Diablo 4: How to get Harlequin Crest (Shako), and what makes it great

Modified Feb 01, 2025 00:39 IST

The Harlequin Crest, also called “Shako,” is a reference to the Diablo 2 item, “Harlequin Crest Shako.” It is an extremely popular Mythic Unique helm in Diablo 4. With its amazing stats and modifications, this potent piece of gear can greatly improve a player's gameplay experience. The ability to greatly reduce incoming damage as well as boost multiple stats makes this an ideal gear choice for almost every class in Diablo 4.

In this article, we'll delve into the details of the Harlequin Crest, including its stats, modifiers, and how to obtain it.

All possible Harlequin Crest (Shako) affixes in Diablo 4

Harlequin Crest Stats (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

The Harlequin Crest boasts an amazing set of stats and modifiers that makes it a very valuable addition to any player's arsenal. These are:

+1850 Maximum Life: Increases your overall health pool.
+18 Maximum Resource: Enhances your resource generation and management.
+2500 Armor: Gives a significant boost to physical damage reduction.
20% Cooldown Reduction: Allows you to use your skills more frequently.
20% Damage Reduction: Reduces the amount of damage taken from enemy attacks.
+4 Ranks to all Skills: Enhances your skill potency and effectiveness.

The Harlequin Crest's unique effect is especially noteworthy, giving a 20% damage reduction and +4 ranks to all skills. This effect can significantly enhance your survivability and overall damage output.

How to obtain the Harlequin Crest (Shako ) in Diablo 4

There are two primary methods for obtaining the Harlequin Crest:

1) Target Farming specific enemies

Duriel, King of Maggots (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

The Harlequin Crest can be target-farmed by summoning and defeating Duriel, King of Maggots and Echo of Andariel. To increase your chances of obtaining the crest, ensure that you're playing on World Tier 4. This will increase the drop rate of Mythic Unique items.

Moreover, you can only discover these items in Nightmare Dungeons of Tier 31 or higher, thus if you want to locate it specifically in Nightmare Dungeons, you will need to do this at World Tier 4. Although each encounter may provide multiple Mythic Uniques, the higher difficulty cost may not justify the effort.

You can also receive the drop by running around Sanctuary looking for enemies that are Level 85 or higher. There is a chance that almost anything you do at that level or above will have a higher probability of dropping the Helm.

2) Crafting the Harlequin Crest

Alchemist hut (Image via Blizzard entertainment)

It is possible to obtain the Harlequin Crest without farming it. To do so, it must be transmuted using the Alchemist in Diablo 4, which you can theoretically perform as soon as you reach Level 35. There are alchemists all around Sanctuary in Diablo 4, like Veroka in Kyovashad within Desolate Highlands, Corman in Cerrigar within The Emerald Chase, etc. Once you are at the Alchemist, you can open the Transmutation menu and the recipe for crafting the Harlequin Crest. Here's what you need:

2 Resplendent Spark
6 Eom
6 Lac
6 Ton

You can get one guaranteed Resplendent Spark in Diablo 4 by defeating a Tormented Boss for the first time. Note that you can only get this item from the first encounter. Apart from this, you can break down unused Uniques in your inventory to get Resplendent Sparks.

How to Build around Harlequin Crest (Shako) in Diablo 4

Survivability is the key to getting through hoards of enemies, especially at the higher levels. Harlequin’s Crest helps keep players alive in the heat of combat. Here are a few of the builds in Diablo 4 that can benefit from its impressive stats and modifiers:

Twisting Blades Rogue

The Twisting Blades Rogue build can utilize the Harlequin Crest's cooldown reduction and damage reduction to consecutively used skills by lowering their cooldown time and boosting defense by lowering incoming damage.

Bone Shard Necromancer

The Bone Shard Necromancer build can benefit from the Harlequin Crest's increased maximum life and skill ranks, allowing players to survive longer in combat without worrying about being overwhelmed.

Ice Vortex Barbarian

The Ice Vortex Barbarian build can leverage the Harlequin Crest's damage reduction and cooldown reduction to enhance damage output rate.

Conclusion

The Harlequin Crest is a powerful and highly coveted Mythic Unique helm in Diablo 4. Its fantastic stats and modifiers make it a valuable addition to your arsenal. Classes that are too squishy due to low defense and physical protection can gain a significant boost upon acquiring the Harlequin Crest.

Check out our other Guides of Diablo 4:

Edited by Siddharth Satish