- Portal flavor text(src)
The Not The Cow Level (or NTCL) is a secret level in Diablo III, first implemented for the game's third anniversary. It is filled with monstrous cows, chests, and lootable corpses stuffed with gold.
Access[]
This area can be accessed through a red portal, generated in one of two ways:
- Putting a Bovine Bardiche into Kanai's Cube and transmuting it opens a portal to Not The Cow Level from town. The weapon is destroyed in the process. In the console version, this option is marked ??? and only appears after the Bardiche is placed in the Cube. In the PC version there is no recipe at all - players simply place the Bardiche in and press "Transmute".
- Any Treasure Goblin has a small chance to open a portal to Not The Cow Level upon its death, similar to the portal to The Vault.
Only one portal can be open in a single game session. The portal cannot be closed; a new session must be created to have a chance to access the level again. Characters can enter and exit the zone as much as desired once it is open, including by Town Portal. It is available in any difficulty setting.
Description[]
The zone itself is named Not The Cow Level, and is filled with vast hordes of Infernal Bovines (standard, Spearman and Shaman). Numerous cow-based elite packs will be encountered, and eventually The Cow Queen "boss" will attack. 20 normal chests and 10 Resplendent Chests will be scattered throughout, as are many slain farmer corpses which contain significant amounts of gold which cascade out over several seconds. Health Globes usually take the form of T-Bone Steaks, similar to the cupcakes in Whimsyshire.
The tileset is always based on the Fields of Misery, but the layout is mostly randomized and each time can contain different features. A full set of five shrines is guaranteed to appear in the zone, one of each of the standard types, as well as Healing Wells.
Events[]
The ghost of The Cow King will be found somewhere in the zone. Talking to him prompts him to utter (or, in his case, udder[1]) one of several bovine puns and trigger the zone's only event, "Tipping Point". It requires 3 waves of bovine herds to be eliminated to spawn 4 Radiant Chests.
Unique Monsters[]
Screenshots[]
Trivia[]
- "Tipping Point", the name of the event in the zone, is a reference to "cow tipping", a probable urban legend where unsuspecting cows are pushed over as a prank.
Development[]
Originally, Not The Cow Level was accessible only during a limited time event: from dawn on May 15 2015 to dusk on May 21 2015, there was a chance for Herald to the Queen to spawn in the same way Treasure Goblins do. Killing it would create the portal to the secret level. The anniversary week no longer has any significance to the level, and the Herald can no longer appear.
The event was announced via a satirical post on the game blog "denying" rumors of a cow invasion. It included the dates of the event, a warning to "avoid" mysterious portals, and the image of an Infernal Bovine lurking menacingly.[2]
Patch changes[]
- 15 March 2015 (prior to Patch 2.2.0) - First available as a one-week anniversary event.
- Patch 2.3.0 - Bovine Bardiches can now be transmuted to access Not The Cow Level, replacing the anniversary event and Herald to the Queen mechanism.
- Patch 2.6.5 - Treasure Goblins can now randomly drop a portal to Not The Cow Level.
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Male cows do not actually have udders. On the other hand, male cattle are called bulls, not cows, so some leeway seems to be warranted for the sake of humooer.
- ↑ "Management" (14 March 2015). "Debunking the Cowspiracy". Blizzard Entertainment.
Diablo II
Pandemonium Event Zones — Matron's Den • Forgotten Sands • Furnace of Pain • Über Tristram
Easter Egg Zones — The Secret Cow Level
Diablo III
Easter Egg Zones — Whimsyshire (Whimsydale) • Development Hell • Not The Cow Level • The Vault • Kanai's Stomping Grounds