If you’re grinding your way through Diablo 4 Season 9, one optional side quest you absolutely shouldn’t skip is The Pilgrim’s Footsteps.
It may look small at first glance, but it’s a quick hit of exploration, lore, XP, and loot.
For players rushing to get geared for Helltides or Nightmare Dungeons, you can even buy Diablo 4 items from MMOexp early on to speed up your build and save farming time.
I’ve traveled across Sanctuary more times than my hero has fallen, and this quest always stands out—it’s short, clever, and fits perfectly into Diablo 4 Items sandbox feel.
Here’s a step-by-step veteran walkthrough, lore notes, and tips to make it a smooth run.
Why The Pilgrim’s Footsteps Matters in Season 9
Season 9 shakes up meta builds, introduces new gear sources, and has rekindled interest in optional side quests.
This one is puzzle-based, takes only a few minutes, and rewards you with a Boon for the Faithful chest containing gold, XP, and sometimes rare gear.
It’s not required for story progress—but it’s pure flavor with tangible gains if you know what to do.
Quest Location & How to Unlock It
Region: Amber Sands, the coastal area in Northern Kehjistan
Starting Point: Find an Old Book lying on the ground in a ruined courtyard or near sandstone ruins.
Steps to Start:
Interact with the Old Book to loot the scroll.
This automatically begins tracking The Pilgrim’s Footsteps quest.
A map marker will point you north toward a lone desert chapel.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
Step 1 – Read the Old Book
Reading it triggers a riddle:
“Walk the road of faith to a lone desert chapel. Stand at Akarat’s feet, follow his example, and be rewarded.”
Step 2 – Head to the Chapel
Follow your waypoint north.
You’ll pass sand dunes and stairs until you reach a sacred courtyard on the chapel’s roof.
Step 3 – Locate the Statue
You’ll find a statue of Akarat, a bearded pilgrim/priest figure.
Stand directly in front of it—within 1–2 meters.
Step 4 – Use the Follow Emote
Open the emote menu (default key: E).
Assign the Follow emote to a slot.
Perform it while standing at Akarat’s feet.
If done correctly, a chest labeled Boon for the Faithful will appear near a sarcophagus.
Reddit Tip: If nothing happens, you’re probably too far away—step closer to the statue and try again.
Step 5 – Open the Chest
Loot your rewards:
Level-scaled gold
XP or Renown
A common or rare item (RNG-based)
Rewards Overview
You can expect:
Gold (amount scales with level)
XP + Renown (progress for Season Journey)
Chance for potion, rune, or lower-tier gear
No guaranteed legendary, but it’s free loot for minimal effort.
Why This Quest Feels Fresh
Unlike kill-and-fetch quests, this is a quick environmental puzzle mixing lore and gameplay.
The emote mechanic gives a Blizzard Easter egg vibe, similar to Secret of the Spring—but faster and more casual.
For explorers, it’s a relaxing break between battles.
For completionists, it’s another satisfying checkmark in the quest log.
Tips for Veteran Players
Activate it while questing in Kehjistan—it’s under 5 minutes if you know the way.
Use your mount to cross the sands faster.
Beware: elites can spawn nearby, so don’t rush in under-leveled.
Keep the Follow emote bound—it’s reused in other puzzles.
When You Need to Gear Up Fast
If you’re about to push high-tier Nightmare Dungeons or farm Helltides, your build matters.
Instead of spending hours grinding for mats or RNG gear, you can safely buy Diablo 4 items from MMOexp.
It’s quick, secure, and gives you the stats you need to focus on content like The Pilgrim’s Footsteps without being underpowered.
Common Issues & Fixes
Chest didn’t spawn? Move closer to the statue and re-use the emote.
Follow emote missing? Open the wheel customization menu and reassign it.
No waypoint? Check your quest journal and manually re-track the quest.
Quick Reference Table
StepAction
StartInteract with Old Book in Amber Sands
NavigateGo north to the lone desert chapel
PositionStand in front of Akarat statue
EmoteUse Follow emote
RewardOpen Boon for the Faithful chest
Final Thoughts
The Pilgrim’s Footsteps is a short, lore-rich, and easily overlooked side quest in Diablo 4 admissions Season 9.
It rewards exploration, encourages environmental interaction, and offers a refreshing break from the grind.
If you’re chasing late-game content like Nightmare pushes or Helltides, consider MMOexp for fast, safe item purchases—freeing up your time to enjoy quests like this without worrying about underpowered gear.
Sanctuary’s beauty is in these small, hidden moments—don’t skip them.
Think you’ve already mastered EA College Football 26? Think again. Beneath the surface of the usual playbooks and button-mashing lies a settings menu filled with secrets—tweaks that separate casual players from true gridiron legends. Whether you’re struggling to score against elite defenses or trying to elevate a low-tier team, these hidden gameplay settings could be the competitive edge you've been missing.
From balancing the playing field to gaining crucial momentum, EA Sports College Football 26 offers powerful customization tools that most players overlook. Let’s break down the game-changing settings that can transform your offense, sharpen your instincts, and lead you straight to CFB 26 Coins the National Championship.
1. Even Teams – Level the Playing Field
If you’re the kind of player who prefers using your alma mater—or any underdog team—you’re likely getting steamrolled by five-star powerhouses like Alabama. That’s where the “Even Teams” setting becomes your hidden weapon.
What it does: While your team’s rating won’t visibly change, the game will quietly balance the matchup behind the scenes. Speed, strength, and skill disparities between teams are reduced.
Why it matters: Suddenly, a game between Delaware and Georgia doesn’t feel like a slaughter. You can finally compete on more equal footing without sacrificing strategy or realism.
Whether you're running a Dynasty mode or just playing with friends, this setting lets your favorite low-rated team punch above its weight.
2. Heisman Difficulty – Grow Into a Great
For offline players—and even competitive online grinders—Heisman difficulty offers the perfect balance between challenge and growth.
Why Heisman? It forces you to play smarter, not just harder. Play-calling, reads, and timing all get tested under pressure.
Skill boost: You’ll develop better instincts, sharpen your mechanics, and be better prepared for unpredictable online opponents.
If you're aiming for greatness, this is the skill-building zone where future champions are forged.
3. Coin Toss Strategy – Win the Momentum Battle
This one’s all about game flow control. In online head-to-head games, always choose to Kick the ball at the start.
The advantage: You’ll receive the ball at halftime, giving you a golden opportunity to either build on a lead or swing the momentum back in your favor.
Clock control: Having the ball first in the second half allows for smarter time management and can make it nearly impossible for your opponent to mount a comeback.
It’s a simple move that experienced players swear by, especially in tight matchups.
4. Placement Passing – Precision Over Flash
EA College Football 26 gives you two main passing options: Placement and Revamped. While both sound equally viable, Placement is the go-to choice if you're serious about accuracy and control.
Placement benefits: Lets you thread the needle through tight coverage with far greater consistency.
Revamped drawbacks: Though it feels smoother, you lose the pinpoint control needed to win close games, especially online.
If you're tired of missed throws or near-interceptions, switch to Placement and watch your completion rate soar.
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Final Thoughts: Greatness Is in the Details
It’s easy to overlook the settings menu in EA Sports College Football 26, but doing so could mean leaving wins on the field. Whether it’s choosing the right difficulty, picking the correct passing style, or managing the coin toss to your advantage, each setting plays a vital role in how your games play out.
And for those loyal to their underdog teams? The Even Teams setting might be the single most important switch you’ll ever flip.
So before your next game, take a few minutes to fine-tune your settings. It could be the difference between another tough loss… and a championship run.
Want more strategy guides, gameplay breakdowns, and meta tips for College Football 26? Stay tuned to MMOexp for weekly updates, expert breakdowns, and all the info you need to cheap NCAA Football 26 Coins dominate the gridiron.
After more than a decade of silence, EA’s college football franchise made its triumphant return last year—and what a comeback it was. Shattering sales records and capturing the hearts of sports fans across the United States, the series once again found its home in the gaming world. Now, with EA Sports College Football 26, EA Orlando builds upon that foundation, refining the formula while embracing the traditions and spectacle that make college football such a unique cultural phenomenon.
A Return to Glory with Renewed Focus
Unlike Madden and other pro sports titles, College Football 26 dives deep into the emotional and cultural essence of college ball. The game’s signature modes—Dynasty, Road to Glory, and a revamped focus on rivalries—are back and better than ever, offering players immersive experiences that reflect the passion and pride of campus life.
At the heart of this revival is an unmatched presentation. From 100,000 fans belting out "Mr. Brightside" in Michigan’s Big House to Virginia Tech storming the field to "Enter Sandman," EA has masterfully captured the spirit of college game day. The attention to CFB 26 Coins detail is staggering, with updated runouts, new mascots, marching bands, and a lively audio backdrop that includes snare drums, horns, and full band performances.
Rivalries That Matter
With over 80 rivalries featured in the game, EA Orlando ensures that school pride plays a major role. Classic matchups like Texas vs. Oklahoma (the Red River Rivalry), Utah vs. BYU (the Holy War), and Army vs. Navy are given special treatment with custom commentary, graphics, and stats overlays. Rivalry trophies like the Paul Bunyan Trophy and Victory Bell are tracked in a Trophy Room, adding weight and historical context to each hard-fought game.
Night games now feel truly magical, thanks to new light and drone shows. Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium glows crimson before kickoff, while drones in Texas project the iconic Longhorn logo into the night sky—small touches that deliver big emotional payoff.
Gameplay: Smarter, Smoother, and More Realistic
On the field, College Football 26 delivers one of the best football gameplay experiences yet. The pace has slowed slightly, but player control is more responsive, helping runners find gaps and dodge defenders more naturally.
Quarterback AI is vastly improved. Each QB has a defined archetype—from Pocket Passers to Dual Threats and Backfield Creators—that influences both AI behavior and player control. For example, Drew Allar excels under pressure with precision passing, while Blake Horvath uses his legs to extend plays in Navy’s run-heavy offense. Notably, shorter quarterbacks struggle to see over linemen, with receiver icons only appearing when they have a clear view.
Receivers now contest catches more realistically, and an expanded playbook features new motion types, run-pass options (RPOs), and gadget plays that reflect real NCAA schemes. Unfortunately, the coach’s suggested plays don't always include these, so players need to manually search for more variety.
On defense, players can now call stunts, reposition safeties pre-snap, and enjoy improved man coverage—especially with elite cornerbacks. Interceptions are more realistic, too. Defenders must see the ball to make a pick, meaning those unrealistic, blind over-the-shoulder INTs are a thing of the past.
Dynasty and Road to Glory: Deeper and More Rewarding
Dynasty Mode has seen major improvements, particularly in recruiting. The best prospects won’t sign with struggling programs, requiring savvy scouting and regional pipeline management to uncover under-the-radar talent. The recruiting process is both deeper and more intuitive, with clearer UI elements like a “team needs” list and specific explanations of persuasion tools like “Sway.”
The transfer portal also plays a larger role, accurately reflecting today’s NCAA landscape. However, one issue persists—players sometimes transfer despite getting plenty of playing time, possibly due to unclear labeling of motivations.
Road to Glory introduces a new high school segment, where your performance affects which colleges pursue you. You’ll complete four drives with two challenges each in five total games, building a highlight reel to impress recruiters. While short and generally welcome, the mode has inconsistencies. For instance, failing a challenge despite an overall great drive can still lower your star rating, leading to confusion and some frustration.
Ultimate Team Evolves with Study Hall Mode
The biggest addition to Ultimate Team is Study Hall, a single-player mode where players complete a 12-game gauntlet for rewards. Each win increases the difficulty, and while it’s more engaging than older solo options, you can only enter once a week unless you pay 25,000 coins for another entry token.
Lineup management is now much smoother, although Ultimate Team still suffers from long load times and slow menus.
Final Thoughts: College Football 26 Raises the Bar
While not without its blemishes, EA Sports College Football 26 is a remarkable achievement. It elevates nearly every aspect of its predecessor—from the authenticity of game day to CFB 26 Coins for sale the strategic depth of Dynasty Mode—and injects even more of the unique magic that separates college football from the pros.
From new rivalries and traditions to improved on-field gameplay and more immersive career modes, College Football 26 not only lives up to the legacy of its storied franchise but points confidently toward the future.
This isn’t just a return—it’s a full-blown renaissance.
Verdict:
College Football 26 is a must-play for fans of the sport and one of the best football games in years.
The Vessel of Hatred expansion for Diablo 4 has delivered thrilling new content, engaging gameplay, and a fresh class in the form of the Spiritborn. Many players, myself included, have been diving deep into the jungle of Nahantu and embracing the chaos, crafting new builds and optimizing gear. Yet, beneath all the excitement lies a persistent and frustrating issue that’s starting to wear down the player base: a surprising shortage of common materials.
That’s right—not legendary items or rare drops—but simple, supposedly “common” crafting components like Iron Chunks and, most notably, Rawhide Leathers are in critically short supply. And this isn’t just a minor inconvenience—it’s a real bottleneck that hampers player progression in Diablo 4 Items meaningful ways.
Spiritborn Progress... Halted by Rawhide?
After starting my second Spiritborn character—my first being tragically wiped post-review—I began to notice just how limiting the material economy has become. Upgrading your gear, whether through rerolling stats, tempering, or masterworking, quickly becomes prohibitively expensive in terms of these common resources.
For example, my latest attempt at masterworking a piece of gear required 90 Rawhide Leathers just for the fifth upgrade. That’s out of twelve potential stages. And remember, these are considered the common materials. Meanwhile, more “valuable” resources like legendary or rare crafting mats are far more abundant. Why? Because players tend to salvage only legendary gear, which yields rare resources but very few of the commons that we so desperately need.
Not Enough Rawhide in the World
The irony here is clear: Rawhide and Iron Chunks are everywhere in the early game, but by the time you reach the mid-to-late game—when you need them the most—they dry up almost entirely.
Blizzard has tried to steer players toward other sources, such as the Tree of Whispers, to gather materials. However, the output still doesn’t match the demand. A full session of Tree runs netted me just 110 Rawhide Leathers—barely enough for a single masterworking stage at my level. Other material sources? They exist, but again, the drop rates lean heavily toward higher-tier mats.
This discrepancy is more than just a minor issue. It's actively stalling progression for players deep into the endgame. It's forcing tough choices between hoarding materials for a few precious upgrades or endlessly farming activities for a meager return.
Angelbreath Was Fixed—So What About This?
To Blizzard’s credit, they recently addressed a similar issue with Angelbreath, a material that was bottlenecking potion upgrades for players stuck at level 60+. The fix came in the form of a hotfix that noticeably improved drop rates. It shows the team is listening—and more importantly—capable of quick solutions.
But while Angelbreath becomes irrelevant as you progress further into the endgame, the Rawhide and Iron Chunk shortages only get worse. In fact, the issue was even more severe during the review period for Vessel of Hatred, to the point that several of us had to halt progression altogether due to material starvation. Blizzard did nerf material requirements for launch, but even in their toned-down form, the system still doesn’t work.
Why This Is a Big Deal
Let’s be clear: crafting and upgrading are central to Diablo 4’s endgame loop. The thrill of finding a great item is quickly followed by the challenge of tuning it to perfection. When that process is artificially blocked by a shortage of “common” materials, the whole gameplay loop starts to crumble.
What makes this even more frustrating is the imbalance. Legendary materials are capped, stacking up in the hundreds. But you’re burning through Rawhide by the dozens per item, and there's no scalable, reliable way to farm it in bulk.
This isn’t just a case of poor resource tuning—it’s bad economy design. If the only way to get meaningful amounts of Rawhide is to salvage gear that nobody uses (rare or magic quality), then players are forced into suboptimal and tedious gameplay loops just to meet basic upgrade requirements.
What Needs to Happen
It’s time for Blizzard to take another look at their material economy. Specifically:
Boost Rawhide and Iron Chunk drop rates across all difficulty levels.
Rebalance salvage yields so that dismantling legendaries returns a mix of rare and common materials.
Introduce focused farming options (e.g., dungeons, events, or crafting nodes) that allow players to specifically target Rawhide or Iron Chunks.
Increase Tree of Whispers rewards for common materials in proportion to the player's level and World Tier.
It’s worth emphasizing that this issue isn't limited to a small segment of hardcore players. Anyone pushing into World Tier 3 and beyond, or exploring the masterworking system, will run into the same brick wall. And unless Blizzard acts, the issue will only get worse as more players reach that stage.
Final Thoughts
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred brings a lot of good to the table—new characters, zones, systems, and a renewed sense of depth. But behind all the polish lies a major systems problem that’s affecting how people play, and more importantly, how they enjoy the game.
A quick hotfix could be all it takes to alleviate this pressure, and given Blizzard’s response to the Angelbreath issue, there's hope. But until then, if you find yourself chronically short on cheap Diablo 4 materials Rawhide Leathers and Iron Chunks—you’re not alone. Let’s just hope the devs hear us, and soon.
It’s worth emphasizing that this issue isn't limited to a small segment of hardcore players. Anyone pushing into World Tier 3 and beyond, or exploring the masterworking system, will run into the same brick wall. And unless Blizzard acts, the issue will only get worse as more players reach that stage.