by theygamesWant to know more about Diablo 4 salvage? This in-game mechanic has lots of useful benefits – not least clearing out your inventory after a long and tiring day ridding Sanctuary of evil. During our own time in Sanctuary, the blacksmith has probably been our most visited townsperson, and we’re well acquainted with their salvage service, so here we detail everything it offers.
The blacksmith isn’t just limited to salvage, and can upgrade your favorite weapons as well. However, the salvage service they offer is by far the most useful in the Diablo 4 early game, and is necessary to farm some of the materials needed for upgrade. If you only plan on running one of the Diablo 4 classes, you can also salvage items you pick up that your class can’t use, and get some purpose from them. Perhaps the best use for salvage though is to obtain new wardrobe items, allowing you to wear one piece of armor or jewelry while displaying the look of another. If that sounds like something you want to make the most of come the Diablo 4 release date, here’s everything you need to know about Diablo 4 salvage.
What to salvage and materials
Salvaging items with a blacksmith can be used to obtain materials such as iron or rawhide. These resources are then needed for upgrading armor and weapons. Since they contain some of the strongest opponents, upgrading your best gear is particularly useful before a gruelling Diablo 4 world boss or stronghold, or afterwards, once you’ve picked up their top-tier drops.
Salvage materials
The following items can be salvaged at any Diablo 4 blacksmith for these materials, but be warned that there is no guarantee as to what or how much you’ll receive. For example, you can salvage magic armor, but aren’t guaranteed superior leather in return.
- Basic armor – Rawhide
- Magic armor – Superior leather, rawhide
- Rare armor – Superior leather, rawhide
- Basic weapons and jewelry – Iron chunks
- Magic weapons and jewelry – Iron chunks, Silver ore
- Rare weapons and jewelry – Iron chunks, Silver ore, Veiled crystal
Rawhide and leather are used to upgrade armor, while iron, silver, and crystals are used to upgrade weapons.
When salvaging, always check the item’s stats first, as you can’t get an item back from salvage. If you have more than one of the same item, compare them and salvage the lower quality ones first. You can find a chest near your wardrobe in some of the bigger villages and can store anything you’re unsure about in there, so we’d recommend doing that before salvaging something that might come in useful. You can also salvage multiple items at once, but marking anything you don’t want as junk in your inventory using the spacebar, or salvaging everything in your inventory of a specific rarity.
How to salvage for transmog
The most important thing to note when it comes to unlocking items for Diablo 4 transmog is that hovering over an item in your inventory either will or won’t show the line, “unlocks new look on salvage”. If this line appears on an item, it means you haven’t yet unlocked that look. If it doesn’t, you’ve either already unlocked that particular cosmetic, or it isn’t available.
Since you only need to salvage something once to unlock the look in your wardrobe, if you have more than one of the same item, take a look at the sell value, and salvage the item with the lowest worth. Unless you need to salvage materials, you can then sell the higher value item to the armorer or weaponsmith.
Salvage or sell?
As we’ve mentioned above, anything you can salvage can also be sold, so it’s always worth asking yourself which items are worth salvaging. Our best recommendation for this comes down to transmog and resources. If you are short on a specific material, then it’s logical to use salvage to obtain them, though some, like iron and rawhide, can be found out in the world.
When it comes to transmog items, you only need to salvage something once for it to be unlocked in your wardrobe. Therefore, if you’ve already unlocked a look, consider selling instead of salvaging.
Now you know how to make the best of the Diablo 4 salvage mechanic, be sure to pop back to your friendly local blacksmith every now and then to clear out some space for all that valuable Diablo 4 loot. Salvage is just one small part of what could easily be one of the best PC games of the year, so if you’re looking for more information on how to get about Sanctuary, you might want to take a look at our Butcher and Lilith guides. We’ve also got guides to create the best class build, whether that’s the best Sorcerer build, the best Barbarian build, or whichever of the other classes you’ve chosen for your journey through hell.