Masterworking Guide Diablo 4 Season 11

What is Masterworking in Diablo 4?

Masterworking is the endgame crafting system that allows you to improve the inherent value of your Armor, Weapons, and Jewelry. This system is applied at the Blacksmith using special crafting materials you obtain from high-level content.

You might be wondering: Why does Masterworking matter? This system is essential for min-maxing your character’s power in endgame content. A fully Masterworked item with the right Greater Affix can be the difference between struggling in Torment difficulties and dominating them.

In Season 11, Blizzard fundamentally redesigned Masterworking to make it simpler and more predictable. The changes removed many frustrating RNG elements while maintaining the excitement of perfecting your gear.

Season 11 Masterworking Changes 🔄

Season 11 brought fundamental changes that completely transformed how Masterworking works:

✓ Inherent Properties Only – Masterworking now only applies to the item’s inherent property (Armor for armor pieces, Damage for weapons, All Resists for jewelry)
✓ No More Rare Item Masterworking – Rare items can no longer be Masterworked
✓ No Tempering Requirement – You don’t need to Temper an item before Masterworking
✓ Fixed Pricing – Prices per Masterworking level don’t change from rank to rank
✓ No Ancestral Penalty – Ancestral items don’t cost more to Masterwork

💡 Pro tip: These changes make Masterworking much more accessible and predictable. You can now focus on farming the right materials without worrying about excessive gold costs or complicated prerequisites.

Eligible Items for Masterworking 📋

You can Masterwork the following item types:

Item Rarity	Masterwork Available
Legendary	✓ Yes
Unique	✓ Yes
Mythic Unique	✓ Yes
Rare	❌ No (Season 11 change)
Magic	❌ No
Common	❌ No

How Masterworking Works 🛠️

Base Mechanics

Masterworking adds 1% per level to your item’s inherent property:

Armor pieces: +1% Armor per level
Weapons: +1% Damage per level
Jewelry: +1% All Resists per level

You can Masterwork up to 20 levels (up to 20% enhancement), with a final 21st step that grants the Greater Affix conversion.

Additionally, each level of Masterworking Quality increases the power of all Affixes by 1%, meaning at 20/20 Masterworking, all your affixes are 20% stronger.

The RNG Element

When you Masterwork an item, the interface skips levels randomly. You might get anywhere from 1-4 levels per roll, averaging around 12 rolls to reach 20/20.

❌ Common mistake: Players often think they need to do 20 separate rolls. In reality, you’ll only push the button 10-13 times on average to get to 20/20, which saves materials since you pay per roll, not per level.

The current Masterworking rank appears on the item tooltip underneath the Item Power, displayed as “Rank X/20 Masterworked [Item Name]”.

Greater Affix Conversion at Rank 20 ⭐

At Masterworking 20/20, you have the opportunity to convert one of your standard Affixes into a Greater Affix (GA).

Important Notes About GA Conversion:

✓ You don’t get to choose which affix becomes a Greater Affix
✓ You can reroll this result if you don’t like it (see Resetting section)
✓ There’s no benefit to rolling this on a 4GA item – it won’t improve existing GAs
✓ I strongly recommend completing any Enchanting to remove unwanted affixes before the final 20/20 step

Strategic advice: Since the GA conversion is random, make sure every affix on your item is one you’d be happy to have as a Greater Affix before you complete the final Masterworking step.

Required Crafting Materials 📊

Materials for Ranks 1-20

For each roll up to Masterworking 20, you’ll need:

Item Type	Obducite	Forgotten Soul	Specialized Material
Armor	50	1	2 Coiling Wards
Weapon	50	1	2 Baleful Fragments
Jewelry	50	1	2 Abstruse Sigils

Materials for Greater Affix Roll (20/20)

At Masterworking 20, the cost is the same for all item types:

500 Obducite
3 Forgotten Souls
6 Abstruse Sigils

Total Material Investment

Since you average 12 rolls to reach 20/20, expect to spend approximately:

600 Obducite (50 × 12 rolls)
12 Forgotten Souls (1 × 12 rolls)
24 Specialized Materials (2 × 12 rolls)
Plus the final roll: 500 Obducite + 3 Forgotten Souls + 6 Abstruse Sigils

Total average: ~1,100 Obducite, 15 Forgotten Souls, 24 Specialized Materials, 6 Abstruse Sigils

Where to Farm Masterworking Materials 🎯

Obducite (Primary Material)

You can obtain Obducite from these sources, ranked by efficiency:

Nightmare Dungeons – Starts dropping at level 60 (possibly high 50s in small amounts)
Infernal Hordes – Select the Spoils of Materials chest (also yields Gem Fragments)
Kurast Undercity – Use the Tribute of Refinement
Mercenary’s Den – Barter for Masterworking Cache (small amounts)

💡 Efficiency tip: Nightmare Dungeons remain the most reliable source for Obducite farming. Run high-tier dungeons in groups for maximum efficiency and combine this with other endgame objectives.

Forgotten Souls

Forgotten Souls drop from:

Helltide activities
Nightmare Dungeons
World Boss kills
Salvaging Legendary items

Specialized Materials

Coiling Wards (Armor) – Salvage armor pieces, targeted dungeon runs
Baleful Fragments (Weapons) – Salvage weapons, world drops
Abstruse Sigils (Jewelry) – Occultist activities, salvage jewelry

Resetting Masterwork Ranks 🔄

If you reach 20/20 and the Greater Affix doesn’t apply to your desired slot, you can try again by clicking the red Reset Masterworking button next to the item picture.

Reset Cost:

1,000 Obducite
1 Neathiron
1,000,000 Gold

This resets all Masterworking ranks back to 0/20, and you’ll need to start over and try the final roll again.

⚠️ Important: There’s no guarantee you won’t get the same result on the reroll. However, the reset cost is primarily gold, not rare materials, making it relatively affordable to try multiple times.

You can reset Masterworking as many times as you want as long as you have the necessary materials.

Salvaging Masterworked Items ♻️

Players with unused Masterworked gear can salvage them at the Blacksmith and receive a refund on nearly all materials.

What You Get Back:

✓ Most Obducite spent
✓ Forgotten Souls
✓ Specialized materials

What You Don’t Get Back:

❌ Gold
❌ Abstruse Sigils used for the GA upgrade

💡 Special bonus: Salvaging any Mythic Unique yields a Resplendent Spark, even if it was from a drop and not crafted.

Step-by-Step Masterworking Guide 📝

For Beginners

Farm Materials First – Don’t start Masterworking until you have enough Obducite and Forgotten Souls for at least 2-3 complete items
Choose Your Items Wisely – Only Masterwork items you plan to use long-term in your build
Complete Enchanting First – Make sure all affixes are desirable before the final GA roll
Start with Weapons – Weapons give the biggest damage boost, making them highest priority
Don’t Masterwork Rares – Since Season 11, rares can’t be Masterworked anyway

For Advanced Players

Optimize Affix Quality – Ensure all affixes are max or near-max rolls before Masterworking
Plan Your GA Target – Identify which affix would benefit most from becoming a Greater Affix
Calculate Material Efficiency – Decide if resetting for perfect GA is worth the material cost
Coordinate with Build Updates – Save materials for when you finalize your seasonal build
Farm Systematically – Establish efficient farming routes for all required materials

For Masterworking Experts

Multi-Item Strategy – Prepare multiple copies of the same item to increase GA success odds
Track Your Rolls – Keep data on your average rolls-to-20 to predict material needs
Economic Analysis – Understand when to reset vs. accept a suboptimal GA based on material availability
Build Integration – Coordinate Masterworking with Tempering and gem optimization for maximum synergy
Seasonal Planning – Front-load material farming early in the season when content is fresh

Common Mistakes to Avoid ❌

❌ Masterworking Before Enchanting – Always finalize your affixes before the 20/20 GA roll
❌ Wasting Materials on Temporary Items – Only Masterwork items you’ll use for the foreseeable future
❌ Ignoring Inherent Property – Remember that the 1-20 ranks only boost inherent stats, not affixes
❌ Not Planning for Resets – Keep extra materials available if you need to reset for a better GA
❌ Rushing the Process – Take time to optimize each step rather than blindly pushing buttons

Best Practices for Masterworking ✓

✓ Prioritize Build-Defining Items – Masterwork items that are central to your build first
✓ Farm in Batches – Accumulate materials for 3-5 items before starting any Masterworking
✓ Document Your Results – Track which affixes become GAs to identify patterns
✓ Coordinate with Team – Share farming routes and material sources with your group
✓ Stay Flexible – Be willing to adapt your build around exceptional GA rolls

Masterworking and Build Optimization 🎮

Masterworking integrates with other endgame systems:

Synergy with Tempering

While you don’t need to Temper before Masterworking (Season 11 change), Tempering remains valuable for adding specific affixes. Complete Tempering before final Masterworking to ensure you’re happy with all affixes.

Synergy with Gems

The 1% per level affix boost from Masterworking also affects gem bonuses, making properly socketed items even more powerful when Masterworked.

Synergy with Enchanting

Use the Occultist to reroll unwanted affixes before completing your 20/20 Masterwork, ensuring the random GA lands on something useful.

Economic Considerations 💰

Material Value Assessment

Based on current farming rates:

Obducite – Medium value (farmable but time-intensive)
Forgotten Souls – Low value (common from multiple sources)
Specialized Materials – Low value (abundant from salvaging)
Abstruse Sigils – Medium value (needed for GA roll)
Neathiron – High value (required for resets)

When to Reset vs. Accept

Reset if:

The wrong affix became a GA and it significantly weakens your build
You have abundant Neathiron and gold reserves
The item is build-defining and worth the investment

Accept if:

The GA is on a decent affix, even if not optimal
Material reserves are low
You can compensate through other gear pieces

FAQ

Q: Can I Masterwork rare items in Season 11?
A: No, Season 11 removed the ability to Masterwork rare items. You can only Masterwork Legendary, Unique, and Mythic Unique items.

Q: Do I need to Temper an item before Masterworking?
A: No, this requirement was removed in Season 11. However, I recommend finalizing all your affixes (through Tempering and Enchanting) before completing the 20/20 Greater Affix roll.

Q: What happens to my materials if I salvage a Masterworked item?
A: You’ll get back nearly all materials except gold and the Abstruse Sigils used for the Greater Affix upgrade. Salvaging Mythic Uniques also yields a Resplendent Spark.

Q: How many rolls does it take to reach Masterwork 20?
A: On average, you’ll need 10-13 rolls to reach 20/20, as each roll can grant 1-4 levels randomly. The average is around 12 rolls.

Q: Is it worth resetting Masterworking if I get a bad Greater Affix?
A: It depends on your material reserves and how build-defining the item is. If the GA landed on a completely useless affix and you have 1,000 Obducite, 1 Neathiron, and 1M gold to spare, it’s usually worth one or two reset attempts.

Q: Does Masterworking increase affix values?
A: Yes, each Masterworking level increases all affix power by 1%, meaning at 20/20 all your affixes are 20% stronger in addition to the inherent property boost.

Q: What’s the best order to Masterwork my gear?
A: Prioritize weapons first (biggest damage increase), then armor with your most important affixes, then jewelry. Within each category, focus on items that are core to your build.

Q: Can I Masterwork items with 4 Greater Affixes?
A: Yes, but as of Season 11 PTR, there’s no benefit to rolling the 20/20 Greater Affix conversion on items that already have 4 GAs – it won’t change or improve existing Greater Affixes.