For anyone still wondering if he should upgrade his artisan, with the patch 1.0.7:
A new crafting reagent, Demonic Essence, has been added to the game
This reagent is account-bound and can be acquired from Elite monsters, Treasure Goblins, and bosses in Inferno difficulty
Four Rare recipes have been added to the Blacksmith:
Archon Spaulders (Shoulders), Archon Gauntlets (Gloves), Archon Armor (Chest Armor), Razorspikes (Bracers)
Each crafted item will have the following characteristics:
iLevel 63
6 Affixes
Account-bound
Similar to the Hellfire Ring, it will have four variants, each guaranteeing a fixed core stat which will have the highest range available in the game
And
A new Rare recipe has been added to the Jeweler for an Amulet
This amulet will have the following characteristics:
iLevel 63
6 Affixes
Account-bound
Similar to the Hellfire Ring, it will have four variants, each guaranteeing a fixed core stat which will have the highest range available in the game
Crafting the item will require the 1 Demonic Essence as well as:
100,000g
1 Perfect Square Gem (varied depending on which core stat you select)
1 Fiery Brimstone
Of course, in order to craft them, a lvl10 blacksmith and lvl10 jeweler are required.
So you have now the possibility to craft some best-in-slot only for you, so the AH won't be flooded with them. I think it's a nice way to make your own upgrade without farming the AH.
So considering the cost of upgrading both artisans to lvl10, 313k gold and some books, I think it's definitely worth it. Since the recipes are not Account-bound, you can buy them for some gold, less than 10k currently on EU servers.
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