Crafting basics

Crafting turns a plain base into the item you need. The usual path looks like this.

1. Pick a base. Choose the right class and tier for your vocation and level (Bases and tiers). A high item level matters, since it decides which affix tiers can roll (Item level). Pick a base of the right defence type (The three defences).

2. Decide: rare or runeword.

Rare: use Orbs to roll affixes (Affixes).
Runeword: keep the base Normal, roll sockets with Jeweller's Orbs, and fill them with runes (Runewords).

3. Roll a rare. Transmutation makes a Normal item Magic. Alteration rerolls Magic items, and Augmentation adds the missing second affix. When the Magic item has what you want, a Regal Orb turns it Rare, keeping its affixes. Or apply an Alchemy Orb to a Normal item for a random Rare. Chaos Orbs reroll a Rare completely. Scouring wipes the item back to Normal.

4. Finish. An Exalted Orb adds one more affix to a Rare that has room (up to three prefixes and three suffixes). A Divine Orb rerolls values within their tiers. Take care: a Vaal Orb is a gamble (Corruption and the Vaal Orb).

5. Targeted help. An Essence from the Cobra faction makes a Rare with one guaranteed affix of the family you want (Essences).

Rules to remember

Sockets are separate from rarity: rarity orbs do not touch them.
A runeword item takes no rarity orbs.
Crafting keeps the item level.

Crafting maps works the same way (Map modifiers).

Coming soon: a gold bench in hubs that adds one chosen modifier of low tier to a rare for gold.