Minecraft Dungeons secret mission: Rune locations to unlock the hidden level

Minecraft Dungeons secret mission
(Image credit: Mojang/ibxtoycat (YouTube))

The Minecraft Dungeons secret mission is a nice little Easter egg for players to find, but as the name implies it's pretty well hidden away so you'll need to put in a bit of work in order to access it. To open it up, you need to find all nine of the Minecraft Dungeons rune locations, which are spread throughout the various game worlds you'll be exploring and fighting your way through. Be aware that there will be some spoilers ahead, so if you haven't completed the game yet then you might want to come back here later once you've finished the story. However, if you've already beaten it or don't mind knowing what's coming up, then here's where all of the rune locations are along with an explanation of how to reach the Minecraft Dungeons secret mission across the drawbridge.

How to access the Minecraft Dungeons secret mission

Minecraft Dungeons secret mission

(Image credit: Mojang)

So, you know that drawbridge in the south-east corner of your Minecraft Dungeons camp? Once you beat the game for the first time, you can get to the other side and lower it. Simply go to the north-east corner, bounce on the newly appeared piston pads, then take the path south through the trees, right before you get to the Nether Portal. Follow the path round and you can interact with the lever to lower the drawbridge.

Go inside the building and you'll find a church. Portraits of the developers line the walls and right at the end is a button, along with 10 symbols above it. The first symbol should already be lit up as it's unlocked for finding the church in the first place, but the rest of the symbols won't be activated yet unless you found any rune locations on your first playthrough. To reach the Minecraft Dungeons secret level (details of which are right at the bottom of this guide if you simply want to know what the mission entails!), you need to find the nine Minecraft Dungeons rune locations and return to the church.

Minecraft Dungeons rune locations

Here are all nine Minecraft Dungeons rune locations, from start to finish.

Creeper Woods rune location

Minecraft Dungeons rune locations: Creeper Woods

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Play through the level until you reach the very last objective, to free five villagers. Clear the enemies then proceed to the south-west corner of the area where you'll find the cobblestone and stone brick sections pictured above. Interact with the button in the cobblestone and a doorway will open up. Enter it and walk to the end, interact with the next button, then interact with the object that spawns.

Soggy Swamp rune location

Minecraft Dungeons rune locations: Soggy Swamp

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This one is right at the end of the level. After you destroy the cauldron, look for the stone pillar pictured above with vines hanging from it. Press the button hidden inside the mushrooms, enter the doorway, and do the same thing you did for the last rune.

Cacti Canyon rune location

Minecraft Dungeons rune locations: Cacti Canyon

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For the rune in Cacti Canyon, play until you have to "find the golden key". Before you enter the area with the blue key, investigate behind the plant on the left-hand side of the gate. Interact with the button and an entrance will appear behind the blue key.

Pumpkin Pastures rune location

Minecraft Dungeons rune locations: Pumpkin Pastures

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Mid-way through this mission, when your objective is still to find the village, you'll find a long castle wall. Behind the boxes is a button that reveals a doorway at the end with the next rune.

Redstone Mines rune location

Minecraft Dungeons rune locations: Redstone Mines

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When you're tasked with freeing five villagers, head to the far side of the room, just before you leave to the next section. At the top will be a button behind some redstone. Push it and yep, you got it — another door will open.

Desert Temple rune location

Minecraft Dungeons rune locations: Desert Temple

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Right after you pick up the gold key, look behind the palm tree in the adjacent room to find another button.

Fiery Forge rune location

Minecraft Dungeons rune locations: Fiery Forge

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This one is fairly close to the start; when you enter the section with the fallen Redstone Golem, there's a lever in the back left corner that'll reveal the next rune area.

Highblock Halls rune location

Minecraft Dungeons rune locations: Highblock Halls

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When you reach the marketplace area and your objective is to crash the party, go to the top part of this area where you'll find the switch pictured above.

Obsidian Pinnacle rune location

Minecraft Dungeons rune locations: Obsidian Pinnacle

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When you enter the indoor section during your pursuit of the Arch-Illager, play until you're almost at the end. Before you leave to go outside again, there should be a small library area. Approach the bookshelves and you should be able to pull one of the books to reveal a room behind it. Along with the rune, this one also has a few chests inside for extra loot.

Moo?

Minecraft Dungeons rune locations: Moo?

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Now you're ready to unlock the secret level. With all nine runes acquired, head back to the church and press the button at the end again. This will reveal another doorway with two soul chests and a map. Pick up the map to be given access to the ??? level in the top-right hand corner of the mission select screen.

Travel here and voila! The secret level is called "Moo?" and is entirely on a Mooshroom Island, one of regular Minecraft's rarest discoveries. While Mooshroom Cows are peaceful in standard Minecraft however, these ones are angry. Angry and very, very tough. Play through the level to the end and you'll face off against the Mooshroom Monstrosity, a harder version of the Redstone Monstrosity boss you've fought before.

This level is a reference to Diablo II, which had a hidden cow level. Of course, Minecraft has regular cows, but since they're littered throughout the game anyway, making it a secret Mooshroom Cow level makes much more sense. We haven't managed to beat the Mooshroom Monstrosity yet, so if you do, please let us know what loot you manage to get!

Ford James

Give me a game and I will write every "how to" I possibly can or die trying. When I'm not knee-deep in a game to write guides on, you'll find me hurtling round the track in F1, flinging balls on my phone in Pokemon Go, pretending to know what I'm doing in Football Manager, or clicking on heads in Valorant.