If you are looking forward to creating the perfect build, then you might need to understand how Legendary Aspects work as they are the cornerstone of powerful builds. Apart from Unique items, Aspects make builds go from good to great.
What are Legendary Aspects in Diablo 4
Legendary Aspects are extra affixes that you add to a piece of gear and turn it from a rare piece to a legendary one. Aspects are split between class-specific and general. This means that there are some of them that can be used by all classes and others that are tied to a specific class.
The Aspects you get will always give a specific affix type, but the percentage is random. For example, a Cadaverous Offensive Aspect will increase the damage of your next Core ability by X [5-10%], and up to Y [25-50%] after consuming a Corpse. The values of X and Y will be set to anything between 5 and 10%, and 25 and 50% respectively whenever you obtain the Aspect.
This is Aspects in a nutshell, but in theory, there is so much more that has to be discussed about them In this guide, we will go over Legendary Aspects, the Codex of Power, and everything that revolves around that system.
How to get Legendary Aspects
There are two ways you can get Legendary Aspects.
- Completing a Dungeon for the first time will reward you with the Legendary Aspect that is tied to this dungeon.
- Extracting them from Legendary gear.
There are also different Legendary Aspect types that you have to be aware of, as not Aspects are also tied to specific pieces of gear.
| Aspect type | Allowed items |
|---|---|
| Offensive | Amulet, Weapon, Gloves, Ring |
| Defensive | Shield, Helm, Chest, Pants, Amulet |
| Utility | Shield, Helm, Chest, Amulet, Gloves, Boots |
| Resource | Ring |
| Mobility | Amulet, Boots |
I recommend that you complete all the Dungeons on one of your characters first so you can gain access to the Legendary Aspects on all your other characters as well.
What is the Codex of Power
The Codex of Power is a place that stores all the Legendary Aspects that you managed to get by completing a dungeon for the first time.
These types of Aspects are permanent, can be reused as many times as your heart desires, and don’t take up any bag space. They can be used across all your characters within the same Realm even if you have already imprinted an Aspect on one of them.
This sounds too good to be true, but the fact is that there are downsides to that system. The first one is that not all Legendary Aspects that are available in the game, are accessible through the Codex of Power.
As I mentioned previously, Aspects can be earned by extracting them from Legendary gear. These are the ones you need to create powerful builds and maximize your damage potential.
The second issue with the Codex of Power is that it will always contain the lowest stat combination of an Aspect.
How to imprint Legendary Aspects
To start imprinting your Legendary Aspects, you need to be at least level 25, then go to any major city and find the Occultist. You can identify that NPC by finding the icon with three circles on the minimap. Once you meet the requirements and are at the NPC, simply interact with them, and the first tab prompt will be the one you will use to imprint your Aspects.
Imprinting a Legendary Aspect will cost you gold, and rare material. This is an expensive process, so be wise by choosing which Aspect you want to imprint.
The following are the steps needed to proceed with the imprint:
- Step 1: Select a piece of rare or higher gear that you want to imprint.
- Step 2: Select an Aspect either from your Codex of Power or an extracted one from your inventory.
- Step 3: Press on the Imprint Aspect button and you are done.
Here are some tips about Aspect imprinting.
- You can only imprint one Aspect on a given piece of gear. Attempting to imprint another one will replace the old Aspect.
- You cannot imprint or extract an Aspect from gear with a Unique rarity.
- Aspect effects do not stack. This means that if you use the same Aspect on all your equipment, then you will only get the benefits from one of them.
How to extract Aspects
Extracting Aspects also costs gold, but you won’t need any material for that. Items imprinted with Legendary Aspects from the Codex of Power cannot be extracted. You can only extract Aspects from Legendary gear that was dropped by demons or chests in Sanctuary.
The following are the steps needed to proceed with the extraction:
- Step 1: Go to the second tab of the Occultist.
- Step 2: Select a Legendary item that you want the Aspect extracted from.
- Step 3: Press on the Extract Aspect button and you are done.
- Step 4: You can find the Aspect in your inventory in the “Aspects” tab.
Once you imprint the extracted Aspect on another piece of gear, you won’t be able to extract it again, and it is a one-time use Aspect.
Aspect extraction tips
- Whenever you pick up legendary armor, always pay attention to the Aspect stats it might be useful to you in the future.
- Extracting an item will destroy it completely.
- All gems that were socketed in the item that was extracted, will not be destroyed and you can find them in your inventory.
- When you Imprint an extracted Aspect, you won’t be able to extract it again in the future.
