Diablo 3 Walkthrough: Act 1, New Tristram to the Butcher

This is part 1 of our full Diablo 3 walkthrough for Reaper of Souls (Ultimate Evil and Eternal Collection). It starts at the gates of New Tristram and ends when you free the fallen angel from the Butcher under Leoric's Manor. Along the way you face the Skeleton King and collect the three pieces of the Stranger's sword.

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The whole walkthrough

Campaign or Adventure Mode?

Diablo 3 has two ways to play. Campaign Mode is the story: five acts of quests in a fixed order. Adventure Mode opens the whole map with bounties and rifts, and most veterans level there because it is faster. On a normal (non-seasonal) account, Adventure Mode unlocks after you beat the campaign once. Seasonal characters have it from the start.

So yes, you can skip the story. But if you have never seen it, play the campaign once. This guide is for that run.

Playing the Necromancer? See our Rise of the Necromancer guide.

Which difficulty to pick

• Monsters scale to your level, so there is no "right" level for an act. Difficulty is what changes how hard things hit.
• Normal, Hard and Expert are open from the start. Higher levels (Master and the Torment levels) open as you progress, and the game menu shows what you can pick.
• New to Diablo? Start on Hard or Expert. Normal is very easy. Higher difficulty also gives more gold and experience.
• You can change difficulty later from the game menu if a boss is too easy or too hard.

Quests in Act 1

1. The Fallen Star
2. The Legacy of Cain
3. A Shattered Crown
4. Reign of the Black King
5. Sword of the Stranger
6. The Broken Blade
7. The Doom in Wortham
8. Trailing the Coven
9. The Imprisoned Angel
10. Return to New Tristram

1. The Fallen Star

A star has crashed into the old Cathedral and the dead are rising. You start on the road outside New Tristram.

1. Help Captain Rumford fight off the risen dead at the town gate.
2. He sends you to Leah in the Slaughtered Calf Inn. Talk to her, then go back to Rumford.
3. Kill the Wretched Mother outside the gate. These bloated zombies spawn more zombies, so always kill the mother first.
4. Head to the Old Ruins and kill the Wretched Queen. She is slow and tough. Stay out of reach and kill her small adds when they crowd you.
5. Take the new waypoint back to town and talk to Rumford.

2. The Legacy of Cain

Leah asks you to find her uncle, Deckard Cain, who went into the Cathedral.

1. Walk up the Old Tristram Road to the Cathedral. Leah may join you for this part.
2. Search Cathedral Level 1 for signs of Cain.
3. In Leoric's Passage, save Cain from the skeletons attacking him, then follow him up to the Cathedral Garden.
4. Use the waypoint to return to New Tristram and talk to Leah.

3. A Shattered Crown

Cain needs the crown of the old king, Leoric. The blacksmith, Haedrig Eamon, knows where it is.

1. Talk to Haedrig. First he takes you to the Cellar of the Damned. Kill the dead there. It is a sad scene, but it is how you unlock the blacksmith.
2. Leave through the north-west of town into the Weeping Hollow and find the Cemetery of the Forsaken.
3. Check the Defiled Crypts. Only one has a second level. That is the one you want.
4. At the altar, take the crown. Chancellor Eamon appears. Kill him, portal home and give the crown to Haedrig.

4. Reign of the Black King: the Skeleton King

1. Go back to the Cathedral and go down through Cathedral Levels 2 and 3.
2. On Level 3 you find a man who lost his gear. Get his items from the chest. He is Kormac the Templar. Help him kill the fallen Templar Jondar and Kormac becomes your first follower.
3. Go down to Level 4, then through the Royal Crypts to the crypt of the Skeleton King.
4. Kill the Returned, then place Leoric's crown on the Skeleton King. The fight begins.

Boss: the Skeleton King. He swings a big three-hit cleave, teleports to you for a strike, and raises skeletons around the room.

• Hit him a few times, then clear the skeletons. They often drop health globes.
• Watch for the wind-up on his cleave and step away before it lands.

After the fight, step through the portal under the throne into the Desolate Chamber and speak to the Stranger, a man with no memory who fell from the sky.

5. Sword of the Stranger

The Stranger's sword broke into three pieces. Cain sends you after the first.

1. Go into the Fields of Misery and find the Khazra Den.
2. Inside, the witch Maghda and her cultists guard the shard. Clear the cultists. Maghda escapes.
3. Pick up the shard and portal back to Cain.

6. The Broken Blade

1. Leah sends you to the Drowned Temple. On the way, near The Old Mill, you meet Lyndon the Scoundrel, who becomes your second follower.
2. At the temple, place the two beacons on the pedestals next to the ghost of Alaric to open the door.
3. Inside, kill Ezek the Prophet and his skeletons, then talk to Alaric and take the second shard.

7. The Doom in Wortham

1. Take the road to the village of Wortham. Clear the cultists around the chapel.
2. Maghda shows up with more cultists and a mini-boss, then summons three Dark Berserkers. Kill them all.
3. Talk to the priest by the chapel. Go down into the chapel cellar to finish the area, then use the waypoint back to town.
4. Go to Cain's House. A key story scene plays here and the Coven strikes. We won't spoil it, but the next quest is about hunting them down.

8. Trailing the Coven: Queen Araneae

1. Use the Wortham Chapel Cellar waypoint and enter the Caverns of Araneae.
2. Head for the Chamber of Queen Araneae. Talk to the woman trapped in the web, and the Spider Queen attacks.
3. After the fight, take venom from the Pool of Venom. You need it to dissolve the webs that block the exit.
4. Come out in Highlands Crossing, push north through the Khazra barricade into the Northern Highlands, fight Maghda's cultists, and reach Leoric's Manor.

Boss: Queen Araneae. She fights with spiders, poison and webs. Kill the small spiders when they swarm, keep out of the green poison, and keep moving so webs don't hold you in place.

9. The Imprisoned Angel: the Butcher

1. Take the stairs by the Manor waypoint down into Halls of Agony Level 1, then Level 2.
2. You come out into the Highlands Passage and then The Cursed Hold, an old prison. The ghost of Queen Asylla asks you to free the spirits of the prisoners.
3. Free the spirits, then kill The Warden, a big skeleton mini-boss in the centre. A gate opens.
4. Go down to Halls of Agony Level 3 and find the Chamber of Suffering. Once you step in, you can't leave until you or the Butcher are dead.

Boss: the Butcher. The act boss. He hits hard in melee and has four main moves:

• Fire floor: grates in the floor light up and burn. They light up faster as the fight goes on. Never stand on a glowing panel.
• Frenzy Charge: he marks a straight line on the floor, then charges along it. Step sideways. If he hits the wall he is stunned for a moment: that is your free damage.
• Grappling Hook: he can pull you in. Keep your escape skill ready for when you land next to him.
• Smash: heavy melee hits. Don't trade blows with him on low health.

When he dies, the angel is free.

10. Return to New Tristram

Go back to town and talk to the angel. He tells you where to go next: across the sea to Caldeum. That is Act 2.

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Diablo III plays great with a pad. A comfortable wireless controller is worth it for couch co-op.

Tips for this part

• Kill summoners first. Wretched Mothers and cult casters keep making new enemies.
• Open the blacksmith early. Haedrig can salvage and craft. Gear you don't need is better as crafting materials than as junk.
• Use your follower. Kormac and Lyndon both help. Give them gear from your drops.
• Keep health potions on your bar. Your potion has a cooldown, so drink early in a big fight, not at the last second.

Don't have it yet? Diablo III: Eternal Collection is often on sale.

My take

I've played Act 1 more times than I can count and the Butcher's room still gets my heart rate up. The pace is slower than the later acts, but the old Tristram feeling is worth it on a first run. Did you skip straight to Adventure Mode, or did you play the story first?

FAQ

How long is Act 1 of Diablo 3?

Act 1 has ten quests, which makes it one of the longer acts. Most players take a few hours on a first run.

What level should I be for the Butcher?

There is no fixed level. Monsters in Diablo 3 scale to your level, so what matters is your difficulty setting and gear. If the Butcher kills you fast, drop the difficulty one step or upgrade your weapon.

Can I skip the Diablo 3 campaign?

Yes, once Adventure Mode is unlocked. On a normal account that means beating the campaign once. Seasonal characters can start in Adventure Mode right away.

Where do I get followers in Act 1?

Kormac the Templar joins in Reign of the Black King (Cathedral Level 3). Lyndon the Scoundrel joins in The Broken Blade. The third follower, the Enchantress, joins early in Act 2.

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