..Diablo III..

(Continuation)

• Act I Boss Guide
  
• Act II Boss Guide
  
• Act III Boss Guide
  
• Act IV Boss Guide
  
• Easter Eggs / Secrets
  

Easter Eggs / Secrets

Unlocking Whimsyshire:

As with Diablo 2, Diablo 3 contains a secret area. Where 2's was the slightly absurd, highly amusing and loot-filled cow level, 3 dials it up to eleven with the rainbow and pastel-colored Whimsyshire. Be warned, though- the teddy bears and unicorns that will assault you here are enough to make the majority of the demons you've fought thus far seem like pushovers. Oh, and there's also a lot of epic loot to be had here, as well.

Unfortunately, getting to Whimsyshire is a lot more difficult than accessing the Secret Cow Level; it's not just a matter of transmuting two readily available items in the Horadric cube. There's a few steps you're going to need to follow if you want to earn your way to Whimsyshire, and a few items you'll need: The Black Mushroom(Act I), Leoric's Shinbone (Act I), Liquid Rainbow (Act II), Wirt's Cowbell (Act II or III), The Gibbering Gemstone(Act III), and Plans: Staff of Herding(Act IV).  Some of them are pretty easy to acquire. Others…not so much.

Since Wirt's Cowbell carries such a hefty price tag, I listed the item last- there's a good chance you'll have acquired enough gold to buy it by the time you find all the other items, after all.

Get a Black Mushroom:

The Black Mushroom is a randomly spawned item, which almost always appears on level one of the Cathedral.  Just keep repeatedly clearing and fully exploring the first floor of the cathedral until you come across it. Put it in your stash, and keep it safe there.

Find Leoric's Shinbone:

In Leoric's Manor, there should be a room to the right of the staircase in the balcony chamber, where you fight a horde of cultists and speak to the tortured villager about the location of The Stranger.  In this room, there will be a fireplace. Leoric's Shinbone is a rare spawn in the fireplace- if you see clickable "burnt wood," congratulations- activate it and pick up the shinbone.

Track down a Liquid Rainbow:

Now, things get a little more difficult.

Go to the Path of the Oasis, and hug the southernmost border of the map until you see a small trail leading further south. Follow it, and you may encounter Zaven the Alchemist, who's under attack by a group of Deathly Haunts. Kill them, and he'll grant you access to the dungeon in which the Liquid Rainbow might be located. See, both Zaven and the Rainbow are rare spawns- so there's a very good chance that even if one of the two spawns, the other one might not. If the Rainbow does spawn, it'll be inside either a mysterious chest or a resplendent chest. Have fun.

Hunt down Chiltara for the Gibbering Gemstone:

To get the Gibbering Gemstone, you're going to need to hunt down a rare spawn known as Chiltara, Vile Frost Stalker, in the Caverns of Frost in the Fields of Slaughter (Act III). If you see a cave known as Icefall Caves, you're going to need to exit the game and re-enter it.

Kill Izual until he drops the plans for the Staff of Herding:

Pretty self-explanatory. The Staff of Herding's blueprint is a rare drop from Izual, the Fallen Angel. You're going to need to repeatedly run through the final stretch of Act IV, and kill him over and over in order to get your hands on this artifact.  Again, have fun- Izual's one of the tougher bosses in the game, so those of you who aren't equipped to fight him are going to have a right terrible time of it.

Purchase Wirt's Cowbell:

This is the easiest item to get- all you have to do is grind for a bit of gold- though I'd still recommend leaving it for last. Go to the Caldeum Bazaar in Act II, and find Squirt. She'll sell the cowbell to you for the hefty price of 100,000 gold. I don't believe beating the game before doing so is a prerequisite, but you'll probably need to anyway- it's a lot easier to find gold in higher difficulties, after all. Squirt can also be found in Act III, but only if you're on the Hearts of Sin quest.

Craft The Staff:

Return to Haedrig with all the materials in your inventory, and have him craft the staff, after using the plans acquired from Izual to teach him the recipe.

Find the Cow King's Ghost:

Go to Old Tristram Road, and search around until you find a glowing red crack in the earth with the skeleton of a large bovine in front of it. Once you're there, use the staff, and the Cow King (boss of the old Secret Cow Level) will be summoned. He'll open the portal to Whimsyshire. Enjoy!

Note that you'll need to repeat this process every time you want to upgrade the staff to be used in a higher difficulty setting- the levels of the staff are Nightmarish, Hellish, and Infernal. Still, you'll be able to say you experienced Whimsyshire- and that's something right? 

Image Credits: Arkhilario