed post that reads like the ravings of a conspiracy theorist.
“Diablo 4 puzzles are pretty entertaining,” the post begins. “We’ve found a few things that have lead us to believe the cow level is real.”
What follows is talk of hidden quests, mysterious portals, and screenshots of NPCs saying curious things. Someone pointed out there’s a reference to ‘Oxen Gods’ in Ked Bardu. There’s even mention of datamined items some players reckon will form a part of a future quest to unlock the cow level.
Admittedly, this part of the hunt sounds most likely to be related to a cow level. There’s a Bloody Wooden Shard item with a W carved on the side and a Musty Tome. Fans reckon the shard is a reference to Wirt’s wooden leg, and the Musty Tome is a Tome of Town Portal. Diablo 2 fans will remember both were needed to access Moo Moo Farm in Diablo 2.
Taking things even further, redditor frogbound hunted down all the cow spawns across the world of Sanctuary. It turns out most cow spawns are where fields are visible on the map, and most cows spawn in groups of three. “By three they come?!” frogbound croaked. “Relogging after slaughtering the moos will sometimes result in less than three cows spawning. So this might not entirely be true anymore.”
The cow thing goes on, but doesn’t lead anywhere. “I will check out more things after work,” frogbound said, determined. Upon returning, frogbound took to drawing a cow head on the map of Sanctuary. Maybe this really is too much conspiracy. “It’s the Bermuda Cowangle!” Aurabora quipped.
For now, the hunt continues, although without major discoveries. Blizzard is set to answer burning questions from players in a campfire chat tomorrow. Perhaps we’ll get the final moo then.
In IGN’s 9/10 review we described Diablo 4 as “a stunning sequel with near perfect endgame and progression design that makes it absolutely excruciating to put down”. Be sure to check out our Diablo 4 guide for tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your journey through hell, and to use our interactive map to keep track of your progress as you play.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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