The Cow Level’s dense monster groups make it a strong repeatable search for runeword bases, runes, and experience.
PC / Global, Reign of the Warlock content where available
WHERE & HOW TO FARM
Where to farm
Secret Cow Level, opened from Act I Rogue Encampment with the Horadric Cube.
Open the Secret Cow Level with Wirt’s Leg and a Tome of Town Portal after completing Baal in the same difficulty. Clear dense packs, collect useful plain bases and runes, and reset for another sweep. The portal is a farm access point, not a guaranteed source of any particular item.
Obtain Wirt’s Leg from Tristram and keep a Tome of Town Portal.
Bring an area-clear build and enough space for candidate bases and runes.
Place Wirt’s Leg and a Tome of Town Portal in the Cube while in the Rogue Encampment.
Transmute to open the red Cow Level portal.
Enter and clear dense groups, prioritizing safe routes through packs.
Pick up runes and plain weapon or armor bases that suit your runeword plans.
Avoid killing the Cow King if you want to preserve the traditional restriction in modes where it applies; D2R allows future portals after the King is killed.
Return to town, store useful finds, and save and exit to reset.
Farming tips
Only one Cow portal can exist in a game; open another after resetting if needed.
The large number of kills is useful for bases and rune searches, but does not guarantee a high rune.
Repeat, collect and use
Repeat any time after the difficulty’s Baal completion when you have the ingredients; you can open another portal in a later game.
Common mistakes
Trying the recipe before completing Baal in the same difficulty; finish that progression first.
Expecting multiple portals in one game; use one portal and reset before the next run.
Picking up every low-value item and losing space for bases; decide which base types matter before entering.
When to stop or switch
Stop when you have the base or material supply you need, or switch to a boss route for targeted unique and set searches.
