In Diablo 4 you can make your items really strong with the crafting systems. You can learn how the two mechanics “Tempering” and “Masterworking” work here on MeinMMO.
Since Season 4, there are overall fewer affixes, and the number of affixes on items themselves has been reduced. As for crafting, two new mechanics have been introduced:
- With “Tempering”, you add new affixes to items.
- With “Masterworking”, you upgrade the values of your affixes.
With the two crafting mechanics, you create really strong items and improve them even further. We explain how the systems work and when you can use them.
Tempering: How to add affixes to your items
How do I unlock Tempering? You can use Tempering starting from level 15 and as soon as you have collected enough materials. These include “Dim Crystals” and Raw Leather. It’s worth it quite early in the game, as you can make your gear stronger – which also makes you and your skills stronger.
What do I do with Tempering? In the world of Sanctuary, you find Tempering instructions as drops from most activities. Once you learn them, you can use them at a blacksmith to increase the quality of your legendary gear and customize it to your builds. Uniques are excluded.
The Tempering adds two of the available affixes to an item. This way, you can build really strong items without having to rely on good loot drops forever.
For Tempering, you need a few materials that you already know, in addition to the instructions. Learned crafting instructions can be used as often as you want. Each instruction contains a small number of affixes that correspond to six different categories:
- Weapons
- Attack
- Defense
- Mobility
- Versatility
- Resource
Below you see some screenshots illustrating the “Tempering” system from the Blizzard website and from the livestream:
Can I undo Tempering? With the Restoration Scroll, you can restore all Tempering charges on an item. The scrolls can be used only once per item.
Masterworking: How to improve affixes on items
How do I unlock Masterworking? You can masterwork your items at the blacksmith if you have suitable loot in inventory and Obduzit collected in the endgame. You can get Obduzit, among other places, in Nightmare Dungeons and in the Pit. Legendary and unique equipment that you have already tempered twice is eligible.
What do I do with Masterworking? With Masterworking, you upgrade your items at the blacksmith, which increases the value of all affixes. There are a total of 12 upgrade levels for ancestral items, and 8 for all others. At every 4th level, one of the equipped affixes is “critically” improved. This can allow you to get really high rolls – even beyond the original “Max Roll”.
The affix receiving the bonus turns blue. If you upgrade the same affix again, it turns yellow, and if you improve it a third time, it turns orange. Since Season 6, you only need Obduzit for Masterworking.
Can I undo Masterworking? You can undo Masterworking by clicking “Reset Ranks”. On PC, you’ll find the button to the right of the item field, and on consoles, a button will be displayed at the bottom that you need to press.
With Masterworking, you can reset the ranks on items as often as you want. However, you will lose all previous upgrades, even those that might already be quite strong. Moreover, the process costs a lot of gold and materials.
For the two crafting systems, you need a ton of materials once you’ve reached the endgame and want to improve your builds. Not only does Obduzit play a role here, but also “common” materials like Dim Crystals and Raw Leather. Our simple overview for Diablo 4 shows where you can best farm for what you currently need.
