What is Masterworking in Diablo IV?

Masterworking upgrades Legendary items up to 12 ranks at the Blacksmith, adding +5% to all affixes per rank. Ranks 4, 8, and 12 are Masterwork Crits — they jackpot a single affix for +25% (stacks if the same affix crits multiple times). Materials come exclusively from The Pit: Obducite (rank 1-4), Ingolith (5-8), Neathiron (9-12).

Can Masterworking crit the same affix multiple times?

Yes. The same affix can crit on rank 4, rank 8, and rank 12. Stacking three crits on the same affix is the optimal end state — especially when that affix is a Greater Affix, which stacks on top of the +50% GA bonus.

How do I reset Masterwork Crits?

Reset costs 1,000 Obducite + 1 Neathiron + 1,000,000 gold. The reset re-rolls which affix receives the crits (at the existing ranks 4/8/12), it does NOT reset your rank progress. Always reset until all three crits land on the same build-critical affix.

Diablo IV

Complete guide to Masterworking in Diablo IV. Obducite/Ingolith/Neathiron farming, rank 4/8/12 crit breakpoints, Greater Affix stacking, reset economy.

Crafting 8 min read

Masterworking Guide

By the DiabloBytes team · Updated April 2026

Masterworking is the endgame power curve — a 12-rank upgrade path at the Blacksmith that can triple or quadruple a build's damage if crits land on the right affix. The system is simple on paper (rank up with materials, hope for crits on ranks 4/8/12) but the reset economy turns it into a long game. Disciplined players can push Pit 100+ builds via Masterworking alone.

How Masterworking Works

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12 rank limit Per Legendary item. Each rank costs materials + gold.
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+5% per rank Every affix on the item gains +5% per rank. 12 ranks = +60% baseline.
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Crits on rank 4, 8, 12 A single random affix jackpots for +25% on those ranks.
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Crits stack Same affix can crit multiple times. Triple crit on one affix is the ideal.
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Greater Affix synergy A crit on a Greater Affix multiplies on top of the +50% GA bonus. Chase GA items first.

Material Cost Breakdown

Rank Range	Material	Pit Tier Source
Rank 1-4	Obducite	Pit T31-60
Rank 5-8	Ingolith	Pit T46-100
Rank 9-12	Neathiron	Pit T61+

Cost scales with item quality and rank. Expect rank 1-4 to cost ~10-30 Obducite each; rank 9-12 can cost 50-100 Neathiron each. Veiled Crystals are always consumed (chokepoint early game).

Reset Economy

Reset cost: 1,000 Obducite + 1 Neathiron + 1,000,000 gold. The reset re-rolls which affix gets the crits at the existing 4/8/12 rank levels. It does NOT wipe your rank progress.

The correct strategy: level an item to rank 12, check the crit locations. If all three aren't on your target affix, reset. Repeat until triple-crit is on crit/vuln/main-resource/GA. This is the optimal endgame — not the easiest.