Diablo 4 has teased some significant changes coming to Masterworking and Tempering that will come as great news to many players. These Diablo 4 changes will be tested in the upcoming PTR before being implemented in the main branch in a future season.
Masterworking and Tempering are essentially Diablo 4‘s crafting systems that allow players to affix additional statistics on their gear. The issue is that both systems are luck-based, with random rolls on the statistics each time. Players can only temper items in Diablo 4 a few times, too. This means that if a player gets the perfect item for their Diablo 4 build but is unlucky with their temper rolls, they’re left with the choice of keeping the sub-optimal item or trashing it and trying to find it again, in the hopes that they have better luck next time. In a game where many players enjoy optimizing builds down to the minute detail, this RNG mechanic sticks out.
Diablo 4 Teases Masterworking and Tempering Changes in Upcoming PTR
In a post on X, Diablo Director of Social & Content Marketing, Adam Fletcher, revealed that Blizzard is already set to highlight PTR changes for the next Diablo 4 season. While this is earlier than normal, he claims that this is because there “is a lot of big items to cover including Masterworking/Tempering changes, Combat & Renown updates + more.” In a follow-up response on Tempering, Fletcher says that “a lot will be changing,” with “more details in the next couple of weeks.”
Frustrations with Diablo 4‘s Tempering system are an ongoing concern for the community. It was initially added as part of Diablo 4 Season 4, titled Loot Reborn. It was an enormous deal back then, but players have become more annoyed with the system over time, leading to calls for further reworks. In terms of the “Combat & Renown updates” teased by Fletcher, he did not elaborate further, so it will be interesting to see what Blizzard has up its sleeve for the future PTR.
There’s going to be plenty more changes coming to Diablo 4 in the future, and it seems as though the focus is on those features players have been crying out for. Last month, it was revealed that Blizzard is finally talking about adding a loot filter to Diablo 4, although no concrete news has been heard on that since. Hopefully, Season 11 will represent a significant step forward for the game, with PTR changes to be detailed in the coming weeks.