Diablo III: Season 28 brings with it the Altar of Rites, an altar full of unlockable bonuses and potions that will require the gathering of tons of resources. One of things needed is the Staff of Herding, which also unlocks the famous Cow Level known as Whimsyshire. Here’s how to craft that staff, for those that either have forgotten, or have never completed it.

All the materials needed for the staff can be farmed in both Adventure Mode or Campaign Mode, but using Adventure Mode is the easier route with the exception of the Liquid Rainbow. Each material can only be farmed in a very specific place, so you always want to choose the mode that gives you the fastest access to that specific place, and since Adventure Mode gives you access to the entire world of Diablo III, there’s no reason to go into the Campaign if you have already completed it, with the exception of the Liquid Rainbow.

We won’t start farming for the staff until we reach level 70, but technically you can start farming right away. You won’t need it for quite some time though, as it is for the 25th unlock in the Altar of Rites. The blacksmith can craft it at level 1, but you’ll need to get the plans for it from Izual, a level boss in ACT IV. To find Izual, port to the Act IV, Silver Spire Level 1 way-point, find the entrance to the Great Span in the Silver Spire Level 1, and then enter the Great Span and defeat Izual. He may not drop it on your first go, so you’ll need to exit out to the main menu, re-enter adventure mode and try again. It may take you several tries, or you may get it on the first go. We usually try to get him to spawn as a Bounty for the extra stuff that comes with the ACT IV bounties.

The materials needed for the staff are different if you are playing on a console versus a PC. In order to craft the Staff of Herding on the PC, you will need 50K Gold and the following items:

• Black Mushroom
• Leoric’s Shinbone
• Wirt’s Bell
• Liquid Rainbow
• Gibbering Gemstone.

The console version of the game doesn’t require the Liquid Rainbow or Leoric’s Shinbone and only costs 5k Gold. We have been playing the PS4 version on our PS5 for some time, so we get to go after the easier version.

The Black Mushroom can be found in the Cathedral Level 1, in Act I. In Adventure Mode, you need to create a game and port to the Act I, Cathedral Level 1 waypoint. The Black Mushroom spawns in a room of a very specific shape, which will most often appear in the bottom right corner of the map. So, whenever you enter the Cathedral Level 1, explore it in such a way that you try to locate the bottom right corner of the map. If the room there has the wrong shape, simply exit to the main menu and re-enter Act I in Adventure Mode.

Leoric’s Shinbone, which is not required on consoles, can be found in Leoric’s Manor, in Act I. In Adventure Mode, you need to port to the Leoric’s Manor Courtyard waypoint in Act I. From there, use the entrance immediately next to the way point (to the northeast). Once in the Manor, clear the enemies and enter the first room on the right, before the flight of stairs.

At the end of the room there’s a fireplace. If there are Burnt Logs in the fireplace, click them and they will drop Leoric’s Shinbone. If not, you’ll need to quit to the main menu and re-enter Act I to start over.

Finding Wirt’s Bell

Wirt’s Bell is sold by Squirt the Peddler in the Hidden Camp, Act II for 100k Gold. To get there, create a game in Adventure Mode and use the Hidden Camp way-point from Act II. When you spawn in the Hidden Camp, Squirt is a few meters above you on the screen.

Liquid Rainbow, which is also not required on console, is found in the Mysterious Chest, which has a chance to spawn in the Mysterious Cave in the Dahlgur Oasis of Act II. The Mysterious Cave is not a guaranteed spawn, for you must first find Zaven the Alchemist there and speak to him to open the cave, but he doesn’t always spawn.

The first (and most important) step is to have an efficient method for finding Zaven. He only spawns in two possible locations and one of these locations is extremely close to the Path of the Oasis waypoint from the Campaign Mode. So, what you should do is create a game in Campaign Mode for Act II, Quest 6: Betrayer of the Horadrim, Part 2: The Forgotten Ruins. Follow the path in the image below:

If Zaven is in the cul-de-sac, kill the enemies around him, talk to him, enter the Mysterious Cave, and explore it to find the Mysterious Chest. If you don’t find Zaven, or if you don’t find the chest in the cave, exit and try again.

The Gibbering Gemstone has a low chance to drop from Chiltara in the Caverns of Frost Level 2, which are located in the Fields of Slaughter, Act III.  The easiest way to find the cavern is to keep reloading adventure mode until the Kill Chiltara or Clear the Cavern of the Frost bounties shows up for Act III. Complete the bounty and if it doesn’t drop, rinse and repeat until it does.

Once you have all the required items, head to any blacksmith to have him craft your staff. You can then use it to either enter Whimsyshire or use to unlock the 25th level of the Altar of Rites.

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