The Cow King

[-Tempus-]

Here is one of my old posts about how the Cow King Quest works

Its funny that after all this time people still dont know how this works. I play more D2C then LOD but even there you find so many people that seem to mess this up all the time. Even with the changes to how it works in 1.10 vs 1.09

Here is some info on how on how it works in 1.10

You need the leg from that lev of game. If the leg is from a different lev game then it will look red and wont work.

To make the red portal you have to have killed Diablo in that lev game.

To enter the red portal you can be any lev and dont need to killed Diablo in that lev game. (that changed from 1.09)

To take a party members TP (blue) you need to kill Diablo in that lev game.

Low levs chars get next to no exp in any cow game untill they get to the mid 20's

High levs get very little exp in hell cows after they hit mid 80's If you have a good 8 person party you could still lev there at 87-88 but you could lev faster doing river/cs games.

KILLING the KING: in 1.10 (cow king quest)

The key to this is the char that gets the last hit on the king (killing blow) and if that char can still make the red tp or not.

If that char can still make the red portal then everyone thats down in the cow lev will lose the "cow king quest" IF THEY ARE IN THE PARTY OR NOT

If the char that gets the last hit on the king CANT make the red tp then everyone is safe.(then have killed the king for the quest in a different game, were in the cow lev when the king was killed someone doing the quest or havent killed diablo in tha lev game)

Now if you take a char that hasn't killed Diablo in that lev game (they cant make the tp) that char can kill the cow kill all they want and not lose the quest.

If you have a lev 60 char that just started hell and is only in act1. They have not killed hell Diablo so they can't make the red tp, so it is safe for them to kill the king all they want untill that char does kill hell diablo. Then its no longer safe for them to kill the cow king. That works as long as they never are in a game where someone else kills the king for the quest.

NOTE: when the king is killed by someone for the quest he will always drop 8 stamina pots

The only safe place to be when the king is killed is in town or back in chat.

-Tempus-

[mhl12]

hm.. nice guide. i've only briefly skimmed it. did u post it in the classic forum b/c its different than LOD cow lvls?

also a mod should sticky this as well.

[-Tempus-]

hm.. nice guide. i've only briefly skimmed it. did u post it in the classic forum b/c its different than LOD cow lvls?

also a mod should sticky this as well.

i first posted it over in the LL because people were asking about it and they couldnt seem to find the old posts. i also posted here a few times and over at the AB.

playing both LOD/D2C i still find people that will unparty when someone is killing the king (but they dont goto town) I also join games all the time where you see the 8 stamina pots on the ground (around the cowking) and after you tell them what happened all they do is spam noob junk.

the quest works the same for LOD as D2C its just you need to do baal there.

other things you see all the time are people that gem wirt's leg.

one thing i still need to test is doing the stones to free cain but dont free him. this shouldnt work but i havent had time to prove it yet. they must think it works like the halls of pain waypoint and killing Nat.

-Tempus-

[Cooked]

playing both LOD/D2C i still find people that will unparty when someone is killing the king (but they dont goto town) I also join games all the time where you see the 8 stamina pots on the ground (around the cowking) and after you tell them what happened all they do is spam noob junk.

-Tempus-


It is just amazing how many people on battlenet don't understand this! They also don't comprehend about killing the king when you haven't killed Diablo (or Baal) in that level as you commented on.

Perhaps, at least, some of our forum members will read this and learn about the cow level.

[Dacar92]

This question is constantly asked here. I think it is time to bring it back up top and sticky it in the build guide thread.

Thanks to Tempus for digging it up.

[-Tempus-]

one thing i still need to test is doing the stones to free cain but dont free him. this shouldnt work but i havent had time to prove it yet. they must think it works like the halls of pain waypoint and killing Nil.

-Tempus-

oh i did test this out a while ago on one of my mules, and it didnt work. no big shock there, something else i'll test when i get time is not having any waypoints in act 1

-Tempus-

[WarlockCC]

Afaik it really is as simple as you describe above, Tempus, regardless of cain status, stone status or WP status.

The following is simply a re-wording of what Tempus typed in his OP :
Killing the king on a difficulty while your king quest is open and you killed diablo on that difficulty will get you and all the people in the moo moo farm the quest.

Perhaps we should write it is prerequisites, since some prefer that form.
These are the prerequisites for finishing the quest for you and any other individuals in the cow level. This includes people not in the party.This means you will be unable to open any other cow portals on that difficulty :
- killed diablo in that difficulty
- never killed the king in that difficulty
- never been in a moo moo farm field while a first kill was committed(This is the difficult part, most people don't even know they have been 'helped' to get the quest)
If you kill(last hit) the king with those prerequisites, your cow king quest and that of the other people in the moo moo farm will be finished/done/closed.

[-Tempus-]

Afaik it really is as simple as you describe above, Tempus, regardless of
- never killed the king in that difficulty


the problem with wording it like that is it seems everyone forgets about the killing diablo(baal) part.

i'm sure a lot of people lev their chars something like i do. lev in act1 untill ~12, lev in act2 untill 20-24, goto act3 after that or lev in cows untill 30. since a char made like this isnt even in act4 yet and hasnt killed the king (so cant make the red tp) they can kill the king all they want and no one will lose the King Quest. yet that goes againt the "never killed the king in that difficulty"

the same king of things happens in NM games. once i have a char at +30 i'll finsh off normal and lev in nm games (or go back and make normal cows) since this char is only in nm act 1-2 (love nm arcane) they can kill the NM cow king all they want and not mess up the King Quest for anyone.

i think its best to just say if you are 100% sure you cant make the red tp in that lev game then kill the king. if you dont know, stay away from the king.

-Tempus-

MT: "i hate killing cow king now i cant make cows"

the king is a great boss to kill for drops in any lev game. you can also use the barb's FindItem skill on him to get a 2nd full drop. killing the king isnt the problem, its when he is killed by someone that doesnt know how the quest works that messes it up.

-Tempus-

[Magical Trevor]

i hate killing cow king now i cant make cows

[WarlockCC]

You have to be a bull or a cow to make cows. ;)

[forumfreak]

ok so i just figured out i cant make no more cow portals... :(

what happened was, me and my brothers(4 of us total, 3 getting rushed and one chantress) were rushing and leveling, our plan was to do cows after finishing a4.


once we got to a4, i left room since i wanted to be the one that was able to see norm games. we got in a room and they made a cow portal, we get in and clean out the room, one of my brothers got click happy and accidentally killed king. i was thinking like "ok thats aiight, i still can make after we kill diablo."

i make a new game and finish diablo. made another game and found out the quest was already completed!! so i couldnt make the cow portal anymore. even though i just completed norm. :(

oh wells, i guess i just have to be more cautious.

[Paladine]

Sticky Please

[FireMarshal]

Sticky Please

It is stickied :wink3:

[goomba]

Sticky Please

what on earth for?

as for getting the cow quest if you haven't completed D at that level, this is 100% contrary to what I have experienced.

I routinely kill cows, clearing the entire level including the king in normal via an rclaw, and a level 32 chant with a brand new character, that hasn't been rushed yet, not even through Andariel.

and later on, am able to make normal cows after finally self-rushing.

that being said, the chanter should always be the cow portal maker, and should never enter the cows. both of my high level chanters are used soley for chanting and making cows, and neither have ever entered teh cow portal.

this way, I always have a "maker". (they only chant at a safe wp such as stoney, or inner cloister)

[The Cow King]

what on earth for?

Because it's a frequently asked question ><

[howdidigethere]

I get now how it works in multiplayer with killing the cow king and whatnot, but how would it work in single player (I spend the vast majority of time playing classic SP.)

[goomba]

Because it's a frequently asked question ><

depending on how we label "frequently" - pretty much everything here in the classic forum is frequently asked... :rolleyes:

[goomba]

I get now how it works in multiplayer with killing the cow king and whatnot, but how would it work in single player (I spend the vast majority of time playing classic SP.)

I would think, that by definition, if you are the player making cows, that you would have only one shot at killing the cow king in SP.

[purplelocust]

I would think, that by definition, if you are the player making cows, that you would have only one shot at killing the cow king in SP.

Indeed, unless you do multiplayer games with your SP characters. Given how good of a source of TC3 items the normal cow king is, it's great to be able to kill him over and over. That can be done with SP characters in MP games (as well as b.net games), though some SP players consider that cheesy.

[-Tempus-]

what on earth for?

as for getting the cow quest if you haven't completed D at that level, this is 100% contrary to what I have experienced.

I routinely kill cows, clearing the entire level including the king in normal via an rclaw, and a level 32 chant with a brand new character, that hasn't been rushed yet, not even through Andariel.

and later on, am able to make normal cows after finally self-rushing.

that being said, the chanter should always be the cow portal maker, and should never enter the cows. both of my high level chanters are used soley for chanting and making cows, and neither have ever entered teh cow portal.

this way, I always have a "maker". (they only chant at a safe wp such as stoney, or inner cloister)

he lost the quest because the king was killed by someone that could make the portal and he was down there at the time of the death ( in the part or not )

what you are doing thats different then what they did is your char is killing the king but since he cant make the portal yet (bc only in act1 or havent killed d yet) its safe for him to kill the king all you want.

what happenes most of the time is someone else kills the king (that can make the portal) and that messes up everyone else down there. the unparty to kill the king is just bs. it doesnt do anything at all. it just happens to be that the person that unparties cant make the portal. the only thing they are doing when they unparty is taking all the exp from the kills.

-Tempus-

[goomba]

he lost the quest because the king was killed by someone that could make the portal and he was down there at the time of the death ( in the part or not )

what you are doing thats different then what they did is your char is killing the king but since he cant make the portal yet (bc only in act1 or havent killed d yet) its safe for him to kill the king all you want.

what happenes most of the time is someone else kills the king (that can make the portal) and that messes up everyone else down there. the unparty to kill the king is just bs. it doesnt do anything at all. it just happens to be that the person that unparties cant make the portal. the only thing they are doing when they unparty is taking all the exp from the kills.

-Tempus-

I may have mis-read his post, but I was under the impression that he also was in the group prior to having completed Diablo when the king was killed, then upon killing Diablo had never been able to make cows.

regardless, the surefire way of knowing if/when a "quest kill" for the king is completed, is to look for 8 tell-tale stamina pots around the king. if one see's them then at least one person completed that quest, and will no longer be able to make cows for that mode of play (norm/nm/hell)

[Dacar92]

Can't you just level a mule to hell cows, have the mule make the game and then leave once the cow portal is up. Then you can kill the cow king as many times as you'd like.

[-Tempus-]

goomba:
from what i see they all rushed to act4 and he was the only one not to kill diablo (so he can see normal games) when they started the next game to cow one of the others made the portal (since he couldnt/hadnt killed d) now the only one that is safe to kill the king is him (since he hasnt killed d yet)

but since he was down there when the king was killed by someone that could make the portal, he can no longer make it on that lev.

it comes down to this, if you are 100% sure you cant make the tp for that lev kill the king, if you arent sure then park the king some place. its never cool to mess up someones quest.

Dacar92:
sure that works, but can be a pain unless you have 2 pc to use. i'll do that when i use my chanters. but still there are times when they ask for help (bad tp or something) and when the maker goes down someone kills the king :shocked: and messes it up for everyone.

-Tempus-

[darknessproz]

ok here is my story today i was killing diablo in normal for the 2nd time with some people.

i killed diablo before but that was when the quest could not be done.

then someone accidentaly killed the cow king when i was lvling. i thought is was alright because i have not done the diablo quest yet.

when i tried making the portal today, i cannot.

is it because i killed diablo before even without doing the quest?

[IsThisNamePermanent]

Two things can happen when cow king dies.

1.) Player kills cow king for the first time, thus removing the ability for the player and every one in the players party to make cows. I often refer to them as virgin cow king killer.

2.) Player kills cow king for 2nd and 3rd and 4th etc. time still has no ability to make cows but if others are partied who can make, does not remove their ability to make cows.

In order to make cows you need these requirements.

Tome of Town Portal
Wirts leg from current playing mode
Cube from act2
Player who has beaten current mode diablo for quest and has not been partied with a virgin cow king killer.

Use this information to figure out what scenario happened to you.

[darknessproz]

according to you i must have completed the diablo quest and someone killed the king but i just played today morning i killed diablo and my quest is done i rejoined the game when the timer is up but when i rejoin, got the leg and tried to make the portal i cannot. i think i will go try agin now or i must make a new character.

[WarlockCC]

Two things can happen when cow king dies.

1.) Player kills cow king for the first time, thus removing the ability for the player and every one in the players party to make cows. I often refer to them as virgin cow king killer.

2.) Player kills cow king for 2nd and 3rd and 4th etc. time still has no ability to make cows but if others are partied who can make, does not remove their ability to make cows.

In order to make cows you need these requirements.

Tome of Town Portal
Wirts leg from current playing mode
Cube from act2
Player who has beaten current mode diablo for quest and has not been partied with a virgin cow king killer.

Use this information to figure out what scenario happened to you.
Very nice and detailed description. From my tests I did find that in case 1, anybody in the cow level gets the quest, regardles of party status.
And to add some info to that, in case of 1, there will be 8 or so stamina potions dropped by the King.

[fledgeling]

So if any "virgin" (someone who still hasnt done the quest) kills the cow king, all virgins (even those who have not killed diablo) lose the ability to open the cow level?
I always understood it this way

[WarlockCC]

No, if you have not killed Diablo for the Diablo quest on that difficulty, you cannot get the quest. You could be the one killing the king, watching, in the party, out of the party, in town or elsewhere, you can not get the quest and you cannot cause others to lose the quest if you have not gotten the Diablo quest.

[Demek]

in simple words:
if u can open and kill king, everyone in cow level loses the (even potential) ability to open
if u can't open nothing happens

u can open after scoring d on that difficulty

[fledgeling]

if I cant open, but they can and they kill, do I lose the ability to open?
as I understand - I lose it, despite the fact that I cant open

[Demek]

yes, that's why i added (even potential) part

[NekoShinigami]

Ok, if I am playing with a friend, I get char A to open the portal and r/j game with char B. If me and my friend kills the king, do we get the quest since the portal was opened by my other char?

I am still a tad confused. I know that if you can open and kill king, everyone else loses the ability to open.

So what if the one that opens leaves the game or only stays in town? Will the rest who kills the king get the quest?

[HegemonKhan]

how king and hidden cow quest works and ONLY works:

(lots of misunderstanding with 90% of people who play diablo 2 even after ~10 years after its release. do not believe what u heard or what other poeple say or what u think u know about this. THIS IS HOW THE HIDDEN COW QUEST WORKS. TEMPEST and his guide IS RIGHT, others are wrong)

(hopefully this is simplified, correct, and less confusing than what u read in the thread)

1. if ANYONE kills king for FIRST time (except, a person who has NOT killed diablo yet), than EVERYONE IN cow level gets the cow quest completed and can NOT make cow portal anymore

2. if u have killed the cow king already or if u have NOT killed diablo yet, than YOU can kill the cow king, and the cow quest will NOT be completed, allowing EVERYONE in the cow level who could make the cow portal to still be able to open the portal.

[Fearlessone]

Here is one of my old posts about how the Cow King Quest works
NOTE: when the king is killed by someone for the quest he will always drop 8 stamina pots

The only safe place to be when the king is killed is in town or back in chat. -Tempus-

I can confirm this. Recently some dumb barb was attacking Cow King. We were partied. I immediately left the Cow level and went to TOWN and stayed there. Kept asking him if King was dead. Finally a yes, and asked what he dropped. He noted that it was mostly a bunch of stamina pots. I went down and didn't see any, but he had to be accurate, for some odd reason he must have picked them up. I can still make cow lvl with that character..

So town, or I guess anywhere else in act1(just not the cow level) is safe to be when King is being attacked.

An aside: I know that some people are unpartied in the chaos sanctuary and still get the Diablo quest. I've seen it happen many times, possibly if they are within the 2 screens of Diablo. If you are further than that, you won't get the experience, and presumably won't get the quest. Normally, town is NOT a safe place to be if you don't want a quest. But I've never heard of an unpartied person getting any quest in town. Each boss has its own rules.

[HegemonKhan]

1. i KNOW diablo and cow king gives quest if u in the area, partied *OR UNPARTIED* (i'm not sure if u ahve to be close to diablo or not, i jsut know u CAN get his quest if u in cs area). the ONLY way to get the hidden cow quest completed (aka can't make portal anymore) is if u are IN cow level. partied or unpartied doesnt matter. u in cow level when cow quest is completed, u get it completed. no more making cow portal for anyone who was in cow level.

2. duriel gives quest to all partied players, even the ones in town.

3. i forgot about meph. i think u have to be in DOH3 (durance of hate 3) and partied to get quest. but maybe u can be partied in town and get quest. i'm leaning against this though, if my memory serves.

4. andarial gives quest if u partied and in catacombs 4.

[redsteven]

the info in the first post is still correct as of now, right (1.11)?

[HegemonKhan]

this IS how cow quest works (for the most recent-newest patch, cow quest remains unchanged):

this is all CONFIRMED AS CORRECT and written as clearly as i could:

1. it IS a quest. it's just hidden from the player and not on the quest screen.

2. the cow quest becomes available once u complete diablo quest.

3. once the cow quest is available (completed diablo quest in the same difficulty as u want to do the cow quest in), u need the (wirts) leg from tristram in the same difficulty as u want to do the cow area in and a tome/book of tps and transmute them (wirts leg and tp tome/book) in the cube IN ACT 1 town. this makes the red portal to go to the cow area.

4. to complete the cow quest u must be IN the cow area and have the cow king get killed by u OR ANYONE who has NOT completed the cow quest yet and it is availalbe to them.

this is confirmed by the droping of 7 or 8 stamina pots, since the cow quest is not on the quest screen and greyed out when it gets completed like the other quests.

*the completion of the cow quest is the dreaded: u can NOT make cows ANYMORE status*

5. u CAN kill the cow king and not complete the cow quest by:

5A. not having the cow quest available to u (aka u haven't completed the diablo quest yet and can NOT make the red cow portal)

5B. having ALREADY completed the cow quest (aka can't complete a quest a second time (duh!). u can NOT make the red cow portal)

5C. in other words, IF u can NOT make the red cow portal, u CAN kill king all u want and NOT complete the cow quest. think of it as how u "glitch" the cow king (safely, without completing the cow quest).

5D. the above 5C applies to other people as well. if they meet the requirements in the above 5C, they can kill cow king too and not complete the cow quest either, and everyone is safe just as if u had killed the king while meeting the requirements in the above 5C.

a FALSE/ERRONEOUS/UNTRUE notion of 90% of diablo 2 players:

6. if the cow king killer unparties or i unparty than i am safe from having the cow quest get completed for me (allowing me to still continue to be able to open the red cow portal).

6A. this is DEAD WRONG! this is DEAD WRONG! this is DEAD WRONG!

the ONLY way to be safe from having the cow quest completed for u is to be OUT of the cow area!

let me repeat this a 2nd time:

the ONLY way to be safe from having the cow quest completed for u is to be OUT of the cow area!

let me repeat this a 3rd time:

the ONLY way to be safe from having the cow quest completed for u is to be OUT of the cow area!
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the ONE thing i do NOT know about the cow quest:

7. if the cow quest gets completed (by some one else) while u are in cow area but u do not have the cow quest available (have NOT completed diablo quest), than when u do complete diablo quest, can u still make the red portal for cows (the cow quest was NOT completed for u back from before when the other person completed the cow quest) or u can NOT still make the red portal for cows (the cow quest WAS completed for u back from when the other person completed the cow quest) ????

7A. anyone who tests this and finds out the answer, let me know and everyone know by posting it here on this thread!!!

at least i will be greatful.

i can also test this if no one will. but it'll take some time getting ready/set up for testing.
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if any of my writing is unclear to u, let me know, and i'll try to put it in a different way that, hopefully this time, makes sense to u. if not, than i'll keep doing so until i find a way of putting it that does make sense to u!!!

[TraderScope]

3. i forgot about meph. i think u have to be in DOH3 (durance of hate 3) and partied to get quest. but maybe u can be partied in town and get quest. i'm leaning against this though, if my memory serves.


To get the Meph Q completed these requirements need to be met to my knowledge:

1) The Meph Q CAN be completed in the game.
2) You or someone from your party (that CAN complete the Q) is in the range of 1 and a 1/2 screens from Meph when it's been killed.

Edit: Damn, Hege, your posts keep getting longer again :O A free tip for you if you don't mind:
You should try to summarize more, although it's nice to see that someone actually puts his/her energy in writing this stuff, you are also repeating yourself sometimes :)

[HegemonKhan]

i summarize when i get tired of writing. otherwise, i try to be as clear and detailed as i can, while *TRYING* to keep it as short as i can. i never liked reading something that was too general and sumarizing, that never helped me much. so i "practice what i preach" and try when i write to make it as detailed and thorough as i can so as to actually be helpful to others, though this does have the side effect of being much longer.

as to repeating myself...its either intentional or jsut bad memory and not realizing it. my apologizes for repeating unless it was my intention to do so.

also some times a new person asks about something that has already been discussed and answered else where, so when i help him some times i repeat what i already had posted elsewhere. can't do much when a new person asks a question that alredy been answered. it is kinda a pain to search for a previous post for the answer to a question u got. so i'm a bit understanding and don't jsut tell the person to "look it up" even if it means repeating some responses.
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as for meph, it is possible to get the meph quest completed while in town (i think, unless i had died in doh3-meph area, stayed dead and got quest, than hit escape and transported back to town naked). but getting meph quest complete doesn't help much as u got to go through the red portal in doh3-meph area to go to act 4 anyways.

[TraderScope]

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as for meph, it is possible to get the meph quest completed while in town (i think, unless i had died in doh3-meph area, stayed dead and got quest, than hit escape and transported back to town naked). but getting meph quest complete doesn't help much as u got to go through the red portal in doh3-meph area to go to act 4 anyways.

Yes, as I wrote already, don't know if I made it clear enough:

2) You or someone from your party (that CAN complete the Q) is in the range of 1 and a 1/2 screens from Meph when it's been killed.

Also by reapeating yourself, I didn't only mean the times you repeat something intentionally, but almost your whole previous post could have been summarized to this sentence:



4. to complete the cow quest u must be IN the cow area and have the cow king get killed by u OR ANYONE who has NOT completed the cow quest yet and it is availalbe to them.



It pretty much would summarize everything you wrote, not leaving too much out of it :)

The problem here I see, is that if a new person wants to find some quick info on some topics and reads your posts, they might get a little confused from the overflowing info that they receive. No means to offense you, you write very good english and I can see you have put a lot of thought on these posts of yours, I'm just trying to encourage you to summarize more, which would make your posts more reader friendly :) *ok too much rambling from me there already, keke*

edit: oh, and I do like your posts and appreciate your work. Hope to see them get even better!

[HegemonKhan]

i'll let u give the short quick answers:D

sorry, about not reading your post closely. and repeating.

and its a cow GUIDE, its not suppose to be short. i was putting everything u need to know about exactly how cow quest works. for the "noob" who doesn't even know how to create red portal to the long time player who still thinks that unparty makes a difference. explaining how it doesnt by telling exactly how cow quest work. now if only 90% of the d2 players would come to this site and read my cow guide post and believed or test the accuracy of it....instead of making fools of themselves continuing to think that unpartying saves them......sighs....
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well i learned something about humans from cow quest and them thinking unparty makes a difference:

once humans have a belief ingrained into them, its impossible to "pry it from them" (aka get them to see its wrong) even if its wrong and u show them the evidence or truth for it....

when i try to tell some one how unpartying doesn't save them, i feel like galileo trying to tell the people of europe, the earth orbits around the sun, and not the sun orbits the earth like every single european thought at the time.

people really cling to their understanding of things even if its 100% wrong.......

[TraderScope]

I can already see an improvement in here, good going :thumbup:

[WarlockCC]

I've read plenty of guides, the cow guide seems pretty compact, to the point and reader friendly to me.

Then again, I'm biased(that's 1 s, not 2 and there's no dash after the i),
HegemonKhan pays me a lot for every guide of his that I link to.

[-Tempus-]

Its nice to see people are still looking at this. But then its a little funny that after so long the quest is still messed up by so many.

I would guess it has something to do with when someone new comes to the game (yes some people are new to the game) that they are told and retold the same old myths about how things work (or how they think they do) the cow king quest is just one of them.

Like others have pointed out when they try and explain how it works all they get is
thats wrong...
no its not like that...
my friend told me thats wrong and s/he is smart...

its comes down to not as many people play test things they say like they use to when d2 first came out. there are a few but not as many it seems. Then again after so long whats new to find out about the game other then its still can be a lot of fun.

-Tempus-

edit: wow, i was just looking at some of my old posts in this thread and its funny how bad i need to check my spelling...