The Countess is one of the earliest bosses that is worth farming. Starting in Normal you can make use of her bonus Rune drops to farm the coveted Stealth Runeword. This bonus drop adds 0-3 random Runes to her regular boss monster drop. Farming her on any difficulty gives you access to a wide range of Runewords.
In addition to that, The Countess is the only monster that drops the Key of Terror which is used to spawn Portals for the Uber Tristram fight. This special end-game content grants you access to the Hellfire Torch.
The Countess resides on the 5th floor underneath The Forgotten Tower in Black Marsh, Act 1.
Why farm The Countess?
The bonus Rune drop of The Countess alone attracts a lot of players towards her. This special drop causes her to drop 0-3 Runes in addition to her regular item drops. These Runes can be:
| Difficulty | Regular Drop | Bonus Rune Drop |
| Normal | El Rune to Ral Rune | El Rune to Ral Rune |
| Nightmare | El Rune to Ko Rune | El Rune to Io Rune |
| Hell | El Rune to Lo Rune | El Rune to Ist Rune |
In addition to Runes, The Countess is the only source of the Key of Terror. For players that want to fight the Ubers, this key is the only reason to farm The Countess.
How do I find The Countess?
There are multiple steps involved in finding The Countess. Let's break them down into the Black Marsh, the Tower Cellar Level 1-4 and finally the Tower Cellar Level 5.
Black Marsh
Inside the Black Marsh you find the ruins of an abandoned tower. They spawn randomly on the map, however there is a tendency for the tower to spawn on the edge.
Inside the ruins you find the entrance to the Forgotten Tower which leads to a small room - the last chance to turn back before entering the Tower Cellar Level 1.
The Tower Cellar Level 1-4
The Tower Cellar Levels 1-4 are very small areas in Normal difficulty. Going up into the difficulties Nightmare, and Hell, the size of these areas increases significantly. Let's take a look at parts of the Map Reading Guide to help you explore this area as efficiently as possible.
When entering any of the 4 areas you are in a map tile that only has one direction to leave it. Take the perspective of your Character when it is running in that direction, and the next Tower Cellar Level is always to your Left.
To find The Countess quickly, it helps to know how the exit tile looks like you are looking for. There are 4 "Entrance Tiles" and 4 corresponding "Exit Tiles":
Entrance "Bottom Left"
Exit tile
Entrance "Top Left"
Exit tile
Entrance "Bottom Right"
Exit tile
Entrance "Top Right"
Exit tile
The Tower Cellar Level 5
The final Level of The Tower Cellar has 2 layouts. The red circle marks the location in which The Countess spawns:
Tips & Tricks
Minion Leash
All Minions of Elite-Groups / Super Uniques have a "leash" in a circular radius around their boss. You can lure the Minions into the next room and attack them while they start running back towards The Countess. This is especially easy on her because she won't leave the room in which she spawned. Abuse it as long as you or your Mercenary are not strong enough to fight them head on.
Player Settings
The amount of players in your game when killing The Countess is very important. The amount of players you ideally have in your game (or simulated through /players in Single Player) depends on what you are looking for.
Rune Farming
When you are looking for Runes, it is best to have as few players in the game as possible. With 1 or 2 players (/players 1 or 2 in Single Player), you have the highest chance for her bonus Rune drop to max out. This is because she has a higher chance of not maxing out her amount of regular item drops.
Key Farming
When you are looking for the Key of Terror, a higher player count is beneficial. They are part of her regular item drop table, therefore you want her to drop as many items as possible. 7-8 Players in the game (or /players 7-8 in Single Player) result in the best drop chances for them.
Super Chests
You can find a decent number of Super Chests in the Tower Cellar Levels 1-4. They spawn in specific map tiles and are worth opening, especially in Hell difficulty.
Build Recommendations
The distance to The Countess and her Immunity to Fire and Cold limits the choice in Character builds significantly. Farming her efficiently mandates the use of Teleport.
- Amazon - Lightning Fury
- Amazon's generally suffer from their low mobility. No active mobility Skills
- Even without Infinity the "Javazon" can make short work of The Countess.
- Immune to Lightning monsters on the way to The Countess can be very dangerous. Skip these monsters until you have access to Infinity!
- Assassin - Lightning Sentry
- With Burst of Speed the Assassin can traverse to The Countess quickly, even without Enigma.
- Even without Infinity the "Trapsin" can mark short work of The Countess.
- Immune to Lightning monsters on the way to The Countess can be dangerous. You can fight them using the Corpse Explosions from Death Sentry.
- Barbarian - War Cry
- The War Cry Barbarian deals Physical Damage and never has to worry about The Countess being immune to him.
- With Increased Speed and a Staff of Teleportation the Barbarian has decent mobility early on.
- Druid - Hurricane Tornado
- The Wind Druid deals Physical Damage and Cold Damage, which allows him to kill every monster in the Tower Cellar.
- His only mobility comes from a Staff of Teleportation in his Weapon-Swap.
- Necromancer Bone Spear
- The Bone Spear Necromancer does not have to worry with any Immunities when farming The Countess.
- Paladin - Blessed Hammer
- With Increased Speed and a Staff of Teleportation the Paladin has decent mobility early on.
- Sorceress - Blizzard / Meteor
- Sorceress' in general benefits heavily from her built-in Teleport.
- The Blizzard and Meteor Sorceress rely on their Mercenary to kill The Countess as she is always Immune to Cold and Immune to Fire. Equip him with an Elite Base Insight to make quick work of her.
- Sorceress - Lightning
- The Lightning Sorceress not only benefits from her built-in Teleport and is always able to kill The Countess.
Summary
- The Countess is farmed for Runes and the Key of Terror.
- High mobility is important to farm her efficiently. Make sure to have a Staff of Teleportation at the very least.
- Remember to always move to your "Left" in the Tower Cellar.
- She is always Immune to Cold and Immune to Fire in Hell difficulty. These elements rely on the Mercenary to kill her.
Credits
Written by Teo1904
Reviewed by Raxxanterax
