Diablo 3 "Cow Level" appears as a tribute to former Blizzard artist
In honor of artist Kevin Kanai Griffith, who died of cancer in October 2014, Blizzard has added a new event to Diablo 3 that pits players against a familiar bovine foe from long ago.
The new Cow Level, reported by DiabloII.net, is accessible via the Immortal Throne in the Ruins of Sescheron in Act 3. Go there and Kanai's soul will awaken and open a portal to Kanai's Stomping Grounds, where you'll go head-to-head with a whole heapin' herd of angry, armed cows, backed up by Chief Elder Kanai himself. A video posted by YouTuber MadTom demonstrates the process, which looks to be as simple as it sounds.
Blizzard said on Battle.net that the event has actually been present since the launch of the 2.4.0 patch, but it's only available during March, the month of Griffith's birth. “For those of you who may not know, Kevin was a talented and dedicated member of the Diablo III development team who passed away in October of 2014 from a rare form of cancer. If you'd like to read more about Kevin, we included a short biography of his contributions to Diablo (and Blizzard as a whole) in the Kanai's Cube preview,” Community Manager Nevalistis wrote. “This event is a chance for folks to get to adventure with Kanai one more time. We hope you enjoy the opportunity as much as we do.”
The original Cow Level was a famous secret in Diablo 2, inspired by (entirely false) rumors of a secret cow level in the original game. It's not present in Diablo 3, but it has made an appearance of sorts in the past: Blizzard temporarily added a “Not the Cow Level” in May 2015 to celebrate the game's third anniversary.
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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.