How to Unlock Whimsyshire

So…you’ve slogged your way through Sanctuary – slaughtering hordes of demons and foul beasts – but now you’re ready for a land of sunshine, teddy bears, cupcakes, flowers and pretty pink unicorns.

If you’re reading this guide then chances are you’ve heard of this place…you maybe just need to know how to get there. Well, here’s what you need to know about unlocking Diablo 3′s secret level…Whimsyshire.

Whimsyshire…a not so happy, happy place

Under siege by some Cuddle Bears

First off, if you’re just finishing up on normal, then know that you’ll need at least 150K gold to make it happen. Beyond that, it’s just a matter of collecting some mats for use in crafting the Staff of Herding that you’re going to need in order to unlock this secret dungeon…err…land of rainbows and love stuff, I mean.

In addition to the 150K gold – and the mats needed for crafting the staff – the only other prerequisite is that you have to at least be on the Prime Evil quest. The recipe for the Staff of Herding drops off of Izual, who is just before Diablo in Act IV.

Alright, so let’s get started…

Guide to Unlocking Whimsyshire – Normal Mode

Mats required for crafting the Staff of Herding

As I’d mentioned, the key to unlocking Whimsyshire is the Staff of Herding. To craft it you’ll need 5 different mats – found at various places in Sanctuary – along with a recipe.

The mats are as follows…

• Black Mushroom – Found in Level 1 of the Cathedral in Act I
• Leoric’s Shinbone – Found in Leoric’s Manor in Act I
• Wirt’s Bell – Sold by a vendor in Act II
• Liquid Rainbow – Found in the Mysterious Cave in Act II
• Gibbering Gemstone – Found in the Caverns of Frost in Act III

The recipe for the staff – Plan: Staff of Herding – is a random drop off of Izual in Act IV.

Collecting the mats for the Staff of Herding

Here are some mini-guides to walk you through obtaining each of the mats.

Black Mushroom

1. Start a new game at Act I, Quest 3: A Shattered Crown.
2. Take the waypoint to the Cathedral Garden, then enter Leoric’s Passage.
3. Head up the stairs to Level 1 of the Cathedral and search every room until you find Black Mushrooms.
4. Click on the Black Mushrooms and loot your ‘shroom.

Leoric’s Shinbone

1. Start a new game at Act I, Quest 9: The Imprisoned Angel – Part 2: The Cursed Hold.
2. Take the waypoint to Leoric’s Manor.
3. Enter Leoric’s Manor – go up the stairs, down the stairs, then enter the first room on the left and look for Burnt Logs in the fireplace at the far wall.
4. If there are no burnt logs, then exit and retry. If the burnt logs are there, then click on them and loot Leoric’s Shinbone.

Wirt’s Bell

Wirt’s Bell is a very easy item to acquire – provided you have the gold.

1. Start a new game at Act II, Quest 2: The Road to Alcarnus.
2. Head north and port into the Caldeum Bazaar.
3. Proceed NW and look for “Squirt the Peddler”. She’s over by the cart near the fountain.
4. Click on her Miscellaneous tab and buy Wirt’s Bell for 100K gold. This step can be done at anytime if you don’t have enough gold yet.

Liquid Rainbow

1. Start a new game at Act II, Quest 6: Betrayer of the Horadrim – Part 2: The Forgotten Ruins
2. Take the waypoint to Path to the Oasis.
3. Head east – keeping to the south – and look for the first path that leads to a small hut where Zaven the Alchemist is being attacked by some Deathly Haunts. If Zaven is not there – exit out and retry.
4. If the event is happening…kill the phantoms and then Zaven will talk to you. He then opens an entrance to the Mysterious Cave.
5. Enter the Mysterious Cave and look for the Mysterious Chest. Open the chest and loot the Liquid Rainbow.

Gibbering Gemstone

This item is by far the hardest mat to acquire. For a more detailed walkthrough, please see this in-depth guide to obtaining the Gibbering Gemstone.

1. Start a new game at Act III, Quest 6: Siegebreaker.
2. Take the waypoint to Korsikk Bridge.
3. Head east into the Fields of Slaughter and look for the Caverns of Frost. If you see Icefall Caves, exit out and retry.
4. If the Caverns of Frost event is spawned, enter the cave, head down to level 2 and look for Chiltara. If Chiltara is not spawned, then exit out and retry.
5. If you get lucky and find Chiltara, then kill her and take her gemstone.

Plan: Staff of Herding

The recipe for the staff is a random drop from Izual. I don’t know the drop rate, but I got mine after the 6th kill.

1. Start a new game at Act IV, Quest 4: Prime Evil.
2. Take the waypoint to the Crystal Colonnade.
3. Enter the Gateway to the Silver Spire and make your way to the Great Span.
4. Kill Izual and loot the plan. If he doesn’t drop it, then exit out and retry as needed.

Crafting the Staff of Herding

1. Gather up all your mats and your recipe, then go see the Blacksmith.
2. Right click on the recipe to teach him the plan.
3. Select the Staff of Herding in the list of weapons and fork over 50K for his troubles.
4. Woot!

Getting to Whimsyshire

1. In Act I, take the Old Ruins waypoint then head west along Old Tristram Road.
2. Look for the skeleton of a cow right near a glowing crevasse. Provided the Staff of Herding is in your inventory, the cow’s ghost will appear and talk to you.
3. The ghost of the Cow King will chat with you for a bit, then unlock the gateway to Whimsyshire.
4. Head in and start killin’!

The Cow King’s Ghost just outside Whimsyshire

Getting to Whimsyshire in Nightmare, Hell and Inferno

Lucky for you, it’s not necessary to regather the mats in each difficulty level. All you need to do in order to unlock Whimsyshire in the later difficulties is this…

He’s got what you need

1. Start a new game at Act IV, Quest 4: Prime Evil.
2. Talk to Gorell the Quartermaster in the Bastion Keep Stronghold. He sells the upgrade plans for 1G.
3. Teach the upgrade plan to your Blacksmith, then hand over your existing Staff of Herding along with a grip of gold. The upgrade prices are as follows:
   • Nightmare: 200K Gold
   • Hell: 500K Gold
   • Inferno: 1M Gold

So there ya have it… that’s how you can gain entry to Whimsyshire in all 4 difficulty levels! Now go kill some teddy bears and loot some clouds!

A Treasure Cloud..?! F**K YES…FIST PUMP!

Tagged as: staff of herding, whimsyshire