Diablo 3: Darkening of Tristram – How to get the Crown Calf Pet!

With the annual time-traveling event “The Darkening of Tristram” for Diablo 3, it’s a nice diabolical start to the new year! The event not only brings an exclusive Diablo 1-style dungeon, but also some awesome rewards you won’t want to miss. In this game tip, we’ll show you how to get the exclusive crown calf pet from the cow level!

While we’re hoofing it waiting for the Diablo 4 beta, which could start this year, the Lord of Terror in Diablo 3 has been celebrated for a month with a proper event since 1 January 2022. To mark Diablo’s 20th birthday, the annual event “The Darkening of Tristram” first appeared in Reaper of Souls Patch 2.4.3. In the exclusive time-traveling event, which only takes place in the month of January, the original Diablo 1 returns as a Diablo 3-style “remake” with 16 dungeon levels and all 4 main bosses as in-game play. The original music, a special graphics filter, a limit on the maximum frame rate, the restriction to 8 directions of movement as well as once-popular loot such as the Harlequin Crown will ensure the most authentic gameplay possible.

There are also a few rewards for collectors as part of this January event, including the very nice “Classic Angel” portrait frame or the crown calf pet from the cow level. We’ll show you how to get the exclusive pet in the following game tip.

Diablo 3: Darkening of Tristram – The Cow Level

Although the famous Secret Cow Level has nothing to do with the first part of the Diablo trilogy, as it was the highlight of Diablo 2, the developers wanted to pay homage to the unique dungeon on the occasion of the 20th birthday of the Lord of Terror. So not only the cow level but also a matching pet – the crown calf – can be found in the “Darkening of Tristram” special dungeon, which is available for the entire duration of the event in the month of January.

To get the Crown Calf Pet, you need to open the cow level within the “Darkening of Tristram” special dungeon. Unlike the traditional Diablo 3 cow level, which can be opened using the legendary bardic in Kanai’s Cube, access to the exclusive Diablo 1 cow level can only be found in the month of January in the Ancient Ruins Act 1 adventure mode. Furthermore, the Diablo 1 cow level is not packed with attacking hellbulls, but is merely the location of an Abandoned Farmhouse with a few cows standing around and Wirt’s treasure from which the Crown Calf Pet drops.

So first go to the “Darkening of Tristram” dungeon and fight your way through to the 9th level of the 16-level maze. On the 9th level, you will find a collection of black mushrooms, after clicking on which a rotten mushroom will fall. Pick it up and use it to get to Adria’s hut, which is located on a side path within the “Darkening of Tristram” dungeon on the way to the cathedral entrance. In the hut, you can now click on Adria’s witch’s cauldron, which in return spits out the witch’s elixir.

With the witch elixir in your possession, walk from Adria’s hut back to the entrance of the “Darkening of Tristram” dungeon, where you will find several corpses of well-known Diablo NPCs among the ruins. Each corpse drops a new item, and you must click on them in that order:

• Farnham’s body -> Drunkard’s debt ->
• Ogden’s corpse -> Garda’s letter ->
• Pepin’s corpse -> Recipe of a healer ->
• Griswold’s corpse -> Plan: Wirt’s leg

Diablo 3: Darkening of Tristram – The Crown Calf Pet

The item Plan: Wirst’s leg, which you found at Griswold’s corpse, is a normal blacksmithing plan that you can teach to your blacksmith Haedrig in New Tristram. So go to Haedrig, teach him the new knowledge, and then you can have the legendary mace Wirt’s Leg built for 1,000,000 gold pieces and 10 reusable parts. The level 1 item is useful for beginners at best, but it unlocks the associated transmog template, grants the achievement “Pssst… Over here…” and holds a secret: if you dismantle Wirt’s Leg at Haedrig by recycling it, you will receive the Starry Sky Map.

With this map, you now go back to Adria’s hut, because there you will find the three cows that are indicated in the text of the map. The map tells you in which order you have to click on the three cows in front of the hut: First the middle one (2), then the left one (1) and finally the right one (3). After that, the entrance to the Abandoned Farmhouse opens, which is in the middle of a small area with a few cows standing around. In front of the house is Wirt’s treasure – click on the box and it will spit out your crown calf pet.

Diablo 3: Darkening of Tristram – The quest item texts

The above quest items have the following texts. In the picture gallery in the appendix, you will also find screenshots of all the stations and items in the cow level/crown calf pet quest series.

Rotten mushroom

“A foul stench emanates from this mushroom as if it were not merely rotting. If you mix it in a cauldron, it should make a special brew.”

Witch’s elixir

“This strange brew has been going on for a few years…”

Drunkard’s debts

“This is all the treasure Farnham left behind. His hope was to use it to keep his favorite tavern going.”

Garda’s letter

“A letter of compassion from Ogden’s wife to the healer in Tristram, revolving around the fate of Canace’s child.”

Healer’s recipe

“Pepin’s detailed instructions for building a child’s wooden leg.”

Plan: Wirst’s leg

“Teach the blacksmith how to make a wooden leg.”

Wirst’s leg

“Poor landlord. I did everything I could for the boy. But I know he hates the wood I had to put on his leg. His wounds were terrible. No one – certainly not a child – should ever have to suffer as he did.” – Pepin