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'''Salvaging''' is a mechanic that allows players to break down items, such as weapons and armor, into raw materials that can be used for [[Crafting]], as well as [[Training]] the NPC [[Artisan]]s.
Salvaging can be done in the field, and is designed to save space and trips back to town, as well as providing raw materials for crafting new items. The process of salvaging is accomplished with an object received from the [[Blacksmith]] after an early game quest. The proper title of the box was ultimately revealed [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blue-on-armor-dyes-and-the-nephalem-cube/] to be the [[Nephalem Cube]], a revelation that suggests the [[Nephalem]] will somehow figure into the plot of Diablo III.
It may or may not be worth noting that this cube is the same graphic that Blizzard used [http://us.blizzard.com/diablo3/media/horadrapp/ for their April Fool's joke] in 2010, the "Horadric Cube app".
# Since the materials returned are semi-random, players could repeatedly salvage the same item, trying for a better materials roll.
# Even if the materials were permanently set on that particular item, simply knowing what it was going to salvage for would let the player decide to salvage or try to trade it.
==Nephalem Cube Story Implications==
[[Bashiok]] is largely responsible for fans thinking the "Nephalem Cube" has some story or lore implications. The proper name of the object was not known, and most fans were simply calling it the "Salvage Cube." Bashiok upset that by making a point of saying that was not the object's proper name.[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blue-on-the-salvage-cube-and/]
<blue>It has a name. It is not Salvage Cube. The name does include Cube, though. The name is sort of a spoiler, which is why we haven’t revealed it yet.</blue>
Whether he meant it to or not, this teasing set off a storm of fan speculation over an issue no one had given much thought to previously. After reports that [[Jay Wilson]] had called the box the "Nephalem Cube" during a Press-only Q&A at Blizzcon 2010 (which no one seemed to have video or a transcript of), a fan asked Bashiok to confirm that. He did, but without adding anything about why that name was a spoiler. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blue-on-armor-dyes-and-the-nephalem-cube/]
The "Nephalem" were the first humans in Sanctuary. They came into being as the offspring of the mating between Inarius (an Angel) and Lilith (a demon), and according to the world lore, these early Nephalem had the potential to be stronger than angels or demons. The creation of the [[Worldstone]], a relic that largely keeps the forces of the [[Burning Hells]] from entering into [[Sanctuary]], somehow also served to sap the natural powers of the Nephalem.
Much of the speculation about Diablo III's plot involves the destruction of the Worldstone by Tyrael twenty years before the time of Diablo III, and the changes that humans might be undergoing, as they regain some of their long lost Nephalem might.
Thus the fact that the salvage box is called the Nephalem Cube has (at least) two possible implications.
# The name might simply be a reference to the ancient days and the cube's original origin (created by the Nephalem ages ago).
# Or the box might have some connection to ongoing/upcoming events, as the Nephalem are reborn in modern man.
It's not clear how much fans would have even considered the second possibility, had not Bashiok pointed it out and termed it a spoiler. After all, the cube in Diablo II was named the {{iw|Horadric_Cube Horadric Cube}}, but it didn't herald any return or relevance of the ancient [[Horadric]] order in the game. It merely referred to the cube's ancient origin. Fans would likely have assumed the same of the Nephalem Cube, had not Diablo III's community manager suggested otherwise.