Summary
Diablo 4 Season 15 introduces a special Tristram questline that leads to several useful rewards and activities. By completing a short series of quests, you can unlock the Tristram Portal, obtain a guaranteed Mythic item, access the Cow King encounter, and prepare for Uber runs against Mephisto, Baal, and Diablo. To gear up for those Uber fights, buy Diablo 4 Gold and grab the items you need.
The entire process is relatively quick once you know where to go. Here is a step-by-step guide to unlocking Tristram and making the most of its seasonal activities.
How to Unlock the Tristram Portal
The first step is collecting all 10 parts of Deckard's Journal. These journal entries are spread across different locations, so you need to travel around the indicated areas and activate each one.
Collect All 10 Parts of Deckard's Journal
Open the relevant map locations and visit each journal location. Each one only takes a short time to activate, but you must collect all 10 parts before the quest progresses.
Once all 10 journal entries have been activated, the Deckard's Journal quest becomes available.
Return to the Imperial Library and speak with Deckard Cain. After completing the conversation, Cain will give you access to the Tristram Portal.
The initial journal collection and portal unlock can be completed fairly quickly, making this one of the more straightforward seasonal questlines.
Complete the Tristram Quests
After entering Tristram for the first time, speak with the NPCs throughout the area. Besides providing additional information and a small achievement-related reward, they help reveal more about the activities available in the area.
You should activate two quests in particular. One concerns the missing sign, while the other involves the Butcher.
Both quests eventually take you into the same Labyrinth area, so you can complete them during the same trip.
Recover the Missing Sign
After starting the quest, look for the small goblin-like creature in the Labyrinth. Speak with it to receive a key.
Continue through the area until you encounter the monsters guarding the objective. Defeat them, then open the chest and collect the missing sign.
With the sign recovered, the first Tristram quest is complete.
Defeat the Butcher
You can also deal with the Butcher during this run.
Return to the small creature and interact with it again. An enemy ambush will occur, so clear the enemies and continue toward the area associated with Diablo's encounter.
When you reach the relevant door, interact with it and immediately move away. The Butcher attacks as soon as the encounter begins.
Defeat him to complete the second Tristram quest.
Once both objectives are finished, return to Tristram to collect your rewards.
How to Get a Guaranteed Mythic
One of the main reasons to complete the Tristram questline is the guaranteed Mythic reward.
After completing the required quests, return to the appropriate NPC in Tristram. You will receive a Mythic item as a quest reward.
This makes the Tristram questline particularly useful early in your Season 15 progression because you can obtain a guaranteed Mythic without relying entirely on random drops.
The source material also reports that the quest can become available again after completing an Uber run, potentially granting another Mythic. However, this behavior is described as a bug, so it should not be treated as the intended farming method.
Instead, use the normal Tristram quest reward once and focus on the intended Uber and seasonal progression systems for further Mythic farming.
How to Find the Cow King
Completing the Tristram activities also gives you access to the Cow King content.
The important item here is Prime Ribs, which can be used to access the Cow King's area.
Travel to the Cow King Shrine
Take your Prime Ribs to the Terial Encampment and follow the marker to the Cow King shrine.
There may be enemies around the area, so clear them before interacting with the shrine. Activate it when the area is safe, and you will be transported to the Cow King's location.
The area functions somewhat like a small town, with vendors you can interact with, sell to, or salvage equipment.
Make sure your build is strong enough before entering the encounter. The Cow King can be dangerous, particularly if your character is not well prepared, and you should avoid risking the Prime Ribs unnecessarily.
Unlock the Permanent Cow King Portal
Once you defeat the Cow King for the first time, the portal becomes permanently available.
You no longer need to activate the shrine each time. Instead, you can use the unlocked portal to return directly to the Cow King's area when you have the required Prime Ribs.
The Cow King encounter is also connected to seasonal achievements and cosmetic rewards. The source material did not report receiving Mythic items from the encounter, so its primary value is the additional seasonal content, achievements, and cosmetics rather than guaranteed Mythic farming.
How to Farm Splinters for Uber Runs
After completing the Tristram content, you can start preparing for Uber runs.
The required materials are Splinters, which can be obtained through Helltide activities, seasonal progression, and seasonal chests.
Collect Three Splinters
You need three Splinters to create the item required for an Uber run.
These materials can drop from the relevant Helltide enemies and seasonal progression rewards. Seasonal chests are also an important source, so continue opening them while progressing through Season 15.
Once you have three Splinters, you can use the Cube to transmute them into a Lucky Coin.
The Lucky Coin is the key item needed to start the special Uber encounter.
How to Start the Mephisto, Baal & Diablo Uber Run
With the Lucky Coin in your inventory, return to Tristram.
Find the fountain and interact with it while carrying the required item. A portal will open, allowing you to enter the Uber encounter.
Inside, you will fight three major bosses:
Mephisto
Baal
Diablo
Defeat all three bosses to complete the run and collect your rewards.
First Uber Run Rewards
According to the source material, the first completion provides a large Mythic reward, with the example run producing eight Mythic items.
Subsequent runs provided fewer Mythics in the recorded testing, with three Mythics obtained on the second run. The exact reward quantity may vary, so the first-run result should not necessarily be treated as a guaranteed number for every player.
The basic farming loop is straightforward: complete Helltide and seasonal activities, collect Splinters, craft the Lucky Coin, then return to Tristram to open another Uber run.
How Rune Words Work in Season 15
Tristram's content also connects with the Rune Word system.
To craft a Rune Word, you first need a normal item with no affixes. If you do not have one, you can remove the affixes from a blue or yellow item to turn it into a normal base.
Once you have the correct base item, combine it with the required runes according to the relevant Rune Word recipe.
Upgrade Your Rune Words
Rune Words are treated similarly to other powerful equipment once they are crafted. You can temper and masterwork them and modify their affixes as needed.
For example, the source demonstrates crafting Call to Arms using the appropriate runes and a normal item base.
The important part is to make sure you have the correct base and follow the recipe for the Rune Word you want to create.
Final Tristram Season 15 Farming Loop
The Season 15 Tristram content is relatively easy to work into your progression.
First, collect all 10 parts of Deckard's Journal and return to the Imperial Library to unlock the Tristram Portal. Then complete the two Tristram quests, defeat the Butcher, and collect the guaranteed Mythic reward.
After that, use the Prime Ribs to access the Cow King and unlock its permanent portal. For Uber farming, focus on Helltide and seasonal progression to collect three Splinters, convert them into a Lucky Coin, and use it at the Tristram fountain.
This gives you a clear progression path from the initial Tristram questline to the Cow King encounter and repeatable Uber runs against Mephisto, Baal, and Diablo. To sustain those repeated attempts, Diablo 4 Gold can cover your gear and consumable costs.
