If you're returning to the game after some time, especially with the launch of the Season 6: Vessel of Hatred expansion, it's important to familiarize yourself with the new systems added since Season 4. This guide will walk you through the essentials of the Masterworking system and how it significantly enhances your gear and character power.

Overview of the Masterworking System

The Masterworking system is an endgame upgrade system for gear that boosts the stats of your items, giving your character substantial power boosts. However, it requires you to temper your item twice (see our Tempering guide for more info) before you can begin the masterworking process.

Key Points:

• Tempering Requirement: To Masterwork an item, it must be tempered twice. If you haven't tempered it, you won't be able to enter the Masterworking process.
• Endgame Focus: Masterworking is designed for endgame players, especially since it becomes very expensive in gold and materials as you progress through higher tiers.

How Masterworking Works

The Masterworking process involves upgrading an item's stats. Each upgrade provides a 5% increase to all the item’s stats. You can upgrade an item up to 12 ranks, giving a total of 60% stat increase when fully upgraded.

Masterworking Bonuses:

• 5% Increase Per Rank: Each rank boosts the item’s stats by 5%, up to a maximum of 60% (12 ranks).
• Additional Bonuses Every 4 Ranks: Every 4 ranks (Ranks 4, 8, and 12), one stat receives an additional 25% bonus. This bonus is applied randomly to one of the item's attributes, meaning it can have a significant impact on certain stats.

Example:

• A fully upgraded item would see a total boost of 60% to all stats.
• For specific attributes that receive the additional 25% bonus at ranks 4, 8, and 12, the total increase can reach 135% (60% from ranks + 75% from additional bonuses).

Cost of Masterworking

As you progress through the ranks, the cost to upgrade items increases dramatically, particularly beyond rank 8. While early upgrades are relatively affordable, ranks 9 to 12 are extremely expensive in terms of gold and Obusite, the material required for upgrading.

Key Resources:

• Obducite
  : This is the primary material used for Masterworking in Season 6. In earlier seasons, materials like Neathiron and Ingolith were used, but they have since been replaced.
• Resetting Masterwork Ranks: If you don’t get the attribute bonus you want, you can reset the Masterwork process on an item for a cost of 5.000.000, along with
  Forgotten Soul
  s,
  Veiled Crystal
  s, and
  Rawhide
  .

Pro Tip:

• Focus on upgrading your items to Rank 4 early, as it's affordable and offers significant stat boosts. Save deeper investments for your ancestral equipment when you're nearing the endgame.

Where to Farm Obdusite

Starting in Season 6, Nightmare Dungeons are the main source of

Obducite

Maximizing the Masterworking System

Masterworking allows you to fine-tune your gear to boost specific attributes, such as damage, resistances, or resource management. If you’re looking to optimize a specific build, focusing Masterworking bonuses on your key stats is a game-changer.

Important Tips:

• Target Key Attributes: Use the 25% bonus from ranks 4, 8, and 12 to target essential attributes like damage, critical hit chance, or resistances.
• Reset and Retry: Don’t be afraid to reset Masterworks if you don't get the desired bonuses. While costly, it can make a huge difference for your build’s effectiveness.

Conclusion

The Masterworking System in Diablo 4 is a powerful tool that allows players to significantly enhance their gear. While it requires a substantial investment in gold and materials, the rewards in terms of character power are well worth the effort. Focus on early ranks to get easy stat boosts, and be prepared to invest heavily as you aim to perfect your build.

If you're not using the Tempering and Masterworking systems, you're missing out on some of the most significant power boosts in the game.