I have found the Recipe for something called the Staff of Herding. Upon closer inspection it does a measly 3.5 damage per second, but the ingredients to craft it (which include Wirt's Bell, a 100,000 gold investment) are extremely expensive. Is it possible that this staff is for a secret level? Is it just achievement fodder?
Diablo – What does the Staff of Herding do
diablo-3
Related Topic
- Diablo – How to get higher difficulty Plan: Staff of Herding
- Diablo – purchase the Staff of Herding Plan? If so, where and when
- Diablo – Do the Staff of Herding crafting items drop in all difficulties
- Diablo – the drop rate for the Plan: Staff of Herding
- Diablo – Is the Staff of Herding successfully shareable between all your characters
- Diablo – do with a second Staff of Herding plan
- Diablo – Does Monster Power affect Staff of Herding component drop rates
Best Answer
The Staff of Herding, and its respective upgrades the Nightmarish, Hellish, and Infernal Staff of Herding, are used to access the 'Secret Cow Level' in Diablo III dubbed Whimsyshire. Each individual form of the Staff is used to access the SCL in its respective difficulty.
The Normal staff is obtained by crafting. You will need 50k gold, Black Mushroom, Leoric's Shinbone, Liquid Rainbow, Wirt's Bell, and a Gibbering Gemstone, as well as the plans to make it, which randomly drop off of Izual in the Normal Difficulty (The plans, not the other items). Note, that after defeating Izual in the harder difficulties, the plans may be bought from Gorell who is located within Bastion's Keep Stronghold.
The upgraded staves are crafted using the original staff (or whatever last upgrade applies) and additional gold, as well as the recepie, also obtained from Gorell.
Once the staff is complete take The Old Ruins waypoint (Act I) and head west down Old Tristram Road. Hug the south wall. There should be a Skeletal Corpse and a "rift" in one of the crevices in the ground. If you have the Staff, the Ghost of the Cow King will appear with a quest above his head.
Sources:
http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/Staff_of_Herding
http://www.diablowiki.net/Staff_of_Herding
http://www.diablowiki.net/Nightmarish_Staff_of_Herding
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5152408516