In Diablo 4, upgrading your gear is one of the most crucial aspects of progressing through the game's challenging world. Gear upgrades can drastically improve your character's power, survivability, and ability to tackle endgame content. But when exactly should you upgrade your gear? Should you always replace your equipment with anything slightly better, or is it better to wait for specific stats or item types? This guide will walk you through how to approach gear upgrades in Diablo 4, helping you optimize your character's strength efficiently without wasting valuable resources.

 

Understanding Gear Upgrades in Diablo 4

Before diving into when to upgrade, it's important to understand the different ways gear can be upgraded or improved:

 

Replacing Gear: Finding and equipping new items with better base stats or affixes.

 

Item Rarity: Upgrading from common or magic items to rare, legendary, or set Diablo 4 Items.

 

Enchanting and Reforging: Using crafting materials to re-roll or improve affixes on your gear.

 

Socketing Gems and Runes: Enhancing gear with gems or runes that provide powerful bonuses.

 

Upgrading Gems: Improving gem quality or levels for increased effects.

 

Legendary Powers: Equipping legendary items with unique passive effects that can define builds.

 

Each of these upgrade paths requires different considerations, and knowing when to pursue them will save you time and effort.

 

When Should You Replace Your Gear?

1. Major Stat Improvement

A simple rule of thumb is to upgrade your gear when the new item offers a significant increase in your character's primary stats or damage output. Minor upgrades with negligible benefits should be passed over, especially early in the game when resources are limited.

 

Example: If you find a sword that offers +20% increased damage compared to your current weapon, it's generally worth upgrading. But if the difference is only +2%, it might be better to wait.

 

2. Upgrade in Key Slots First

Focus on upgrading the most impactful gear slots first:

 

Weapons: Your main damage source.

 

Chest Armor: High base defense and often good affixes.

 

Helmets and Gloves: Typically offer critical stats.

 

Rings and Amulets: Provide damage, resistances, or utility stats.

 

If you find an upgrade in these key slots, it's usually worth switching immediately.

 

3. When Starting a New Act or Zone

Each new area or act in Diablo 4 tends to have tougher enemies. Upgrading gear at these natural progression points will help you maintain a steady difficulty curve.

 

4. Before Boss Fights and Endgame Content

Before challenging boss fights or entering endgame activities like Nightmare Dungeons or PvP, upgrading your gear to the best available can make the difference between success and failure.

 

When Should You Hold Off on Upgrading?

1. If the Upgrade Is Minimal or Costly

If upgrading gear requires significant crafting resources or gold but yields minimal benefit, it's often better to wait. Early to mid-game, conserve resources until you find better gear with meaningful improvements.

 

2. When You Are Focused on Building Sets or Legendaries

If you're targeting a specific build that relies on certain legendary items or set bonuses, it may be wise to hold off on upgrades that don't fit your planned setup. Sometimes, a new rare item might look better on paper but won't synergize well with your build.

 

3. When Affixes Don't Match Your Build

Gear stats matter a lot in Diablo 4. For example, if your build relies heavily on cold damage and you find a new weapon with fire damage bonuses but weaker overall stats, it might not be worth upgrading yet.

 

How to Prioritize Gear Upgrades

1. Evaluate Your Build's Core Stats

Understand what stats are essential for your build. Are you stacking:

 

Increased elemental damage?

 

Critical hit chance and damage?

 

Life leech or survivability stats?

 

Focus on upgrading gear that improves these core stats first.

 

2. Legendary Item Powers vs. Raw Stats

Legendary items offer unique passive effects that can sometimes outweigh raw stat increases. If you find a legendary item that fits your build's theme-even if its stats are slightly lower-it might be a better upgrade.

 

3. Balance Offense and Defense

Don't neglect defensive stats in pursuit of raw damage. Upgrading gear to boost resistances, life, or armor is equally important to survive tougher fights.

 

Upgrading Gear Through Crafting

When to Use Crafting to Upgrade

Crafting allows you to improve your gear by re-rolling affixes or adding sockets and gems.

 

Use crafting to upgrade existing high-quality gear rather than low-tier items.

 

Focus crafting resources on legendary or set items that you plan to keep long-term. You can buy D4 materials if you don't have enough.

 

Don't waste crafting materials on gear you'll replace soon.

 

Crafting Tips

Use enchanting benches to reroll the stats on your gear.

 

Socket gems only in gear you intend to keep.

 

Upgrade gems to increase their power in socketed gear.

 

Upgrading Gems: When and Why

Gems provide additional damage, utility, or survivability. Upgrading gems is often one of the best ways to boost your power without changing your entire gear set.

 

Prioritize upgrading gems that directly boost your damage or survivability.

 

Leveling gems can have a greater impact than a small gear upgrade.

 

Balance gem upgrades with gear upgrades for maximum effect.

 

Signs You Should Upgrade Your Gear Now

Your damage numbers feel stagnant or your kill speed slows down.

 

You're struggling to survive encounters you previously handled.

 

You find gear with the right stats and affixes for your build.

 

You're entering higher-tier content or preparing for a boss fight.

 

Your current gear is below your character's level.

 

Signs You Should Wait or Hold Off

You're low on crafting materials or gold.

 

You found an upgrade that doesn't align with your build or stats.

 

You're close to finding a set or legendary item that fits your build better.

 

The upgrade provides only marginal improvement.

 

Endgame Gear Upgrade Strategy

Once you reach endgame, the focus shifts from simple stat upgrades to optimization and build refinement.

 

Prioritize perfect rolls on your gear's affixes.

 

Use crafting to fine-tune stats.

 

Experiment with legendary powers to improve your build.

 

Upgrade gems and socket gear strategically.

 

Farm endgame content for the best drops.

 

Conclusion

Upgrading gear in Diablo 4 is a balancing act. Knowing when to upgrade is just as important as knowing what to upgrade. Focus on significant improvements, prioritize core gear slots, and align your upgrades with your build's needs. Use crafting and gem upgrades wisely to maximize your character's power.

 

By upgrading at the right time and making informed choices, you'll enjoy a smoother progression and a more powerful character capable of conquering Diablo 4's toughest challenges.