How to Temper Your Gear in Diablo IV

Learn a Temper Manual, visit the Blacksmith, and open Tempering. Pick a compatible item, select the recipe and the specific affix you want, and confirm the cost. Eligible gear gets one tempered affix. You can choose the affix, but the value can still vary, so inspect the result before deciding whether to reroll.

1. Learn the manual before visiting the Blacksmith

Open the manual from your inventory to learn its recipe. Once learned, it appears in the Tempering section of the Codex of Power. Check the recipe's affix list and which gear slots can use it. If you know the build you are making, look for the stat or skill named in that build rather than assuming that two manuals with similar titles do the same thing.

Choose a piece of equipment worth keeping before you spend materials. Compare its ordinary affixes first. Tempering can fill an important gap in a build, but a good temper on a short-lived item may cost materials you would rather use on its replacement. For a first test, pick a piece you already use and identify one change that would help it.

2. Apply the affix you want

1. Visit the Blacksmith and open the Tempering tab.
2. Select an eligible piece of gear.
3. Open the relevant recipe category and choose a learned recipe that works on that slot.
4. Select the specific affix you want to add.
5. Read the cost and preview, then confirm the temper.

If the desired recipe is absent, check that you used the manual rather than leaving it in your inventory. Also check that the recipe is compatible with the item. Try another gear slot if you have the manual but cannot select the affix on your first piece. Unique gear does not use this standard tempering workflow.

3. Decide whether the roll is good enough

Inspect the tempered stat after the operation. The recipe determines the available affix, and selecting it removes the need to guess which affix will appear. The number rolled on it can still vary. Compare it with what your build needs, then check the remaining temper attempts before trying again.

If the affix solves the problem you wanted it to solve, consider keeping it even if its number is below the maximum. A character that needs a specific bonus to make a skill usable gains something from having that bonus in place. Use the item and test how it feels before spending the last attempt on a marginal improvement. Save more expensive retries for gear you expect to use for a while.

4. Recover an item that is out of attempts

When the item has no attempts left, inspect the restoration control and tooltip at the Blacksmith. A Scroll of Restoration can give you another temper attempt when the temper is locked. Check what the interface will consume before confirming. If the item is likely to be replaced soon, compare the cost of using a scroll with keeping the existing temper until you find a better piece.

After restoring an attempt, select the item and the intended affix again. A restoration is an opportunity to temper. It does not guarantee the best numeric roll. Read the result before making another change, and make sure you have selected the same item if you carry multiple versions of a similar piece.

5. Separate Tempering from other upgrades

Tempering adds a specific extra affix from a learned recipe. Imprinting applies a Legendary Aspect through a different service, and Masterworking has its own progression and materials. If you cannot find your desired option at the Blacksmith, check whether the effect you are looking for is actually an Aspect. That belongs at the Occultist.

Some older videos show two tempered affixes or a random selection from a recipe. The newer selectable-affix system uses one temper and lets you choose the affix. When the interface differs from a walkthrough, read the current item preview and the remaining-attempt counter before spending resources.

For a build with several pieces to temper, note the slot and affix you want on each one. Do the pieces that unlock the main function of the build first. You can come back to improve numeric rolls once the whole setup is playable.