Alright, let’s get into it. I finally decided to buckle down and actually figure out how to push my damage numbers way up in Diablo 3. Been playing for ages but always sorta fumbled with the upgrading system, especially those juicy legendaries. This time? All in.
First Step: Gather ALL The Junk
Started simple. I jumped into a regular Nephalem Rift – nothing fancy, just fast clears. Grabbed every single yellow and blue item that dropped. Seriously, even the stuff I normally ignore. Filled my stash and my character’s pockets multiple times over. It felt weird salvaging piles of gear I used to leave behind. Headed straight back to town, hit up the Blacksmith, and smashed it all into materials. Ended up with stacks and stacks of Veiled Crystals, Arcane Dust, and Reusable Parts. Basic, but absolutely necessary.
Getting My Hands on Death’s Breaths
Okay, next roadblock: Death’s Breath. You need loads of these for the good recipes. Popped over to Kanai’s Cube, scrolled to the “Work with Item” section, and used the Convert Set Item recipe. Grabbed the easiest set item I had duplicates of (think it was gloves), tossed it in with some Forgotten Souls and Death’s Breaths. Boom, got a different piece from the same set. Salvaged that immediately for more materials. Felt like a little hack to turn useless duplicates into valuable Souls.
Then, went straight for Nephalem Rifts again, this time focusing harder on Elites. Every Champion or Elite pack I saw, I demolished. Used the extra materials from salvaging the set pieces to roll at Kadala for more items to smash. Bit of a grind, but my Death’s Breath count started rising nicely. Needed about 30-40 per legendary upgrade attempt.
Finding the Gear to Actually Upgrade
This was kinda the scary part. Decided I wanted a better weapon for my main build. Went to Kadala and spammed all my Blood Shards on one-handed swords. Got a few yellows, salvaged them. Got one useless legendary, salvaged that for Forgotten Souls too. Finally snagged a decent looking yellow rare sword. Not great stats, but that didn’t matter yet. That was my target.
Hitting Kanai’s Cube
Alright, showtime. Popped open Kanai’s Cube and selected the Upgrade Rare Item recipe.
Here’s what went in:
- The yellow rare sword I’d just gambled.
- 25 of the Death’s Breaths I’d sweated for.
- 50 pieces each of the Veiled Crystal, Arcane Dust, and Reusable Parts. Felt a bit wasteful, but you gotta spend it to make it!
Held my breath, clicked “Transmute”… and it popped out a legendary! Not quite the exact sword I wanted, but it was an ancient legendary! Huge leap compared to my old weapon. Stats were immediately better.
Fine-Tuning That Bad Boy
Now it got fun. Had the ancient piece, but the rolls weren’t perfect. Back to the Cube I went. Selected Reforge Legendary. Threw in:
- The new ancient legendary sword.
- 5 more Forgotten Souls (from earlier salvages).
- 50 more each of the Veiled Crystal, Arcane Dust, and Reusable Parts.
- Plus those precious 5 Death’s Breaths.
Clicked Transmute… and got a better version! More damage, a better primary stat. Took about four tries total, burning through materials each time, but finally landed on one with a massive damage increase and a socket. That made a massive difference pushing higher Greater Rifts. Felt like I was actually punching way above my weight.
Key Takeaways
Here’s what I learned the hard way:
- Don’t skip the yellows/blues! Salvaging everything is boring but essential fuel.
- Target farm elites relentlessly for Death’s Breaths. Make every Rift about them.
- Kadala and Convert Set Item are lifelines for gathering Souls and materials fast.
- Patience with re-rolling. You WILL burn through mats, but it pays off.
- Seeing that Ancient Legendary pop out after upgrading a yellow? That feeling never gets old.
It’s a bit resource-heavy, but damn, walking around with a weapon that hits like a truck because you made it happen? Worth every single salvaged yellow pair of pants. Happy grinding!