Tell me more ×
Arqade is a question and answer site for passionate videogamers on all platforms. It's 100% free, no registration required.

There are, at the time of this question, 209 threads on Battle.net concerning the Bloodstained Letter lore item needed to complete the Primary Sources achievement.

My primary character, a barbarian created on launch day, has been unable to complete this achievement - the Bloodstained Letter simply does not drop, nor as far as I can tell has it ever dropped. It does not appear in my lore list, the achievement is open, and after days of grinding the Keep Depths, continues to elude me. I've never seen the lore - not in Normal, nor Nightmare, nor Hell nor Inferno (where my character currently is).

Blizzard maintains that the Bloodstained Letter is not bugged.

Is it correct that:

  1. the Bloodstained Letter should drop from a Dead Solder corpse in The Keep Depths, only on a Dead Soldier (not a Dead Guardsman) and only in the Keep Depths (i.e. not in other dungeons)?
  2. the Dead Soldier corpse does not always appear (it's a random occurrence)?
  3. the Dead Soldier should always drop the Bloodstained Letter if his corpse appears?
share|improve this question

2 Answers

up vote 5 down vote accepted

I've been farming Act 3 for keys lately, and the Keep Depths are where I go to build stacks. To answer your questions:

  1. Yes. There are lots of dead soldier corpses, and as you noted, the distinction is that the one holding the Bloodstained Letter is a Dead Soldier, not a Dead Guardsmen. I have always found him on the Keep Depths Level 1.
  2. I've found it extremely rare that it doesn't drop. My last run had the Dead Solider a couple rooms in. Usually, he's in a little alcove dead-end.
  3. I've noticed I get the Bloodstained letter almost every run. Now that I'm paying attention, the Dead Soldier has (so far) dropped the Bloodstained Letter every time.
share|improve this answer
I've seen tons of Dead Guardsmen, but from what I read elsewhere there can be either zero or one Dead Soldier per level. Are you seeing more that one Dead Soldier per level? – Madmanguruman Nov 4 '12 at 15:33
1  
Ah, yes, I missed that distinction; I'll do another run and make note of the soldier, if I find him. – fbueckert Nov 4 '12 at 15:47
Fair enough. I'm bugged, except that the quest is not bugged per Blizzard. Sigh. Perhaps I'll see you on Battle.net one day and get the achievement from one of your games fbueckert... – Madmanguruman Dec 16 '12 at 17:44

AFAIK the Bloodstained Letter only appears in the Keep Depths level 1; I also find it almost every time I go through there. Generally I'm anal about searching every dead body though.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.