In Diablo 4, your gear is the backbone of your character's power. While skill choices, Paragon progression, and Aspects define your playstyle, it's your weapons and armor upgrades that determine how effective you are in slaying hordes of demons or tackling high-level bosses. Understanding how to upgrade your equipment efficiently can mean the difference between being stuck in World Tier 2 and dominating Nightmare Dungeons in World Tier 4.

 

This guide covers everything you need to know about upgrading your weapons and armor in Diablo 4, from Blacksmith upgrades and Enchanting to Socketing Gems, Imprinting Aspects, and maximizing Legendary/Unique items. By the end, you'll know exactly how to invest your resources without wasting them.

 

Why Upgrading Gear Matters

Before diving into the mechanics, it's important to understand why upgrading gear is so crucial:

 

Scaling Difficulty - Diablo 4 uses World Tiers to scale content. As you move up, enemies hit harder and have more health. Without upgrading, you'll fall behind quickly.

 

Stat Efficiency - Upgrading increases base item power, armor, and damage values. Even before rerolling affixes, just improving the raw numbers makes a huge difference.

 

Longevity of Gear - Some Diablo 4 Items, especially Legendaries and Uniques, can carry you for many levels. Investing in upgrades ensures they remain relevant as you progress.

 

Endgame Preparation - Pushing Nightmare Dungeons or Helltides requires fully optimized gear, which includes maxed upgrades, rerolled affixes, and properly imprinted Aspects.

 

Step 1: Using the Blacksmith to Upgrade Gear

The Blacksmith is the first and most straightforward way to enhance weapons and armor. You'll unlock the Blacksmith in Kyovashad during the main campaign, and from there, every major town will have one.

 

How Blacksmith Upgrading Works

Weapons and Armor can be upgraded up to 4 times (Legendaries and Uniques may have higher limits).

 

Each upgrade increases the item's armor value (for armor) or damage range (for weapons).

 

Upgrading requires gold and materials, such as Iron Chunks, Silver Ore, Veiled Crystals, and Scattered Prisms at higher tiers.

 

Example of Weapon Upgrade Scaling:

Base Damage: 300-400

 

Upgrade 1: 330-440

 

Upgrade 2: 360-480

 

Upgrade 3: 390-520

 

Upgrade 4: 420-560

 

That's a huge increase over time, especially when multiplied by critical hit, vulnerable, or damage multipliers.

 

Materials Needed for Blacksmith Upgrades

Common Gear (white/blue): Salvage for Iron Chunks and Silver Ore.

 

Rare/Legendary Gear: Salvage to get Veiled Crystals (essential for later upgrades).

 

Sacred and Ancestral Items: Found in higher World Tiers; these require rarer materials to upgrade. You can buy Diablo 4 materials to get enough.

 

Tip: Don't waste materials upgrading gear you'll replace soon. Save your upgrades for powerful Legendaries, Uniques, or Sacred/Ancestral gear you know will last.

 

Step 2: Enchanting Gear with the Occultist

The Occultist is where gear becomes truly customizable. Located in major towns, the Occultist allows you to reroll affixes on weapons and armor.

 

How Enchanting Works

Choose one affix on an item to replace.

 

Pay gold and materials (such as Veiled Crystals and Forgotten Souls).

 

You'll be given two random affixes to choose from, or you can keep the original.

 

Why Enchanting is Important

The right affix can make or break a build. For example:

 

On weapons: reroll for Critical Strike Chance, Vulnerable Damage, or Core Skill Damage.

 

On armor: reroll for Damage Reduction, Resistance to a specific element, or Maximum Life.

 

Enchanting Tips

Don't reroll every piece of gear. Focus on items you'll keep long-term.

 

Try to roll affixes that synergize with your build (e.g., a Sorcerer using Ice Shards wants Cooldown Reduction and Mana Cost Reduction).

 

Each reroll gets more expensive, so be mindful of your gold.

 

Step 3: Socketing Gems

Gems are another core way to upgrade your weapons and armor. You'll find gems like Skulls, Rubies, Emeralds, Amethysts, and Topazes throughout Sanctuary.

 

How Socketing Works

Weapons, armor, and jewelry can have sockets.

 

If your item doesn't have a socket, you can add one using a Scattered Prism at the Jeweler.

 

Each gem type provides different bonuses depending on where it's placed:

 

Weapon Gems

Ruby: Increases damage.

 

Emerald: Increases Critical Strike Damage to Vulnerable enemies.

 

Skull: Increases Life on Kill.

 

Armor Gems

Ruby: Increases Maximum Life.

 

Topaz: Increases Damage Reduction while Crowd Controlled.

 

Amethyst: Increases Damage Reduction over time.

 

Jewelry Gems

Skull: Increases Armor.

 

Ruby: Increases Fire Resistance.

 

Sapphire: Increases Cold Resistance.

 

Best Practices for Gems

Always use Emeralds in weapons if your build consistently applies Vulnerable.

 

Use Topaz or Amethyst in armor for survivability in Nightmare Dungeons.

 

Use Skulls in jewelry for extra Armor if you're playing melee classes like Barbarian or Druid.

 

Step 4: Imprinting Aspects (Legendary Powers)

Perhaps the biggest form of upgrading in Diablo 4 is imprinting Aspects. These are powerful modifiers tied to your build.

 

How to Obtain Aspects

Codex of Power - Unlocked by completing dungeons. Provides baseline versions of Aspects.

 

Legendary Items - Salvaging or extracting Aspects from Legendaries gives stronger versions.

 

Seasonal Content - Seasonal rewards often include new Aspects that can redefine builds.

 

Imprinting Process

Visit the Occultist.

 

Choose an item (rare, legendary, or unique with an open aspect slot).

 

Imprint the Aspect using gold and materials like Veiled Crystals or Forgotten Souls.

 

Best Practices for Aspects

Save your most powerful Aspects for Sacred and Ancestral gear.

 

Use Codex Aspects early on, then replace them with stronger versions found on Legendaries.

 

Prioritize core build-defining Aspects (e.g., Sorcerer's Ice Shards Aspect, Rogue's Twisting Blades Aspect).

 

Step 5: Upgrading Uniques and Endgame Gear

Uniques in Diablo 4 are rare and powerful items with fixed affixes and unique effects. Unlike Legendaries, you can't reroll their main powers, but you can still:

 

Upgrade them at the Blacksmith for more raw stats.

 

Add sockets at the Jeweler.

 

Reroll one affix at the Occultist (though with high costs).

 

Because Uniques often define entire builds, upgrading them is worth the investment.

 

Efficient Resource Management for Upgrades

One of the most common mistakes new players make is wasting gold and materials on gear that gets replaced quickly. Here's how to avoid that:

 

Early Game (Level 1-50): Only upgrade weapons occasionally to boost damage. Salvage most items for crafting materials.

 

Mid Game (50-70, Sacred Gear): Start focusing on upgrading Legendaries that synergize with your build. Use enchanting sparingly.

 

Endgame (70+, Ancestral Gear): Go all-in on upgrades. Fully max out Blacksmith upgrades, enchant affixes, socket gems, and imprint top-tier Aspects.

 

Final Tips for Upgrading Weapons and Armor in Diablo 4

Prioritize Weapons First - Damage output speeds up leveling and farming.

 

Don't Upgrade Temporary Gear - Save resources for Sacred and Ancestral items.

 

Farm Materials Efficiently - Salvage often, farm Helltides, and run Nightmare Dungeons.

 

Balance Offense and Defense - Don't just max damage; survivability is equally important.

 

Stay Flexible - Don't sink everything into one item too early. New drops can always replace old gear.

 

Conclusion

Upgrading weapons and armor in Diablo 4 is more than just a gold sink-it's a layered system that lets you tailor gear to your build and push into higher difficulties. By understanding how to use the Blacksmith, Occultist, Jeweler, and Aspects, you can maximize the potential of every piece of gear.

 

Whether you're farming Nightmare Dungeons, slaying bosses, or taking on Helltide events, your success hinges on how well you've invested in your weapons and armor. Remember: gear progression is the heart of Diablo, and mastering upgrades ensures you'll always stay one step ahead of the demons of Sanctuary.