WHERE & HOW TO FARM Where to farm Forgotten Tower Cellar Level 5 in Act I; enter the tower from Black Marsh.
Use a focused Tower route when you want runes for early and mid-tier runewords or are collecting Hell keys. Runes are not improved by Magic Find, so prioritize reaching and killing the Countess quickly rather than slowing the run for extra MF.
Before you go Reach Hell difficulty for the key farm. Be able to defeat the Countess and the monsters blocking the cellar route. Carry town portal scrolls or a tome if you want convenient returns. Take the Black Marsh waypoint and locate the Forgotten Tower entrance. Descend through the cellar levels, using stairs to reach Level 5. Find and kill the Countess, managing any dangerous monsters around her room. Collect her runes and any Key of Terror that drops. Return to town, store the runes you plan to use, and note which ones remain missing. Save and exit to reset the map and run again. Farming tips Magic Find does not raise rune drops; keep gear that helps you move and kill safely. Keep useful runes organized by runeword goal so you do not accidentally spend a needed ingredient. Repeat, collect and use Repeat as long as you need runes or keys. Key drops are random and should not be budgeted as a guaranteed reward per kill.
Common mistakes Adding Magic Find at the cost of speed for a rune-focused run; use damage and mobility instead. Assuming a key will drop on each kill; count keys only when they actually appear. Entering underprepared for Hell immunities; keep an alternate damage source or a way to bypass troublesome enemies. When to stop or switch Stop when your rune goal is met or switch to Summoner and Nihlathak runs if you are building a complete key set.
Sources & fact checks REWARD DETAILS & CONDITIONS Sources & rewards All source types Farming route Farming priority Name A–Z Drop chance
Farming route Forgotten Tower Cellar Level 5 in Act I; enter the tower from Black Marsh.
Reach Hell difficulty for the key farm. Be able to defeat the Countess and the monsters blocking the cellar route. Carry town portal scrolls or a tome if you want convenient returns. Rate not listed
Related guides More guides for gathering materials and making progress.
Find another guide Keep making progress in Diablo II: Resurrected.
