Greater Affixes apparently do not improve it.
Masterworking apparently does not improve it either.
And according to a bug report that has now survived from December 2025 into August 2026, the problem is still happening in Season 14.
For most characters, that may sound like an obscure stat problem.
For builds actually designed around blocking attacks, it is considerably less academic.
A 5% Roll Apparently Stays at 5%
The original report was posted on December 16, 2025.
The player tempered 5% Block Chance onto Ancestral pants with a Greater Affix.
The expectation was that the Greater Affix would improve the value beyond the normal maximum roll.
It did not.
The item still displayed 5% Block Chance.
The player then Masterworked the item to 25 Quality.
Still 5%.
Even after hitting a Masterworking capstone bonus, the Block Chance remained unchanged.
At that point, the stat has achieved a level of stability normally reserved for geological formations.
The Bug Was Still There in Season 13
The report did not disappear with a new season.
On May 4, another player returned to the thread and said the issue still persisted in Season 13.
Another report followed on May 13 involving Heir of Perdition, with the player asking whether there was any workaround or whether Greater Affixes and upgrades were simply pointless for Block Chance.
There was no confirmed workaround in the thread.
Now It Is Being Reported in Season 14
On August 17, the same thread became active again.
A player said they had encountered the bug only a few days earlier in Season 14.
The timing matters because the player was using an Evade Hammerdin build that specifically relies on Block Chance.
According to their report, discovering that the stat could not be improved through Greater Affixes or Masterworking left the build effectively dead in the water.
That moves the issue beyond an ugly tooltip.
If Block Chance genuinely fails to scale when the item system says it should, players can invest substantial time into finding and upgrading the correct gear before realizing the central defensive stat never improved.
Why Block Chance Matters More Now
Diablo 4 has continued expanding itemization systems around Greater Affixes, Tempering and Masterworking, making high-end gear increasingly dependent on improving specific affixes rather than merely finding the right item base.
Blizzard continues to patch class, item and War Plan bugs regularly, with the latest August 12 update fixing issues across multiple classes and systems. But the current published patch notes do not list a specific correction for Block Chance failing to scale with Greater Affixes or Masterworking.
That is why this old report suddenly feels relevant again.
A stat that behaved strangely on an obscure build in 2025 can become much more important when a newer build starts depending on it.
This Looks Different From a Simple Display Error
There is one important uncertainty.
Blizzard has not officially confirmed whether the problem is purely visual or whether the underlying Block Chance calculation is genuinely failing to increase.
The players reporting the issue believe the stat itself is not scaling correctly, but we do not have a developer explanation confirming the exact technical cause.
That distinction matters.
A broken tooltip is irritating.
A broken defensive stat can ruin an entire build.
Until Blizzard comments on the issue, players should treat the community reports as evidence rather than final diagnosis.
Players May Want to Test Before Investing Heavily
If your Diablo 4 build depends on pushing Block Chance through Greater Affixes or Masterworking, this may be one stat worth checking carefully before pouring large amounts of resources into the item.
The same basic problem has now been reported across multiple seasons, from December 2025 through August 2026.
That does not prove every item, platform or Block Chance source is affected identically.
But it does make the issue difficult to dismiss as a single bad roll.
Diablo 4 asks players to hunt the perfect item.
Then it asks them to find the Greater Affix.
Then Temper it.
Then Masterwork it.
If the number at the end remains exactly 5%, somebody should probably have a look at that.
Sources
Diablo IV Forums: Block Chance Cannot Be Improved by GA or Masterworking
Blizzard Entertainment: Diablo IV Patch Notes
