The Horadric Staff (quest)

Quest Two: The Horadric Staff

• Quest Name: The Horadric Staff
• Triggered By: Returning the Horadric Scroll to Deckard Cain or recovering the Horadric Cube
• Given by: Cain
• Location: Horadric Cube: Halls of the Dead, Staff of Kings: Sand Maggot Hive level three, * Viper Amulet: Claw Viper Temple, level two
• Reward: The Horadric Cube is kept after the quest, and used throughout the game for many useful purposes. More info about it here.
• Quest Priority: It is mandatory if you are playing alone, but not mandatory if you party with someone else who has the Horadric Staff.

To complete this quest you must find a Horadric Cube, the Staff of Kings, the Amulet of the Viper, and combine the Staff and Amulet in the Cube and transmute them into the Horadric Staff. You then show that to Cain and he will give you the fourth quest, and you will be allowed into the Palace of Lut Gholein to continue on in the act.

• The Cube is found on level three of the Halls of the Dead, a dungeon area below the Dry Hills.
• The Staff of Kings is found in a chest by the Queen Maggot on level three of the Maggot Lair, found below the Far Oasis.
• The Viper Amulet is found in a golden chest on level two of the Claw Viper Temple, the entrance to the temple is in the Valley of Snakes, a small surface area off of the Lost City.

These three quests can be done in any order, but the logical progression is Cube, then Staff, then Amulet, since that's the order you'll reach them as you move through the act. Obtaining the Amulet is the third quest of the act, but you need it to make the Horadric Staff, so these two quests partially overlap.

Once you have the Cube and both pieces of the staff, you stick the staff and headpiece (Viper Amulet) into the Cube and transmute them into the Horadric Cube. You then show that to Cain, and he will tell you what it can be used for and give you the next quest.

Tips: You can get a cube from another character and save yourself the trouble of doing the Halls of the Dead. If other characters finish the Staff or Amulet areas in your game, enough of those items will drop for everyone who doesn't have one already, and you can hop down through their Town Portal and get one with no effort.

The Halls of the Dead are a pretty easy area. The Sand Maggots are a little trickier. You should be sure to find the Far Oasis waypoint before you enter the hive, or it's a long walk back afterwards. Be careful in the Queen's area, she emits a very toxic poison when she dies and it will take you down to one hit point in very short order. The Claw Vipers are part of this quest also, but since they are the whole Quest Three, read on for more info on them.

Quest Dialogues

Activation

Deckard Cain

Ahh... The lost Horadric Scroll! What a fortunate turn of events...

As the last living Horadrim, I alone have knowledge of its meaning. Now, to read the Horadric runes it bears. Hmmm...

The Horadric Mages, after binding Baal within Tal Rasha, magically sealed off his Burial Chamber from the mortal realm. Those same Mages also crafted fearsome Horadric Staves and imbued them with the special power to open the Chamber's hidden door.

After nearly losing one to the thievery of a rogue sorcerer, they divided all the Horadric Staves into two parts - wooden shaft and metal headpiece - hiding them separately to safeguard them.

The Horadrim foresaw our current plight and designed the hiding places to reveal themselves to worthy heroes like you.

Collect both parts of a Horadric Staff and unite them using a Horadric Cube. Then, you may enter Tal Rasha's Burial Chamber.

Return (with Horadric Cube)

Deckard Cain

You have quite a treasure there in that Horadric Cube. According to Horadric lore, the Cube can restore a Horadric Staff.

To do it - use the Cube as you would a scroll. When the Cube opens, place both pieces of the Staff into it and use the Cube's transmute power.

You'll be pleased to know that the Cube has other alchemical uses as well...

Six gems plus one sword transmute into a socketed long sword.

You may also transmute two quivers of crossbow bolts into one quiver of arrows, while two quivers of arrows yield one quiver of bolts.

I must leave it to you to discover other formulae.

Return (with Staff of Kings)

Deckard Cain

The Staff of Kings! You astound me, my friend. You have discovered the shaft portion of a Horadric Staff.

I trust you know how to use a Horadric Cube to unite the shaft with its headpiece.

Return (with Viper Amulet)

Deckard Cain

The Viper Amulet you bear is actually the headpiece of a Horadric Staff!

Yes... You have an uncanny knack for finding rare and valuable artifacts. Of course, you'll have to use a Horadric Cube to combine the headpiece with the shaft.

Return (with Horadric Staff)

Deckard Cain

Excellent! You have a Horadric Staff.

Carry it with you into Tal Rasha's Tomb. Find within the Tomb the chamber whose floor is inset with the Circle of Seven Symbols.

Place the Staff into the receptacle you find there. That will open the secret passage into Tal Rasha's Burial Chamber.

But, be prepared for a fight - you'll likely have to kill Tal Rasha to destroy Baal.