Diablo 4 Tempering & Masterworking explained: How to upgrade gear in Season 4

Amitesh Dhar
Diablo 4 Season 4 gear upgrade

Diablo 4 Season 4 will introduce a brand new upgrade system which includes Tempering and Masterworking gear. So here’s how to Temper and Masterwork to upgrade gear in Diablo 4.

So far, the gear upgrade system in Diablo 4 is very simple. All you had to do was visit a blacksmith in any major town to upgrade your weapons.

Although this system was simple, it did not give you the option to modify your affixes, nor did you have the option to upgrade your Unique items in the game.

As mentioned by the developers, Diablo 4 will see a slew of itemization changes in Season 4, including a brand new way to upgrade gear through Tempering and Masterworking.

Here’s everything you need to know about how to Temper and Masterwork gear in Diablo 4.

How to upgrade gear in Diablo 4 Season 4

As mentioned by the developers during the March Campfire Chat, the way to upgrade gear in Diablo 4 will receive a major tune-up in Season 4. Upgrading will be divided into two basic categories:

  • Tempering your gear
  • Masterworking your gear

Tempering your gear will allow you to add brand-new affixes to it, while Masterworking will allow you to upgrade your gear through several ranks.

How to Temper gear in Diablo 4

You will be able to Temper your Legendary gear in Diablo 4 by visiting the blacksmith. As you progress through the game, you will come across new upgrade items known as Manuals.

More than upgrading your gear, Tempering is crafting the gear based on the playstyle you adopt. This system allows you to heavily personalize the gear based on the build that you intend on using.

Tempering a weapon Diablo 4.
Tempering a weapon allows you to add new affixes.

These Manuals will contain different affixes, and when you Temper your gear with these Manuals, one of the affixes that are mentioned in it will be applied to the gear that you’re tempering in Diablo 4.

If you don’t like the stats that get applied to your gear, you will be able to re-roll the affix. However, the number of times that you can re-roll the affix depends upon the Temper Durability of the item.

How to Masterwork gear in Diablo 4

Masterworking gear in Diablo 4 is a late-game upgrade system. You will be able to Masterwork both Legendary and Unique items in Diablo 4.

Every gear has 12 Masterwork ranks, and with each rank, the value of your affixes slightly increases. However, for every four ranks, the value of one affix on your item will see a massive increase.

Diablo 4 masterwork
Masterworking your gear allows you to modify affixes.

While you won’t be able to add new affixes through the Masterworking system in Diablo 4, you will be able to increase the efficiency of the pre-existing affixes on your weapons and armor.

That concludes everything that you need to know about how to Temper and Masterwork items in Diablo 4. For more information about the game, be sure to check out the following links:

Best Diablo 4 Druid builds | Best Diablo 4 Barbarian build | Diablo 4 skill tree builder | Is Diablo 4 coming to Nintendo Switch | How to fast travel in Diablo 4 | Is Diablo 4 playable on the Steam Deck | How to salvage gear in Diablo 4 | All Diablo 4 classes | How to transmog gear in Diablo 4 | Diablo 4 Ashava boss guide

About The Author

Amitesh started writing about video games in 2020. He previously worked at Sportskeeda, Gfinity, and Attack of the Fanboy before joining CharlieIntel in 2024. He's an avid fan of Destiny 2 and Diablo 4 and an expert on all things Fortnite. You can get in touch with him at [email protected].