The Cow Level is back — but with a few more mushrooms. After beating the game, you’ll be able to unlock a hidden level in Minecraft Dungeons. This isn’t just any bonus level either. You’ll do battle with armies of mooshrooms in a mushroom-infested realm. The island can only be unlocked after completing a pretty lengthy secret quest, too.
This has to be a reference to the famous Cow Level from Diablo 2 — seeing as Minecraft Dungeons takes plenty of inspiration from the hack-and-slash touchstone. Before this, Torchlight 2 included its own hidden Minecraft level! Hey, and so did Borderlands 2. I guess it’s about time Minecraft started homaging other games.
More Minecraft Dungeons guides:
Everything You Need To Know Before You Buy | FAQ | Best Enchantments You’ll Want To Slot For Your Gear | How To Beat The Game Solo | Best Gear, Enchantments & Artifacts For Solo Players
How To Find The Secret Cow Level | Easter Egg Guide
To enter the hidden Cow Level, you first need to beat the game — that means you need to defeat the Arch-Illager in the final level. Once you’ve seen the credits, return to your camp and you’ll be able to unlock the cow level.
Step #1: Activate The Runes
#1: Defeat the Arch-Illager and return to Camp. Go southeast (right of your house) to find a spring / jump-pad. Travel down the path, and look for a hard-to-spot side-path leading back around to your camp entrance.
#2: On the way, there’s an open doorway you can access. Go inside to find the developer church! It’s packed with pictures of developers on the walls. At the far back of the developer church, you’ll find a wall with purple runes. You’ll need to find 10 hidden runes and slot them in to unlock the door.
#3: With all 10 runes located, you can return to the chamber and collect a special scroll marked ‘???‘. That unlocks the hidden level.
Step #2: Find The Runes
There are 10 runes you need to locate. They’re found in hidden chambers in all the major levels. They are only located in Adventure Mode when replaying the 9 major levels. You’ll find hidden runes in:
- Creeper Woods
- Soggy Swamp
- Cacti Canyon
- Pumpkin Pastures
- Redstone Mines
- Desert Temple
- Fiery Forge
- Highblock Halls
- Obsidian Pinnacle
Look for floor pressure plates you can activate that unlock hidden doors. If you enter a large purple room, you’ll know you’ve found the right spot. They’re semi-random, but look carefully in major spots with suspicious blank walls.
- NOTE: The dog picture in the Developer Church will show you hint images for each location.
Step #3: Enter The Moo Level
Once you’ve found all 10 runes, return to the Developer Church and unlock the back door. Now you can collect the special scroll and unlock the area. It appears on your map! The twilight forest is full of mushrooms and enemy cows. You’ll get an objective — “Moo?”
This is a reference to the cow level from Diablo 2 and the rainbow unicorn secret level from Diablo 3 — in Diablo 2, after finishing lots of secrets, you could create a portal to a ridiculous level filled with warrior cows. At the end, you’d defeat a cow king. This is even more elaborate, with a unique tileset location and multiple difficulty levels! Enjoy the looting and mooing, villagers.
