Diablo I Shrines

This page lists all the shrines found in Diablo 1 and Hellfire.

• Diablo II Shrines.
• Diablo III Shrines.

Shrines and pools of various types may be found on levels 1-15 in Diablo. There are no shrines of any type on level 16, and none in any of the Hive or Crypt levels added in Hellfire.

Shrines Warning

Unlike the Diablo II shrines, which offer fairly inconsequential, always temporary bonuses, several shrines in Diablo and Hellfire will permanently damage your character, lowering their mana pool in irreparable fashion. It is therefore very unwise to click a shrine if you do not know what it does. Expert players never click goat shrines or cauldrons, since their random effect can be deleterious.

Springs and Pools

Blood Fountain

Murky Pool

Purifying Springs and Blood Fountains are the only shrines that can be used more than once. They can each be used endlessly, by all players in the game. (As if your mouse finger wasn't tired enough already?)

No shrines or pools of any type are found in the Hive or Crypt, the dungeons added in Hellfire.

• Purifying Spring: These refill one mana point per click. They are found on levels 1-8 and 13-16
• Blood Fountain: These refill one health point per click. They are found on levels 1-8 and 13-16
• Murky Pool: These grant Infravision, just as if your character had used a scroll of Infravision. One use only.
• Fountain of Tears:These randomly grant +1 to one attribute and -1 to another. If the selected attribute is maxed out, the +1 is wasted.

Goat Shrines and Cauldrons

Goat Shrine

Goat Shrines and Cauldrons cause one shrine effect at random, selected from all shrines in the game. They do not ever create the effect of a spring or a pool. It is recommended that you not click any of these, since several shrine effects will permanently damage your character or other characters in the game.

• Goat Shrines may be found in levels 2-4 of the Cathedral, and are commonly found levels 5-8 of the Catacombs, always in enclosed rooms and always surrounded by eight goatmen of some type.
• Cauldrons are found randomly spotted around the levels of hell, levels 13-15. (None are found on 16.) They can be useful objects to take cover behind, but be careful you do not click one accidentally while fighting beside it.

Diablo Shrines

The following shrines are found in Diablo and Hellfire. Shrines are only found on dungeon levels 1-8, though cauldrons found on 13-15 give a random shrine effect (and should be avoided).

Fascinating, Ornate, and Sacred shrines are the three shrines that permanently damage your character by lowering their potential mana. These shrines aren't actually a bad thing, for a Sorcerer who is only going to lay normal difficulty, since the +2 skill bonus is very helpful. These shrines are crippling for a high level Sorc though.

The Cryptic shrine could be potentially useful in early levels, if you lure a group of melee monsters towards the room where the shrine is contained, then trigger the Nova spell against them. Unfortunately, as most shrines are contained into small rooms, your character more likely might get swarmed and take a lot of damage or get killed, so at best you might takedown a handful of Scavengers or a couple Goatmen. Keep in mind that you can activate shrines with telekinesis, which is very useful on levels 5-8 of the Catacombs and its inner rooms jam-packed with monsters, especially on Normal difficulty where a single click on the shrine may clean the entire room.

• Also see Shuri's Rogue Guide for a color-coded shrine chart.

Shrine	Effect	Quote
Abandoned	+2 Dexterity	"The hands of men may be guided by fate."
Creepy	+2 Strength	"Strength is bolstered by heavenly faith."
Cryptic	Mana bulb refill and casts a Nova spell.	"Arcane power brings destruction."
Divine	Drops 2 full rejuvenation potions -or- 1 full mana and 1 full healing. Also refills life and mana bulbs.	"Drink and be refreshed."
Eerie	+2 magic.	"Knowledge and wisdom at the cost of self."
Eldritch	All health and mana potions become rejuvenation potions of the same quality.	"Crimson and Azure become as the sun."
Enchanted	-1 to one random spell level, +1 to all others. (Bug: Chain Lightning is usually the -1 in Diablo.)	"Magic is not always what it seems to be."
Fascinating	+2 to Firebolt skill, -10% maximum mana (permanent).	"Intensity comes at the cost of wisdom."
Glimmering	Identifies all unidentified items in inventory.	"Mysteries are revealed in the light of reason."
Gloomy (Single Player)	+2 AC to equipped shield, helm, and armor. (Until next new game created) -1 to equipped weapon's max damage. (Until next new game created)	"Those who defend seldom attack."
Hidden	-10 max durability to one equipped item, +10 durability to the others. (Permanent. This is how the Thinking Cap is made usable. Do not use indestructible items; they will not be selected to gain or lose and hurt your odds of not reducing what you want to increase. Go to town and buy some non-magical junk equipment, if need be. The shield is most often the item reduced. No item will ever be destroyed; just reduced to 1/1 durability, at worst.)	"New strength is forged through destruction."
Holy	Activates a phasing spell (Teleport to random location on screen.)	"Wherever you go, there you are."
Imposing	+2 Dexterity	"A surge of blood interrupts your thoughts."
Magical	Casts mana shield on the player. (No effect if mana shield already active.)	"While the spirit is vigilant the body thrives."
Mysterious	+5 points to one random attribute -1 point to other three attributes (No bonus if the selected attribute is maxed already.)	"Some are weakened as one grows strong."
Ornate	+2 Holy Bolt spell level, -10% max mana (permanent)	"Salvation comes at the cost of wisdom."
Quiet	Add +2 to Vitality	"The essence of life flows from within."
Religious	Repairs all items	"Time cannot diminish the power of steel."
Sacred	Charged bolt +2 levels; lose 10% max mana	"Energy comes at the cost of wisdom."
Secluded	Completes the auto-map of the current level	"The way is made clear when viewed from above"
Spiritual	Fills all empty inventory slots with small amounts of gold.	"Riches abound when least expected."
Spooky	Full rejuvenation potions for other players	You: "Where avarice fails, patience gains reward." Others: "Blessed by a benevolent companion!"
Stone	Recharges all staves equipped and in inventory.	"The powers of mana refocused renews."
Tainted	+1 to a random stat of the player touching the shrine -1 to all stats of the other players in the game.	You: "Those who are last may yet be first." Others: "Generosity brings its own rewards."
Thaumaturgic (Single Player)	Refills all chests on the current level.	"What once was opened now is closed."
Weird (Single Player)	Adds +1 to all weapons max damage (Until next new game created)	"The sword of justice is swift and sharp."
Blood Fountain	+1 to health per click	--
Fountain of Tears	+1 to one attribute; -1 to another.(random)	--
Goat Shrine/Cauldron	Random Shrine Effect	--
Murky Pool	Infravision (Temporary: As if a scroll had been used.)	--
Purifying Spring	+1 to mana per click	--

Hellfire Shrines

These shrines are found only in Hellfire. None of the Diablo shrines are removed or modified in Hellfire, there are just more shrines added into the mix. None of the added Hellfire shrines have permanent detrimental effects, but Murphy's should be avoided and Mendicant's can be annoying to high level characters with a lot of gold in their inventory (The gold lost could take a long time to recover, while the experience gained can be had from just a few monsters, on hell difficulty.)

Shrine	Effect	Quote
Glowing	+5 to Magic, -5% Experience	"Knowledge is power"
Mendicant	Takes half your gold and converts it to experience	"Give and you shall receive"
Murphy's	1 in 3 chance of damage to an item, or takes away 1/3 of your gold	"That which can break will"
Oily	Casts a Ring of Fire spell around the shrine and adds +2 to primary stats: Barbarian: +2 Vitality Bard: +1 Dexterity, +1 Magic Monk: +1 Strength and +1 Dexterity Rogue: +2 Dexterity Sorcerer: +2 Magic Warrior: +2 Strength	"That which does not kill you..."
Shimmering	Instant mana refill.	"Spiritual energy is restored"
Solar	The Solar shrine's effect is determined by the clock time on your computer when the game was created. 12:00-17:59 (Noon - 6pm) = +2 Strength 18:00-19:59 (6pm - 8pm) = +2 Magic 20:00-3:59 (8pm - 4am) = +2 Vitality 4:00-11:59 (4am-noon) = +2 Dexterity	"You feel stronger" "You feel wiser" "You feel refreshed" "You feel more agile"
Sparkling	Player is hit by electrical charge, and gains 1000 experience per dungeon level (1000 on level 1, 2000 on level 2, etc.)	"Some experience is gained by touch"
Town	Opens portal to town	"There's no place like home"

Beta Shrines

Before release, the game featured shrines that were significantly changed or deleted. These can be found in the pre-release demo.

Shrine	Effect	Quote
Cryptic	Increases current and maximum life and mana by 20; swaps two attributes.	"Power comes from your disorientation..."
Eerie	+2 to Magic; reverses the character's name.	"You forget who you are!"
Enchanted	A random spell is forgotten, +1 to all other spell levels.	"Did you forget something?"
Fascinating	Sets Fire Bolt spell level to 5 but lowers the ToHit% of all fire spells used on the current level. (Unclear)	"You are the powerless master of fire!"
Hidden	Same effect as the retail version.	"Energy passes through your equipment."
Holy	Teleports you to a random spot on the level.	Same quote as the retail version.
Imposing	Increases current life by 2*clvl and decreases current mana by 2*clvl. * Not in pre-release demo.	"A surge of blood interrupts your thoughts."
Magical	Unknown.	"Growling is heard throughout the dungeon."
Mysterious	Same effect as the retail version.	"Odd sensations."
Mystic	Sets gold to 1, increases experience by dlvl * dlvl * 1000 * (1 + 0,1(dlvl - clvl)).	"Your skills increase, but at a price."
Spiritual	Same effect as the retail version.	"Untold wealth!"
Supernatural	Resets the next level up in the dungeon, fully restocking it with monsters and refilling all chests.	"You hear a strange cry from the distance."
Thaumaturgic	Same effect as the retail version.	"You hear a series of creaks and thumps."
Blood Fountain	+8 to current health and -8 to current mana per click; requires 8 mana to use.	--

It seems likely that there is a counterpart to the Imposing Shrine that would increase mana and reduce life. This might have been where the Eerie Shrine quote comes from: "Knowledge and wisdom at the cost of self" seems to imply a spiritual drawback to go with the vitality boost, but there is none.