Diablo 4 Masterworking Guide: Quality, Obducite and Capstone Bonus
Masterworking is the last big push you give a piece of gear in Diablo 4. The Blacksmith raises the item's Quality step by step, every stat on it grows a little with each step, and at the very end one random affix gets a huge extra boost.
Below you'll find which items are worth it, what each step does, where the Obducite and Neathiron come from and when a reroll of the final bonus makes sense, plus how to keep your Masterworking when you later turn the item into a Mythic.
Hover over or tap an item name to see its tooltip. The card shows value ranges from the game data, so your own roll can differ.
Masterworking at a glance
- Where: at the Blacksmith in town. The Masterworking tab shows up once you have picked up Obducite.
- Which items: Ancestral Legendary and Unique items you plan to keep.
- How far: Quality goes from 0 to 25. Each upgrade adds a random 2 to 5, and every point adds 1% to the item's affixes and base stats.
- The finish: at Quality 25 you apply the Capstone Bonus, which lifts one random affix by another 50%.
- Materials: Obducite and gold for Quality. A Capstone reroll also takes Neathiron.
- Risk: none. An upgrade never fails, only the amount of Quality varies.
How Masterworking works
Think of Masterworking as two separate jobs. First you climb the Quality ladder to 25, which makes the whole item stronger. Then you apply the Capstone Bonus, a single roll that picks one affix and boosts it a lot. You can repeat that last roll if it lands badly, and your Quality stays where it is.
- Collect Obducite. As soon as you carry some, the Masterworking tab appears at the Blacksmith.
- Put in the item. Choose an Ancestral Legendary or Unique you'll wear for a long time.
- Raise Quality. Each click adds 2 to 5 Quality. The screen shows your current Quality and what the next upgrade costs.
- Reach Quality 25. That's the cap. Every one of those points has boosted the affixes and the base stat: weapon damage, armor or resistance.
- Apply the Capstone Bonus. One random affix gets +50%. The game highlights it on the item, so you see the result at once.
- Keep it or reroll. If the boost landed on a stat your build ignores, reroll the Capstone and keep your Quality.
| Step | What it changes | What is random | Quality afterwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality upgrade | +1% per Quality point to every affix and to the base stat | How much Quality you gain: 2 to 5 | Goes up, up to 25 |
| Capstone Bonus | One affix gets +50%: a regular, Tempered or Greater Affix | Which affix it hits | Stays at 25 |
| Capstone reroll | Picks the boosted affix again | Which affix it hits | Stays at 25 |
Two things you can't do: reset an item's Quality back to 0, or choose the Capstone target yourself. Blizzard gives the percentages, not finished numbers, so read 1% per point and +50% as the size of the boost, not as an exact value you'll see on the tooltip.
Which items are worth Masterworking
Masterworking multiplies what's already on the item: a great base gets great, a weak base gets a bit less weak. Most of the work is picking which item deserves your Obducite.
- Pick a keeper. Ancestral gear with the affixes your build uses, ideally with Greater Affixes on the stats that matter most.
- Temper first, if you can. Tempering is not required before Masterworking. Still, the Capstone can land on a Tempered affix, so a finished item gives the bonus more good targets.
- Count the good targets. Before the final step, look at every affix and ask which ones you'd be happy to see boosted. The more of them, the fewer rerolls you'll need.
- Don't feed temporary gear. Leveling items and stopgaps are better left at low Quality until a real upgrade drops.
Players report that changing a Temper later keeps the item's Quality. What happens to an already placed Capstone Bonus in that case isn't documented, so do your Tempering before the final step and you never have to find out.
Planning a Mythic? Masterwork first
With the Lord of Hatred expansion, the Horadric Cube has a recipe called Upgrade Direct Item to Mythic. It turns a Unique into its Mythic version and keeps the original affixes, the Tempering and the Masterworking. Blizzard's own example is a with ideal affixes, Tempering and Masterworking that comes out as a Mythic Tibault's Will with all of it intact.
Before you use the direct Mythic recipe
- No Unmodifiable items. The recipe refuses them, and Blizzard warns against Transfiguring an item you plan to upgrade this way.
- Crafted tag. The Mythic you get carries the Crafted tag, and you can wear only one Crafted item at a time.
- Higher cost. Blizzard says this recipe costs more than the Mythic recipes at the Blacksmith or Jeweler, because it moves your item over one to one.
Where to get Obducite and Neathiron
Obducite pays for every Quality upgrade, and the price climbs as Quality rises. Neathiron only matters once you start rerolling the Capstone Bonus. Here's where each one comes from:
| Material | What you need it for | Where to farm it |
|---|---|---|
| Obducite | Every Quality upgrade and every Capstone reroll | Kurast Undercity runs with a Tribute of Refinement, the materials reward at the end of Infernal Hordes, Nightmare Dungeons |
| Neathiron | Capstone rerolls | World Bosses, Bartuc in Infernal Hordes, Astaroth at the end of Escalating Nightmares and Belial. Elites and Nightmare Dungeon bosses drop it now and then. |
| Gold | Every upgrade and every reroll | Comes in from all your endgame activities |
The Kurast Undercity is the most targeted Obducite route: offer a Tribute of Refinement and the run's reward focuses on Obducite. In Infernal Hordes, take the materials reward when the run ends. Our Kurast Undercity guide explains Tributes and Attunement in detail.
The Neathiron list above comes from community loot databases, not from Blizzard, and nobody publishes drop amounts. Belial's Hoard needs a Superior Lair Key, so for most players World Bosses and Infernal Hordes are the easy way to pick it up along the way.
Season 15 bonus: Urn of Masterworking
In the current season you can spend Smoldering Ashes on the Urn of Masterworking, which raises your chance to find extra Obducite. If you plan to Masterwork a full set this season, it's a good place for your Ashes. Blizzard doesn't publish the exact size of that boost.
Rerolling the Capstone Bonus
The Capstone is pure luck. On a ring with five strong stats almost any result is fine. On a weapon where only one or two affixes matter, you may need a few tries.
- Know your target before you roll. Decide which affixes count as a win, so you stop as soon as one gets the bonus.
- Read the bill each time. A reroll costs Obducite, Neathiron and gold. The Blacksmith shows the exact cost before you confirm, so check your stock first.
- Your Quality is safe. A reroll only moves the Capstone, and the item stays at Quality 25.
- Spend Neathiron where it counts. A bonus on your main damage stat on a weapon is worth more rerolls than a small tweak on boots.
Quick plan for Masterworking
- Pick the item: Ancestral, the right affixes, ideally a Greater Affix on your key stat.
- Finish Tempering so the Capstone has every good target available.
- Stock Obducite from the Undercity with a Tribute of Refinement and the materials reward in Infernal Hordes. In Season 15, put Ashes into the Urn of Masterworking.
- Upgrade to Quality 25 at the Blacksmith, watching the cost of each step.
- Apply the Capstone Bonus and check which affix is highlighted.
- Reroll with Neathiron only if the bonus missed the stats your build relies on.
- Going Mythic later? Keep the item clear of Transfiguration and use the Cube's direct Mythic recipe, so the Masterworking comes along.
Conclusion
Masterworking comes down to two steps: grind Quality to 25 with Obducite, then roll the Capstone Bonus and reroll it with Neathiron until it hits a stat you care about. The item you pick decides most of the result, so spend your materials on Ancestral gear you'll keep and finish its Tempering first.
Every upgrade and reroll also costs gold. If your stash runs low, you can top it up with Diablo 4 Gold.
FAQ
Pick up Obducite. Once you carry it, the Blacksmith offers Masterworking for eligible gear: Ancestral Legendary and Unique items. There is no separate quest for it.
Quality 25. Each upgrade adds a random 2 to 5 Quality, and every point adds 1% to the item's affixes and to its base stat, such as weapon damage, armor or resistance.
Once the item reaches Quality 25, you apply the Capstone Bonus. It gives one random affix another 50%, and that can be a regular, Tempered or Greater Affix. The game highlights the boosted affix.
Yes, at the Blacksmith. A reroll costs Obducite, Neathiron and gold, and the exact bill is shown before you confirm. Your Quality stays at 25, only the boosted affix changes.
In the Kurast Undercity with a Tribute of Refinement, from the materials reward at the end of Infernal Hordes, and in Nightmare Dungeons. In Season 15 the Urn of Masterworking, bought with Smoldering Ashes, raises your chance of extra Obducite.
Community loot databases list World Bosses, Bartuc in Infernal Hordes, Astaroth at the end of Escalating Nightmares and Belial. Elites and Nightmare Dungeon bosses drop it now and then. Blizzard publishes no drop amounts.
No. Masterworking works without Tempering. It's still smart to finish Tempering first, because the Capstone Bonus can land on a Tempered affix.
An upgrade never fails, only the amount of Quality varies. You can't reset Quality back to 0, so choose the item before you spend your Obducite.
Not with the Horadric Cube recipe Upgrade Direct Item to Mythic: it keeps the affixes, Tempering and Masterworking. It needs Lord of Hatred, refuses Unmodifiable items, and the result carries the Crafted tag, of which you can wear one at a time.
You deal [15% - 20%][x] increased damage and gain 25 Primary Resource Regeneration while Unstoppable and for 5 seconds after.
The Unique power of the pants. Their other stats vary from pair to pair.