The Harlequin Crest, often referred to as "Shako," is a super-rare Unique Helm in Diablo 4 that many players are interested in obtaining. While the Harlequin Crest's drop rate makes the item extremely difficult to find, there are some actions that players can take in an attempt to maximize their chances. This guide is here to detail those actions, and it will help players that are trying to target farm a Harlequin Crest in Diablo 4.
Diablo 4: How to Get Harlequin Crest
The first thing to know is that Diablo 4's super-rare Unique items can only drop from Level 85+ enemies, as confirmed by Adam Jackson, the game's Lead Class Designer, on Twitter. As such, players that are hoping to obtain a Harlequin Crest will need to kill monsters of the appropriate level, and Tier 31+ Nightmare Dungeons are the best activities to target. Indeed, players can find Level 85+ monsters in abundance on those World Tier 4 maps, making them suitable places for farming super-rare Uniques.
That said, some Nightmare Dungeons are better than others for obtaining the Harlequin Crest due to the concept of monster families. For the uninitiated, the enemies in Diablo 4 are grouped by type, and some groups have an increased chance of dropping certain types of items. This concept was confirmed by Associate Game Director Joseph Piepiora in an April 2023 Developer Update Live Stream, and the community has been hard at work trying to confirm the connections between monster families and loot drops.
On that note, it is currently believed that Cultists and Cannibals are the families that have an increased chance of dropping Helms, making them more likely to award the Diablo 4's Harlequin Crest. Players are thus advised to target Nightmare Dungeons that feature those two types of enemies, and these five are recommended:
- Conclave
- Cultist Refuge
- Earthen Wound
- Serpent's Lair
- Shadowed Plunge
While focusing on those five Nightmare Dungeons at Tier 31+ seems to be the best way to take a targeted approach to farming a Harlequin Crest, players that use this method should still not expect to receive one any time soon. Indeed, this Helm is extremely rare, with only one confirmed drop as of the writing of this guide. Fortunately, Nightmare Dungeons are also great places to farm XP in Diablo 4, and are required for the leveling of Glyphs, which makes running them worthwhile even if the Shako never drops.
Diablo 4 is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.