Diablo 4 has a lot of ways to help players create and refine their builds into characters of their own, including the Aspects and Codex of Powers, which provide powerful effects and upgrades to strengthen your character.
There are hundreds of Aspects and a few different ways to use and find these powerful passive abilities, so we’ve compiled all the information for you. Here is what you need to know about how to use the Codex of Power, Imprinting, and Extracting in Diablo 4 so you can be at your demon-slaying best.
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What is the Codex of Power?
The Codex of Power is the player’s catalog of unlocked Legendary Aspects, which add passive effects and modifiers to your character and their abilities in Diablo 4. This could include more survivability or altering an ability with some extra effect like additional shots or an AOE effect, and can be applied to your gear, with some being class agnostic and others being for specific classes.
You unlock the Codex and the ability to imprint and extract these Aspects at level 25 or when you earn a Codex of Power Aspect, which is done by completing a dungeon for the first time. This will then add the Aspect to your Codex, which can then be applied to gear whenever you visit the Occultist.
The catalog of Aspects applies to all your characters on a realm, so for example, if you have two seasonal characters, you do not need to redo all the dungeons on the new seasonal character to get the Aspects; they will already be unlocked.
To see what Aspects you have in your Codex of Power, you can check your collections tab, and this will show you all your unlocked Aspects, as well as details on where to unlock ones you are missing.
It’s worth noting the Codex of Power doesn’t include every Aspect in the game, as some can only be found from dropped gear you loot while playing the game and be extracted to use later, which will be covered in the next part of this guide.
How to Imprint and Extract Aspects
Now you know what the Codex of Power is and how to unlock Aspects, it’s time to learn how to put them to use. For starters, you will need to visit the Occultist, which can be found in every major town and is denoted by the runic-style symbol on your minimap. When you speak to them, both your inventory and the Aspects store will open, and from here, you can get to work placing and using your Aspects.
Imprinting Aspects
Imprinting is where you place an Aspect into your gear and apply its effect to your character. You can do this to Rare or higher gear, and by applying an Aspect to Rare gear, it will become Legendary.
To imprint an Aspect, you will follow these steps:
- Select the piece of gear from your inventory that you want to add an Aspect to.
- Choose the Aspect you want to apply from the Codex of Power or your inventory if it is one you have extracted.
- Click the “Imprint Aspect” option, and the process will be complete, with your gear now having your chosen Aspect.
There are a few things to consider when imprinting. First, you need to make sure it is possible to add an Aspect to a piece of gear, as different Aspect types can only go on certain gear, an example being Offensive Aspects, which can only be applied to Weapons, Gloves, Amulets, and Rings.
It also costs gold and Veiled Crystals, a resource found by salvaging Rare quality or higher gear, so you’ll need to ensure you have enough to imprint your Aspects.
Extracting Aspects
On the flip side, you might find an Aspect on a piece of gear that would be perfect for your build, but the gear itself isn’t good or what you need. Thankfully, you can extract the Aspect and use it later on another piece of gear.
To do this, you visit the Occultist and select the second tab of the store, which will be the Extract Aspect tab; then you need to do the following:
- Select the gear with the Aspect you wish to extract to add it to the menu.
- Check the Aspect you will receive to ensure it is the one you want, including its stats and what gear it can be placed on.
- Click “Extract Aspect” and the Aspect will be added to your inventory under the Aspects tab.
Like imprinting, there are a few things to consider. For one, when you extract an Aspect, the gear it was attached to is destroyed, so be sure that you want to remove the Aspect before doing so. Additionally, this will only cost you gold and no resources, so it’s pretty easy to do and shouldn’t make too much of a dent in your gold.
Tip for Using Aspects and the Codex of Power
To help you get the most out of these systems, I have a few tips on how to get the most out of your Aspects and the Codex of Power I want to share with you.
For starters, it’s worth knowing that the Aspects in the Codex of Power will always be the weakest version of that Aspect. So, if it says the increased damage percentage is 20% – 40%, it will be 20% if it is the Codex of Power version. If you are lucky enough to find the same Aspect in the wild, it will likely be a stronger version you can then apply to your gear if you want to.
Additionally, when you imprint an Aspect onto gear, you cannot extract and reapply that same Aspect to another piece, meaning if you have a powerful Aspect on your gear you imprinted, you will need to find it again or use the weaker Codex of Power version until you come across a better version.
With all that said, I recommend taking a little time to figure out which Aspects you plan on using, seeing if they are in the Codex of Power, and making a point to unlock them so they are at your disposal, since even in their weakest form, they still will be worthwhile additions to your build. On top of that, make sure you apply them to the right gear to get the most out of them, including the increased power when certain Aspects are on Weapons or Amulets.
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Lastly, it is worth storing multiple Aspects you extract or find in your stash for later, as you might need to apply one that isn’t in the Codex in Power at some point, and having a small stockpile of your needed Aspects can save you a headache later on when you start to find better gear.
