With Masterworking, you improve the affixes on your items in Diablo 4. You can further improve the affixes that have been “critically” enhanced – even after reaching the maximum level 12. And for that, you don’t need any materials from the dungeon.
What is Masterworking? The Masterworking is a new crafting system that was introduced in Season 4 of Diablo 4. With it, you improve all the affixes on an item at the blacksmith. With each 4th level, one of the equipped affixes is greatly, or “critically,” enhanced. This stronger affix turns blue, then yellow, and in rare cases, orange, when it is enhanced a third time.
For Masterworking, you need certain materials that you can only obtain in the dungeon – a new endgame activity in Season 4. But there is also a way to further enhance the “critically” improved affixes without using the valuable materials from the dungeon – even if you have already exhausted the maximum 12 levels of Masterworking.
On Reddit, the user “exwind1166” presents an amulet on June 12 that has the affix “+5 Ranks on Haunted Commander”. He has reportedly enhanced this affix 12 times with Masterworking (MW). He mentions that he received three “critical” enhancements on the affix.
Subsequently, he apparently further upgraded the same affix through enchanting at the occultist. This granted him +2 additional ranks on the skill “Haunted Commander.” In the comments, the user notes that he had “pure luck” in getting three “critical” enhancements on one affix.
How to Enhance or Change “Critical” Affixes
How can I enhance stronger affixes? Specifically, this means you can enhance affixes with Masterworking and further strengthen the “critical” enhancements at the occultist. It is entirely possible that you significantly enhance individual affixes during this process. While we haven’t tested a 12-fold enhancement, we have tested a 4-fold improved affix.
During our testing, we found the following:
- “Critically” enhanced affixes can be further upgraded through enchanting.
- “Critically” enhanced affixes can be re-rolled and thus become new, “critical” affixes, apparently in the same color:
Do I even need (complete) Masterworking? Yes. The strongest enhancements are simply achieved through Masterworking at the blacksmith and with materials from the dungeon. And with each 4th level, an affix receives a “critical” enhancement. Therefore, the 12 levels are worth it if you want to get the most out of your gear for your endgame builds.
Enchanting at the occultist is roughly practical if you want to enhance individual affixes, lack the materials from the dungeon, or want to “re-roll” affixes to fit your builds.
What does the community say about it? Most users seem surprised in the comments under the Reddit post that perfected affixes can be further enhanced and even replaced. “Backstab_Bill” asks in the comment: “Can a perfected [affix] be converted into other perfected ones?” To this, someone responds: “If you enchant a critical Masterworking affix into another affix, it retains the critical Masterworking values.”
If you are dissatisfied with the result of Masterworking, you still have the option of resetting the ranks on an item at the blacksmith for gold. If you find new items, simply replace the old ones. But: You should not sell your old, improved items. Not even when you are chronically short on gold.
