What Level Should I Be to Do Normal Cows in Diablo 2?

As a passionate Diablo 2 player and content creator, I‘m often asked "What level should I be to do Normal Cows?" Based on my years of experience farming this iconic area, I recommend getting to level 25 before taking on The Secret Cow Level.

Getting to Level 25 Before Normal Cows

Reaching level 25 requires fully completing the Normal difficulty campaign by defeating Baal. This takes most first-time players around 15-20 hours.

Here are some tips to get your first character to level 25 before Normal Cows:

• Complete the entire Normal difficulty campaign and Baal quest
• Only kill enemies within about 5 levels of your character
• Be efficient with quests for experience rewards
• Group up for extra experience and safety if possible

The Normal Baal quest rewards a massive boost in experience, launching fresh level 20 characters to around level 25. So getting your first character to 25 may take some persistence, but then you’ll be ready for hundreds of Moo Moo runs!

Ideal Level Range For Normal Cow Farming

While level 25 is the recommended starting point, you can continue farming Normal Cows well into the late 30s and early 40s. The upper limit hits when experience gains slow down around character level 40.

So realistically, from level 25 to 40 is prime farming time for Normal Cows. You’ll gather tons of great loot and quickly build up Paragon levels during this sweet spot.

Preparing Your Character For Normal Cows

Before stepping through that red portal, take time upgrading your level 25 character to handle the swarming bovine beasts.

Here’s the basic gear check before entering Normal Cows:

• 300-500 Life after BO
• Max Fire + Lightning Resists
• Some form of Attack Rating and Critical Strike
• Any relevant +Skills from equipment

Having a high damage Act 2 Might mercenary can also help mow down packs quickly. Be ready to chug those health potions!

Why Farm Normal Cows?

The Secret Cow Level remains one of Diablo 2’s most popular farming spots for good reason – it‘s loaded with loot!

Here‘s an overview of the main incentives for farming Normal Cows:

Runes

Normal Cows present a great opportunity to farm runes up to Amn, including essential runeword ingredients like Sol, Shael, Dol, Hel, and more.

These mid-tier runes create powerful leveling gear like Lore helms, Spirit weapon/shields, Insight polearms, and Treachery armors.

According to drop data, the odds of finding specific runes in Normal Cows are:

• Amn – 1 in 178 kills (0.56% chance)
• Sol – 1 in 716 kills (0.14% chance)
• Shael – 1 in 1,084 kills (0.09% chance)
• Dol – 1 in 1,748 kills (0.06% chance)
• Hel – 1 in 2,040 kills (0.05% chance)

So while each individual rune may still take some farming, the masses of cows down there provide you the quantity to get results!

Bases For Runewords

Cow runs are the best place to farm normal Crystal Swords, Dimensional Shards, Flails, and other elite bases ideal for your first Spirit runeword weapon and shield.

Larzuk quest socketing rewards 4 total sockets on these bases. I always save the Act 5 socket reward for the first 4os Crystal Sword I find from cows.

Here are more details on the odds of finding 4os bases in Normal Cows:

• Broad Sword – 1 in 36 (2.78% chance)
• Crystal Sword – 1 in 46 (2.17% chance)
• Dimensional Shard – 1 in 115 (0.87% chance)
• Flail – 1 in 155 (0.65% chance)

So while still rare, Normal Cows provide the best shot at these essential runeword bases during early progression.

Experience & Leveling

Assuming at least 200% bonus experience from full clears, a Normal Cow run should provide around 50-100 million XP per run.

That works out to 2-3 million XP per minute, allowing you to gather over 100 million XP per hour.

So Cow runs can definitely power level newer characters from 25 onwards very quickly. Just be sure to reset the game to create a fresh map when the Cow King is slain.

Other Loot & Uniques

While Cow runs shine for runes and bases, the masses of corpses also drop loads of:

• Charms – small and grand versions
• Jewels and gems – for crafting or selling
• Low and mid-run uniques like Titian’s Revenge and Bonesnap
• Chance at set items like Angelic wings
• Lots of gold and regular items to sell

Without much Magic Find, Cow runs are more about quantity over ultra rare Grail finds. Still, whole inventories full of charms, jewels, and other goodies quickly pile up.

Farming Cows vs Other Areas

Many players wonder if leveling to 25 and farming Normal Cows is truly efficient after completing Normal Baal.

The main alternative is pushing immediately into Nightmare and farming areas like Chaos Sanctuary as early as level 40.

Based on my Cow farming experience, gearing up fully in Normal first sets you up better to survive and farm during the jump to Nightmare. And Cows achieve that goal faster than any other area.

Pros of Farming Normal Cows First

• Easier area than Chaos or Baal runs
• Better chance of finding 4os Crystal Swords for Spirit
• Mid runes for Lore helm, Treachery armor etc.
• Loads of charms, jewels, gems and other loot
• Fast power leveling in the mid-20s to 40 range

Cons of Farming Normal Cows First

• No high rune drops
• Limited late game gear potential
• Can get repetitive slaughtering endless waves of cows

So while the loot ceiling caps a bit lower, Cow runs help establish that critical foundations of runes, bases, resists, faster leveling and general wealth. And provide a more fun and forgiving farming environment before acts like Chaos Sanctuary.

Should You Farm Normal Cows?

For newer Diablo 2 players, I strongly recommend taking at least a few days to grind Normal Cows after finishing the storyline the first time through.

The lower difficulty and enemy health allows learning mechanics, testing skills, and adjusting strategies without too much pressure.

And the odds of finding those essential runeword pieces like 4os Crystal Swords remains higher in Normal Cows than later areas.

Wrapping up with some cow farming sets up smooth sailing into Nightmare and beyond!

So rally up the troops around level 25 and set up camp in the Secret Cow Level. Stay awhile and listen to the soft moos ring out as endless legions of bovine beasts meet their fate…for runes and bases!

Let me know down below what you like to farm in Normal difficulty, and your best Cow runs loot stories!