Diablo 4 Greater Affixes Guide: Every Way to Get One, Explained
A Greater Affix is a stronger version of a normal affix. It is the same affix but with 1.5 times the power. Visually, you can identify a Greater Affix by the starburst icon in front of it, as well as on top of the item (and next to the item name when the piece drops on the floor). Items with Greater Affixes are very important for any serious endgame build.
There are four ways to get a Greater Affix in Diablo 4. But knowing the dead ends in crafting will also save you some gold.
The Four Paths to a Greater Affix
1. Drops. Greater Affixes appear on Ancestral Legendary and Unique (as well as Mythic Unique) items starting in Torment 1. Every Ancestral has a chance to drop with at least one GA, and more can roll on the same item. The number of GAs and which affixes they land on is pure RNG.
You will find Ancestral Normal, Magic or Rare items with Greater Affixes. If the GA is on an interesting stat, you should upgrade the item to Legendary using the Horadric Cube.
2. Gambling. The Purveyor of Curiosities allows you to gamble on specific pieces of gear, and can produce Ancestral items with Greater Affixes. Those follow the same GA rules as drops. They cannot be targeted, but gambling is a cheap way to get a lot of items.
3. Tempering. This is the path you can control. On Ancestral items of 900+ item power, a tempered affix can roll as a Greater Affix, and you can reroll the temper until it does, refilling charges with Scrolls of Restoration as needed.
The blocker is that a 850 item power gear piece cannot roll GA tempers, only 900 and above. The full loop is in the tempering guide. This only applies to the affix you are tempering on, never to the affixes the item dropped with, and it does not work on non-Ancestral gear.
Diablo 4 Tempering Guide: Affixes, Limits and GA Tempers4. Transfiguration. Certain Transfiguration outcomes can add Greater Affixes to an item. Transfiguration is high risk, and is also the last step in the upgrade order,as it can permanently lock the item. Details in the Transfiguration guide (coming soon).
What Does Not Create a Greater Affix
Enchanting cannot create a Greater Affix. No matter how many times you reroll an affix at the Occultist, the result is never a GA. Don't burn millions of gold learning this one the hard way. It is also important to know that enchanting an existing GA will most likely reroll it away, so the Occultist can lose you a Greater Affix.
The one exception worth knowing at the Occultist: picking "No Change" when enchanting a GA locks it in place, which protects it from Horadric Cube rerolls, covered in the Horadric Cube guide (coming soon).
Masterworking cannot create a Greater Affix. Masterworking increases the values of affixes the item already has. A masterworked normal affix gets bigger numbers, but it never becomes a GA (affix with the starburst icon). The capstone bonus is not considered a Greater Affix.
How Many Greater Affixes Can One Item Have
An Ancestral Legendary or Unique item can have up to 4 Greater Affixes (as many affixes are the item can have). The count is the main driver of an item's value. A multi-GA item with the right stats is the ultimate chase. It is very rare as affixes rolls are RNG, and you cannot conserve a Greater Affix by rerolling it to something else. Therefore a 4 GA item with perfect stats is basically like winning the Diablo 4 lottery.
There is also a hidden bonus that most players are not aware of. Every Greater Affix on an item adds one extra tempering charge, so GA items are also more forgiving to craft on.
Greater Affixes and Masterworking
A Greater Affix gains Masterworking Quality like any other affix, and if the Capstone Bonus at Quality 25 lands on a GA, the two bonuses stack, producing the strongest version of an affix that you can get in the game. That combination is one of the best optimization you can do at endgame in Diablo 4. This type of upgrade on an affix is displayed with an orange starburst icon before the affix.
Following our usual gear upgrade order, we recommend to roll your GA temper before masterworking, and transfigure last. The walkthroughs in the gear upgrade order guide (coming soon) show the full sequence on an item.
Quick Answers
Frequently asked
3 questionsDo Greater Affixes drop before Torment?#
No. Greater Affixess arrive with Ancestral items starting in Torment 1.
Can a Unique have Greater Affixes?#
Yes, Ancestral Uniques follow the same GA rules, and a Mythic Unique rolls all its affixes at maximum value anyway, which is its own version of the same power.
Is the starburst affix always better than my current affix?#
A GA of a useless stat is still a useless stat. 1.5x of the right affix is the goal, not the icon for its own sake.