Diablo III: How to craft the Staff of Herding – Guide

When you get to the fourth act of Diablo III you may find you come up against the super unique secret boss, the Cow King. This hidden extra boss can only be seen and accessed when you know how to craft the Staff of Herding in Diablo III and use it on his grave. He is a part of The Secret Cow level and has a chance to drop Cow King Leathers.

When you have the Staff of Herding in your inventory, approaching the big hole in the ground on Old Tristan Road will reveal the Cow King. Talking to him will open up the hole as Whimsyshire. This is a beautiful zone of colors and rainbows, a welcome break from the usual drudgery of Diablo III.

How to craft the Staff of Herding in Diablo III

You only need to be a level one player in Act 1 to use the Staff of Herding, although it is much more likely you will have surpassed this point by then. You will need a Staff of Herding plan to craft this item at a smith.

Here’s what you need:

• Black Mushroom – A rare find inside Cathedral Level 1.
• Leoric’s Shinbone – Fireplace in the entry hall of Leoric’s Manor (Act 1).
• Writ’s Bell – Sold by Squirt the Peddler (Act 2) for 100,000 gold.
• Liquid Rainbow – Rarely found in the Mysterious Cave in Dahlgur Oasis.
• Gibbering Gemstone – The Caverns of Frost (Act 3) in the Fields of Slaughter.
• Plan: Staff of Herding
  • Dropped by Izual in Act 4. This is not a guaranteed drop and is considered Legendary.
• 50,000 gold.

Screenshot via PC Invasion

There are a lot of materials needed to craft the Staff of Herding in Diablo III. Most of them are rare, random drops, so multiple playthroughs with a shared stash will most likely be in order. A commonly used strategy is to quit and restart the game to reload areas to trigger the rarer items loading.