Summary
Season 15 is handing out guaranteed mythic gear for about 30 minutes of work, and most players are missing the simple chain that unlocks it. The Tristram event starts with ten journal pages scattered across Sanctuary, opens a portal to a small nostalgic town, and gates a two-quest Labyrinth run that pays out one guaranteed mythic item. From there, Helltide splinters craft a Lucky Coin that opens an Uber portal against Mephisto, Baal, and Diablo — eight guaranteed mythics on the first clear, three on every run after. This guide walks the whole chain end to end, including how it can help you build up your Diablo 4 Items collection.
Unlock the Tristram Portal in 10 Minutes
Start by finding Deckard's Journal pages. There are ten scattered pickups around Sanctuary; a map of locations is easy to look up. Each one takes roughly a minute to reach and activate, so the whole loop is about ten minutes.
Once all ten are listened to, the Deckard's Journal quest updates. Fast-travel back to the Imperial Library and talk to Deckard Cain. He hands you the Tristram portal. That is the entire unlock — no boss fight, no item requirement.
The Two Tristram Quests and the Guaranteed Mythic
Step into Tristram and talk to every NPC. Two quests open: one about a missing sign in the upper part of town, and one about the Butcher. Both quests take place in the same Labyrinth instance, so you can clear them together.
Inside the Labyrinth, find the small goblin creature. He gives you a key to open a chest guarded by mobs — clear them, open the chest, and the missing-sign quest is done. Talk to the goblin again to trigger an ambush, then head up the path toward where Diablo normally stands. At the final door, click it and move away: the Butcher charges the instant the door opens. Drop him and the second quest completes.
Loot the Prime Rib from the Butcher on the way out. Return to Tristram and hand in the quest to the NPC by the town exit — he gives a guaranteed mythic item. Players have noticed the reward refreshes after every Uber clear, effectively letting you repeat it; use that at your own discretion.
Cow King and the Prime Rib
The Prime Rib is not a one-off souvenir. Take it to the Terial Encampment and look for the marked shrine. Clear the mobs around it, then activate the altar to teleport into the Cow King's arena — a small town with vendors you can use to sell or salvage mid-raid.
The Cow King's difficulty varies by build. Once he is down, the portal stays open for the rest of the season, so you no longer need the shrine — but each entry still consumes a Prime Rib. His confirmed drops are cosmetics, a seasonal achievement, and a mount or trophy reward. Reports of mythic drops from him are unconfirmed; treat him as a completionist target, not a farm.
Splinters and the Lucky Coin Uber Run
The real gear farm is the splinter chain. Splinters drop from Helltide Echoes and Uber bosses, but the easiest source is seasonal progression chests — most players will get one or two just from leveling the season pass.
Collect three splinters and transmute them in the cube into a Lucky Coin. Take the coin to the fountain in Tristram. A portal opens leading to a three-boss gauntlet: Mephisto, Baal, and Diablo.
The first clear of the cycle pays out eight guaranteed mythic items (sometimes reported as seven to nine). Every repeat clear pays three. That makes the Lucky Coin run the single best mythic source in the season right now — each coin costs three splinters, and the splinter supply keeps refilling through Helltides and seasonal chests.
Runewords: How They Actually Work
Runewords are simpler than they look. You need a normal (white) item with zero affixes, then you socket the right runes in the right order following a recipe. The result is a special named item you can temper, masterwork, and re-roll affixes on, exactly like a unique.
If you do not have a clean white base, you can strip affixes off a magic or rare item to turn it into a normal one, then apply the recipe. Call to Arms is the classic example to craft first. The recipes for every item type are datamined and easy to look up; the only bottleneck is collecting the runes themselves.
Player Recommendations
Do the ten journal pages on day one. The whole unlock is ten minutes and gates every reward above.
Stack Helltide time. Splinters come from Echoes, but the seasonal chests are the reliable backup — do them before you start farming.
Save your first Lucky Coin for a night you have 20 minutes. The eight-mythic first clear is the biggest single payout in the season.
Clear the Cow King once for the portal shortcut, then stop chasing him for loot.
Craft a Call to Arms base early. White bases are cheap, and runewords scale like uniques with tempering and masterwork.
Final Verdict
Season 15 has quietly built one of the most player-friendly gear loops the game has had. Ten minutes of running journals, a short Labyrinth clear, and you have a guaranteed mythic in hand. From there, Helltide splinters turn into Lucky Coins that open a three-boss gauntlet paying eight mythics on the first clear and three on every repeat.
The lesson for this season is simple: do not skip Tristram because it feels like a nostalgia side quest. It is the front door to the best mythic farm in the patch. Knock out the journal pages, clear the two quests, bank the free mythic, then feed every splinter into the Lucky Coin loop until your build is finished. If you want to speed up the gearing process further, you can also buy Diablo 4 Items to fill remaining equipment gaps while farming.
