Diablo 4: Aspects and Codex of Power Extracting Explained

Diablo 4 pushes character customization to new levels thanks to the aspects system and the Codex of Power, which is unlocked fairly early on.

Fans finally got their first taste of Diablo 4 this past weekend thanks to an Early Access beta, giving those who have preordered a chance to jump into the world of Sanctuary. However, the gates will truly open in a few days on March 24 as Diablo 4 enters into an Open Beta, giving all players access and a chance to experience everything new within the game. In just a few short days, fans have already discovered plenty of new features within the game, though with this being a brand-new entry, there are always many questions on how certain things can be achieved.

Diablo 4 returns the series to the more classic Action RPG style, including bringing back more traditional skill trees and distinct character classes that can't be changed like the mobile title Diablo Immortal allowed. For many fans, part of the fun of Diablo is the attempt at creating the perfect character build through certain skills, maximizing specific stats, and making sure to collect the best gear and items possible to strike down enemies and minions in the game.

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While each class is different in terms of what best maximizes their potential, players can further customize their character builds using Diablo 4's aspects system. Here is what it does and how to use it through the Codex of Power.

New to Diablo 4 are items called aspects. Essentially, these are legendary-tier passives that can be used to augment items in the game. Many aspects can be found as rewards for completing various dungeons throughout Diablo 4 and are stored inside a book called the Codex of Power. Currently, aspects are divided into multiple categories including Defensive, Offensive, Resource, Utility, and Mobility.

Through an extraction process, players can then imprint aspects on Rare and Legendary gear. For rare gear, it upgrades them to Legendary rarity, further allowing the player to better build their character to how they want. It also helps to take desired traits off gear that may not be optimal and then pass that along to gear that fits better.

Part of the Diablo 4 crafting system, the Codex of Power is an account-wide feature that stores all aspects that the player earns through completing dungeons with their characters. While dungeons are completed only once per characters, the aspects gained can be used indefinitely. Better yet, the aspects can be sorted based on class as well as which items each one if for, such as a rung, weapon, or other gear piece, allowing players to quickly find the aspects which work best for what they're looking for.

One thing to keep in mind with Aspects imprinted from the Codex of Power is that they tend to default to the lowest roll possible. So if a piece of gear offers a certain percentage bonus for something, imprinting the aspect on gear will automatically default to the lowest percentage in the range.

Working with aspects fully unlocks at level 15 as a specific quest will suddenly appear for players. At this point, players should visit an Occultist which are located in numerous places and can be found on maps indicated by an upside down triangle with three circles on the corners. The first one that players will come across is located in the city of Kyovashad after finishing the prologue.

Working with the Occultist, players can extract aspects from the gear they find, though it is worth noting that extracting an aspect will not save it to the Codex of Power so once the extracted version is used, it's gone. The legendary item that the aspect was extract from is also destroyed, so players should ensure that this process is being done on gear that is worthy.

Thankfully, Diablo 4 allows the player to preview the item before the imprint process is completed, showing the expected outcome.

Diablo 4 launches on June 6, 2023, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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Derek's love of games came at an early age when his parents first brought home the Nintendo Entertainment System. From then on, countless nights were spent hunting ducks, stomping turtles, exploring far off planets, and combing through dungeons with a trusty sword and shield. Originally growing up exclusively with Nintendo products, Derek's perspective grew to include other platforms ranging from Sony, to Microsoft, the PC, and more. As his views and opinions grew, so did the desire to connect with other players and video game fans. In 2011, his blogging and writing adventure began at his personal site Gamercrash.com. While he continues to write there, he eventually joined up with the Game Rant crew in 2015, writing everything from features and guides, to the latest breaking video game news. You can find Derek here, at his personal website Gamercrash.com, or @GamerCrash on Twitter.