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One of the most useful—but often overlooked—features in Diablo II: Resurrected is the ability to upgrade ("up") weapons and armor using Horadric Cube recipes. Upgrading allows many Normal and Exceptional items to become much stronger while retaining their valuable modifiers.

The chart above summarizes all of the Horadric Cube recipes used to upgrade Rare, Set, and Unique equipment.

What Does "Upping" an Item Do?

Upgrading changes an item's base type to the next quality tier:

Normal → Exceptional
Exceptional → Elite

When an item is upgraded:

Base defense or weapon damage increases.
Required Strength and Dexterity usually increase.
Level requirements may increase.
All magical properties remain the same.

This makes upgrading an excellent way to keep favorite items viable into Hell difficulty.

Upgrading Rare Items

Rare items can be upgraded twice:

Normal Rare → Exceptional Rare
Exceptional Rare → Elite Rare

This is especially useful for rare weapons with excellent damage rolls or rare boots, gloves, and belts with powerful resistances and Faster Run/Walk.

Upgrading Set Items

Set items can also be upgraded using Horadric Cube recipes (available in Diablo II: Resurrected Ladder and modern game versions).

Popular upgrades include:

Immortal King's Stone Crusher
Aldur's Rhythm
Guillaume's Face
Tal Rasha's Guardianship

Increasing the base damage or defense often makes these items competitive well into the end game.

Upgrading Unique Items

Many of Diablo II's most iconic Uniques become dramatically stronger after upgrading.

Popular examples include:

Ribcracker – Gains massive weapon damage, making it one of the strongest melee weapons for Druids.
Goldwrap – Higher defense while keeping its Magic Find bonus.
Skin of the Vipermagi – More defense without losing its +1 Skills and Faster Cast Rate.
Visceratuant – Improved defense for caster shield builds.
Goblin Toe – Better survivability while retaining Crushing Blow.

For physical builds, upgrading a Unique weapon often provides one of the biggest damage increases available.

Is It Always Worth Upgrading?

Not necessarily.

Before upgrading, consider:

Does your character have enough Strength and Dexterity?
Is the increased damage or defense worth the higher requirements?
Will the item soon be replaced by end-game gear?

For caster builds, extra defense usually provides only a modest benefit, while melee characters often gain substantial damage from upgraded weapons.

Best Items to Upgrade

Some community favorites include:

Ribcracker
Goldwrap
Skin of the Vipermagi
Guardian Angel
Visceratuant
Goblin Toe
Bonesnap
Butcher's Pupil
Hone Sundan

These items can remain effective throughout Hell difficulty after being upgraded.


The Horadric Cube's equipment upgrade recipes are an excellent way to extend the usefulness of powerful gear. By converting Normal items into Exceptional versions—or Exceptional items into Elite versions—you can significantly improve damage and defense while keeping all of the item's valuable modifiers.

Before discarding an older favorite, check whether it can be upgraded. A single Horadric Cube recipe may transform an early-game item into a piece of equipment capable of carrying your character through Hell difficulty.