Diablo 4 Season 4 starts a new Diablo 4 endgame for both Seasonal and Eternal Realms. Based on community feedback, the huge itemization update in Patch 1.4.0 brings two new endgame crafting systems. Tempering and Masterworking.
Whether you are playing the new Season, Loot Reborn, or playing on the Eternal Realm, you'll want to Masterwork your gear when you get to the late endgame, and push your build to the limit. Here's everything you need to know about Masterworking in Diablo 4.
What is Masterworking in Diablo 4?
Masterworking improves the value of current affixes on an item. It has 12 upgrade ranks, with each rank slightly increasing the value of all affixes on a particular item. Every four ranks, one single affix will be massively upgraded. For example, at ranks 4, 8 and 12 you will see massive increases to a single stat.
Masterworking requires specific crafting materials, obtainable by running levels in The Pit of Artificers.
Masterworking is a process you won't see until endgame, and you'll want to do it after you've completed Tempering on an item.
The basics of Masterworking an item in Diablo 4
Each Masterworking rank of the available 12, buffs an item's base affixes by 5%, however when you hit every fourth rank, it will buff a single random affix by 25%.
Once you've reached rank 12, the item will receive a 45% total increase in base affixes as well as a 75% buff spread across three randomized affixes. You can see the current Masterworking rank of an item underneath it's Item Power.
The first time you hit the 4th tier of Masterworking, the stat will turn blue, to indicate a base level buff. Just like the colors that represent loot rarity, the tiers will change color from Blue at level 4, to Yellow at level 8, and Orange (Legendary) at level 12.
Can I reset a Masterworked item?
If you're not happy with the bit fourth-tier rolls you get, for example you wanted Corpse Explosion Damage buffed, then yes you can reset the item completely and start the process all over again.
Can I Masterwork any item in Diablo 4?
No. Masterworking is an extremely late game activity meant for items that are of at least Ancestral rarity, so you will need to be using items that have dropped in World Tier 4. In addition, the item needs to have two Tempered affixes. The Tempered affixes can also be Masterworked, so you can really snowball the power of a single item with these crafting mechanics.
How do I unlock Masterworking in Diablo 4?
Masterworking is simply found at the Blacksmith in any town. Once you are playing in World Tier 4 and have the required items to Masterwork, you can do so. Masterworking is available on both Seasonal and Eternal Realms.
What materials do I need for Masterworking?
The crafting materials for Masterworking are given as rewards for running the Pit of Artificers, a new endgame activity in Diablo 4. After running this, you'll get Masterworking materials and unlock the next tier of difficulty for The Pit. The 3 main crafting materials are:
- Obducite - Ranks 1-4
- Ingolith - Ranks 5-8
- Neathiron - Ranks 9-12
You'll also need some additional crafting materials that drop from taking part in game activities like Helltide, World Bosses, and salvaging items at the Blacksmith; these are:
- Veiled Crystals
- Rawhide
- Iron Chunks
- Coiling Wards
- Abstruse Sigil
- Baleful fragments
In the most recent Campfire chat, it was addressed that players were not happy with the scarcity of veiled crystals, so as of Patch 1.4.0 there is an increase in these for salvaging items. Legendary items will now break down into equal amounts of veiled crystals, Sacred to double, Ancestral to triple.
What is the Pit of Artificers?
The Pit of Artificers will be your source of crafting materials needed for Masterworking, as well as a good test of your build and opportunity to climb higher difficulty levels. The difficulty spike between levels of The Pit isn't as severe as Season 2's Abbatoir of Zir activity, and you don't need an insane overpowered build to play, but you will want to get more powerful to push high levels.
As well as dropping essential Masterwork crafting materials, you'll be rewarded with Murmuring Obols to spend at the Purveyor of Curiosities, who at level 100 will guarantee drops of level 925 items. Another great way to farm the gear you need.
How do I unlock the Pit of Artificers?
Once you enter World Tier 4, you'll get a Priority Quest to complete a Tier 46 Nightmare Dungeon. Upon completion, you’ll start accumulating Runeshards by playing through different Endgame activities. They’ll appear when you encounter Helltide Chests, World Bosses, Legion Events, Nightmare Dungeons and Whisper Bounties.
Take the Runeshards to the Obelisk in Cerrigar, open The Pit and start a 10-minute timer. During this time you need to kill enough demons to summon a final boss. Each player death removes time from the clock:
- First death - 30 seconds
- Second death - 60 seconds
- Third death - 90 seconds
Upon completing The Pit, you'll earn a reward which includes Masterworking crafting materials, and you'll also unlock the next Tier of difficulty.
The faster you kill the boss, the more Tiers you can unlock and thus skip levels. So killing the boss with 6 or more minutes to spare grants you two additional Tier unlocks. There are 200 levels of The Pit in total. How far will you go?
Masterworking materials in The Pit of Artificers
| Material | Masterworking rank | Pit Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Obducite | 1-4 | 1-29 |
| Ingolith | 5-8 | 30-59 |
| Neathiron | 9-12 | 60 and above |
What is a Stygian Stone in Diablo 4?
Stygian Stones also drop in the Pit of Artificers, these are materials used to summon Tormented versions of the bosses on the Boss Ladder. The higher tier of the Pit you conquer, the more Stygian Stones you will be rewarded with. Only the player that opens The Pit has the chance to receive Stygian Stones.
What is the difference between Tempering and Masterworking?
Tempering and Masterworking are two distinct mechanics introduced in Season 4 to enhance itemization and gear upgrading. Tempering lets you add up to two new affixes to your items. Masterworking is a very late game system that lets you increase the value of affixes on your gear, and that includes any affixes you have added with the Tempering system.
Diablo 4 is available on Xbox, Windows PC and Playstation consoles. It's one of the best Xbox games for fans of dungeon crawlers and hack-and-slash combat, and also available on Xbox Game Pass.
