Diablo 4's new Masterwork system will take your gear to the next level
Highlights:
- Masterworks let you upgrade your weapon's affixes
- Weapons can be upgraded twelve times using end-game materials
- If the results aren't what you want, you can reset the weapon and start over
Diablo 4's new Masterwork system is a key part of the game's new approach to itemization, an overhaul of how players gather items and build their characters. Diablo 4 has needed an update to items and builds for a while, and these new steps seem to be in the right direction.
Masterworks allow you to take your existing weapons and dramatically increase the potency of their affixes. Here is everything you need to know.
How does the Masterwork system work?
Masterworks allow you to use rare materials to upgrade a weapon, improving all of the stat buffs given by the weapon's affixes. You can upgrade a weapon through masterwork twelve times, and every fourth upgrade gives a massive boost to just one of the affixes. Which affix gets the extra boost is random, but thankfully the new itemization system will mean fewer and more powerful affixes.
Click to enlargeWe don't know too much yet about the materials used for Masterworks, only that they are the 'rarest materials found in the deepest mines and caverns', and can be acquired through a new dungeon-style activity called the Pit of Artificers.
This new mode has players entering a dungeon and clearing out enemies within a time limit. Kill enough regular enemies, and you'll take on a boss. Defeat the boss, and you move on to the next level and repeat. This mode has 200 levels to conquer, provided you are strong and fast enough.
The outcome of any Masterwork upgrade is random; you don't get to choose which affixes get the extra buffs, but you can try again. If you fully Masterwork an item to the twelfth level and it isn't exactly what you were hoping for, you can reset it and try again. This will be costly, but it gives you another chance to craft the perfect weapon for your build.
