Finding The Caverns Of Frost And Gibbering Gemstone

Of all the ingredients required to craft the Staff of Herding (needed for reaching Whimsyshire), the Gibbering Gemstone is by far the most difficult one to acquire. For this reason, I decided to create a guide to aid you in your quest to obtain it.

Update: The drop rate for the Gibbering Gemstone has been nerfed to bits. Blizz is aware of the issue and is hoping to fix it soon. If you’ve bene unlucky trying to get this to drop post-patch 2.0, then you’re not alone.

Why is the Gibbering gemstone so hard to acquire?

The Gibbering Gemstone drops from a rare mob in a rare spawn cave. When you make a new game, there is no guarantee that the cave will be spawned. In addition, the cave can spawn in one of 6 locations. Lastly, when you do find the cave, there is no guarantee that it will contain the rare mob who drops the gem. So grab some snacks and a beverage of choice…because finding the Gibbering Gemstone can take awhile.

Guide to Finding the Caverns of Frost & the Gibbering Gemstone

Step 1: Create a New Game

You’ll want to select Act III: Siegebreaker

Step 2: Bridge of Korsikk Waypoint

Head to the waypoint in Bastion’s Keep Stronghold and select the Bridge of Korsikk waypoint.

Step 3: Search for Caverns of Frost

From the waypoint, you’ll want to head north or east to start looking for the Caverns of Frost.

The Caverns of Frost is a rare spawn cave in the Fields of Slaughter, which means it won’t always be available. It’s a shared spawn with the Icefall Caves – so if you happen to see the Icefall Caves – exit out of your game and try again.

Caves can spawn in 6 locations throughout the Fields of Slaughter, but I’ve only seen the Caverns of Frost in 4 of these locations — all but the two northernmost spawns.

Update: 06/01/12 — All six spawn locations are now confirmed. CoF can spawn in any one of 6 places throughout the Fields of Slaughter.

Caverns of Frost Spawn Locations Map

The Fields of Slaughter contains a surplus of many of the most annoying mobs in Diablo 3 – for melee anyway. Casters will likely have it a bit easier, but for melee players it can get annoying real fast. There are more than a few mobs in this area with movement impairing effects – most notably knockback – which can really get frustrating when all you’re trying to do is find this stinkin’ cave.

Also, due to the sheer number of mobs in Fields of Slaughter, you can only effectively avoid them for so long before you eventually get caught in a lovely chain knockback party.

For this reason, some players may not want to search all the locations. The spawn just north of the waypoint is an easy one to check – so you can check that spot and remake your game, as needed, until you get the Caverns of Frost. However, there are quite a few rares in the area, so if you’re a glutton for punishment, like me, then just search until you find it. I actually had a Legendary drop on one of my runs through Fields of Slaughter. 🙂

Step 4: Enter the Caverns of Frost and Kill Chiltara

When you locate the Caverns of Frost, head on in and start looking for the entrance to level 2. This is where the mob will be that drops the Gibbering Gemstone.

Chiltara is a rare spawn mob, so she may not always be in there. If Chiltara is in fact waiting for you, then go ahead and mug her.

As far as I know, the drop rate for the Gibbering Gemstone is 100%.

Update: At the time of this writing, the drop rate was a 100% chance, but it seems Blizzard may have lowered that in 2.0.1. No word yet on whether this was intended, or whether it will be fixed, but lets hope so! More info here.

If you get this far, then congratulations! You’re well on your way to crafting a Staff of Herding. 🙂