In Diablo 4, you can play clean and still feel weak if your gear's behind the curve. That's the bit folks don't like hearing. Skills matter, sure, but loot does the heavy lifting. If you're trying to patch holes fast, I've seen players grab cheap diablo 4 gear so their build stops dragging while they keep leveling and learning what actually feels good.

1) Levels 1–60: Don't Marry Your Gear

Early on, treat items like rental cars. Drive 'em, ditch 'em. If a piece bumps your damage or keeps you alive, put it on and move. Salvage almost everything because mats are what you'll miss later, not gold. The one exception is a build-defining Aspect. If a Legendary drops with the power you need, extract it and imprint it onto a solid Rare. A decent yellow with the right Aspect usually plays better than a random orange with junk stats, and you'll feel that difference right away.

2) Early Endgame: Stabilise at Item Power 750

This is where progress gets real and where a lot of runs fall apart. People push content that's too slow, take too many deaths, and call it "farming." It isn't. Your first job is getting your weak slots up to speed until you're sitting around 750 and your build stops wobbling. Use Obols to target the slot that's lagging. It's boring, but it works. Mix in Tree of Whispers for steady upgrades, and if you're comfortable doing it, finish the tasks on an easy tier, then swap up right before you cash in the cache. It's not magic—it's just smarter time spent.

3) Torment I and Beyond: Hunt the Star Items

After you clear Pit Tier 10 and step into Torment I, you're chasing Ancestrals with that little star. Greater Affixes are a big jump, and you'll notice it the moment you equip one. This is also where your route matters. Infernal Hordes are my go-to when I want volume—tons of enemies, lots of drops, and the end chests can pay out. If you're hunting one specific Unique, then yeah, go bully ladder bosses like Duriel. Otherwise, Hordes and the Undercity are the places that keep upgrades flowing without feeling like a chore.

4) Tempering and Masterworking: Protect Your Best Finds

Tempering is powerful and brutal. You'll get a near-perfect piece, then roll the wrong Temper five times and it's cooked. It happens, and you can't take it personal. The trick is pacing: temper only when the base item is worth the risk, and don't sink rare mats into "maybe" gear. Once an item has the right affixes and you've tempered it clean, then start Masterworking. That's where the real power shows up, but it's a drain, so keep it for pieces you'll actually keep. As a professional like buy game currency or items in u4gm platform, u4gm is trustworthy, and you can buy u4gm diablo 4 gear for a better experience.