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Welcome to the chaos of Diablo 4, where chasing perfection is more than a goal-it's a lifestyle. Crafting has always been a core pillar of endgame progression, but in Season 9, it's more complex Diablo 4 Items, rewarding, and punishing than ever. From the basics of tempering to the high-stakes lottery of Mythic crafting, we're breaking it all down so you can stop wasting gold and start building gear that actually gets you into the top ranks.

Whether you're a casual demon-slayer or a ladder climber grinding for perfection, this guide will walk you through every step of the crafting system in Season 9, including tempering, masterworking, and Mythic item creation.

The Foundation: Unlocking Crafting

Crafting in Diablo 4 doesn't just open up-you earn it. You'll need to:

 Unlock all tempering recipes by leveling from 1-60
 Reach Tournament 1 through the Pit
 Farm Obducite in the Infernal Hordes

Once that's done, crafting becomes a viable path to maximize Legendary and Ancestral Legendary items (denoted by stars). These are the only items worth investing serious resources into. Standard legendaries? Forget them-they're too temporary to matter in high-end content.

Step 1: Start with the Occultist

Crafting always starts at the Occultist, specifically for changing unwanted stats into something more build-relevant. Using the fourth tab in the interface, you can reroll one stat at a time. For example, if your amulet rolls Max Life but you want Glass Cannon or Inner Flame, this is where you make the switch.

Each reroll attempt increases in cost, and there's no cap to how many times you can reroll. But be warned: the cost can spiral out of control. In one example, 39 million gold later, the desired stat finally appeared.

After the stat reroll, move to the first tab in the Occultist's interface to imprint an Aspect. These come from salvaging unwanted legendaries and are stored in your Codex. Higher-tier versions of aspects get stored automatically, so don't worry about duplicates-just salvage, collect, and imprint.

Step 2: Tempering with the Blacksmith

Tempering is where the true buildcrafting magic begins. Only Ancestral Legendary items should be tempered, because they stick with you long enough to justify the investment.

The Tempering System Basics:
 Items have tempering attempts: 5 for base legendaries, and up to 8 depending on the number of Greater Affixes.
 You can add two stats from different categories. Each gear type offers different category options. For example, amulets have up to five.
 You cannot select two stats from the same category-one per category only.

Tempering is randomized. You're given a set of three stat options within your chosen category. If none are ideal, you can reroll, but each attempt consumes one of your limited slots.
Pro Tip: After every reroll, the UI resets your category and subcategory selections, forcing you to manually reselect each time-a UX design flaw that's irritated the entire community.

Scroll of Restoration: Your Lifeline

Ran out of tempering attempts without hitting your ideal stats? Use a Scroll of Restoration, which grants a fresh batch of attempts. You only get one per item, and they drop from the top chest in the Infernal Hordes.

Just right-click the scroll, left-click the item, and temper again. If after 16 total tries (original + scroll) you still don't get the ideal rolls-tough luck. You'll probably have to try again on another drop.

This grindy mechanic is why perfecting one item can take hours of farming and millions of gold.

Step 3: Masterworking-Chasing Orange Stats

After tempering two properties, you unlock masterworking, the final polish step.

Here's how it works:
 Each masterwork level increases all five item stats by 5%.
 At tiers 4, 8, and 12, one stat receives a +1 tier boost (25%).
 One tier = blue stat
 Two tiers = yellow stat
 Three tiers = orange stat (the dream)

However, the tiered bonus is random. If it boosts the wrong stat (e.g., Resistance instead of Crit Chance), you can reset and try again. Resets cost resources and gold, but they're unlimited.

Serious players plan their masterworking to triple-up on a stat that's key to their build. Build planners often highlight these priority stats for each slot.

Mythic and Unique Item Crafting: Worth It?

Mythics-also called Uber Items-can't be tempered, but can be masterworked just like Legendaries. There are two ways to get Mythics:

1. Random Mythics (Blacksmith)
 Cost: 2 Sparks + 50 million gold
 Outcome: Complete RNG
 Example: Crafted 10, got 8 trash items, 1 decent armor, 1 Shako2. Targeted Mythics (Jeweler)
 Cost: 2 Sparks + 18 Runes (6 each of 3 types)
 Pros: Choose your item
 Cons: Runes take forever to farm

A Harlequin Crest (Shako) might cost 100+ hours to farm materials for, and even then, its affixes can roll poorly-like no cooldown reduction star, rendering it almost useless for somebuilds.

With PTR updates in Season 9, Legendary Rune drop rates have improved slightly, but targeted Mythic crafting is still for the dedicated.

Resource Costs and Time Investment

Crafting isn't just a gold sink-it's a time sink. Here are some real-world examples:

 Armor: ~200 million gold
 Gloves: ~600 million gold
 Amulet: ~633 million gold
 Tal Rasha's Ring: ~62 million gold

Expect to spend:
 ~250,000 Obducite total
 ~3-4 billion gold for a complete high-end gear set

Obducite farming is best done in Nightmare Dungeons, Infernal Hordes, and Kurast Undercity. For targeted farming routes, refer to specialized guides.

The good news? If you play even 1 hour a day, you'll gather enough materials to meaningfully craft your gear. The entire system is designed around players who average 5-10 hours a week.

Final Thoughts: Is Crafting Worth It in Diablo 4?

Absolutely-if you have the time and patience. Crafting is the only way to push a decent drop into god-tier territory. With the current system, you're not just hoping for a perfect drop-you're building it from near-scratch. That said, it's not for the faint of heart or the casually curious.

Here's what you need to remember:
 Don't waste resources on non-ancestral gear.
 Tempering is your first RNG wall; masterworking is your second.
 Mythic crafting is brutal unless you have time or trade mastery.
 Scrolls of Restoration are a godsend-use them wisely Diablo 4 admissions.
 Farm naturally-most materials drop organically with just consistent play.

Season 9 may have introduced some quality-of-life tweaks, but the core remains the same: Diablo 4 crafting is a numbers game wrapped in visual spectacle and resource management. If you want perfection, be ready to grind.