Diablo 4 Gems explained: How to use the Jeweler to add bonuses to your gear
Diablo 4 Gems can grant massive bonuses to your gear, but you have to know how to leverage them
What do Diablo 4 Gems do? In Diablo 4, Gems can provide excellent bonuses to your gear. But first you have to find them, and once you do, you might want to combine them with more Gems to earn better buffs. You have to make sure your gear has slots for them, too, and this can all cost you a pretty penny in terms of gold and resources.
If you're brand new to Diablo 4 Gems and crafting mechanics, don't worry — we have you covered. Here's everything you want to know about Diablo 4 Gems, including how to find them, how they impact your stats, and more.
What are Diablo 4 Gems?
As you traverse Sanctuary, you'll occasionally pick up different Gemstones like topaz, diamonds, and sapphire. Each Gem type has a unique set of perks, and you can slot them into any item with a Gem slot. Slotting it will then grant specific bonuses tied to that piece of gear. Typically, the bonus depends on whether it's applied to a weapon, an armor piece, or jewelry. Generally, if you apply a Gem to a weapon, you'll get offensive stat bonuses. If you apply it to armor, you'll get defensive stats. And, if you apply it to jewelry, you'll gain resistance to specific elements.
While Crude Gems are the most common, you can combine them to upgrade to Chipped Gems at the Gem shop. Later, you can combine Chipped Gems to make them full-fledged Gems, maximizing their potential. And, later down the line, you can even combine some to make Flawless and Royal versions of these Gems. So, in short, you should aim to hoard any gems you earn to exchange them for better versions.
You can add gems of any level to the sockets you see on your gear. You'll note items with sockets by the round holes that appear on them when you see them in the inventory menu, indicating you can place a gem in them to reap bonuses. Tunics, pants, two-handed weapons, and bows can have up to two sockets, while all other items can have only one. If you'd like to affix a Gem to an item that doesn't have a Gem slot, you'll need to visit the Jeweler to socket them, which requires gold and resources.
You'll find Gems as random drops throughout the world, and they can spawn randomly from defeating enemies, opening chests, and caches that you may earn from activities such as Side Quests. Many of the strategies used for Diablo 4 Legendary gear farms can also be used to farm Gems.
Diablo 4 Gem stats
Each type of Gem in Diablo 4 grants a different set of bonuses, depending on whether the Gem is attached to a weapon, armor piece, or jewelry. Here are the stats that each Gem affects depending on the gear with which it's paired:
Amethyst
- Weapon: Increases damage over time
- Armor: Damage over time reduction
- Jewelry: Grants/increases Shadow resistance
Diamond
- Weapon: Increased Ultimate skill damage
- Armor: Grants/increases barrier generation
- Jewelry: Grants/increases resistance to all elements
Emerald
- Weapon: Increases critical strike damage to vulnerable enemies
- Armor: Grants/increases thorns
- Jewelry: Grants/increases poison resistance
Ruby
- Weapon: Increases Overpower damage
- Armor: Increases Life points
- Jewelry: Grants/increases fire resistance
Skull
- Weapon: Grants/increases extra Life points on kill
- Armor: Increases healing recieved
- Jewelry: Increases all armor stats
Sapphire
- Weapon: Increases critical strike damage to crowd-controlled enemies
- Armor: Damage reduction when fortified
- Jewelry: Grants/increases cold resistance
Topaz
- Weapon: Increases basic skill damage
- Armor: Damage reduction when crowd impaired
- Jewelry: Grants/increases lightning resistance
How to unlock the Jeweler
If you still need to find the Jeweler in your game, don't fret. Early in your game, you'll note a priority task to visit the Jeweler in Kyovashad. The quest functions as a tutorial on how to use the Jeweler and their services.
At the Jeweler, you can upgrade and combine your Gems, unsocket Gems from your gear, add sockets to your gear, and upgrade your jewelry, which we'll cover in detail below.
You can find Jewelers in the following locations:
- Scosglen: Realyn - Cerigar (Emerald Chase)
- Fractured Peaks: Kratia - Kyovashad (Desolate Highlands)
- Dry Steppes: Tungal - Ked Bardu (Kotama Grasslands)
- Kehjistan: Kaveh - Gea Kul (Southern Expanse)
- Hawezar: Alyoni - Zarbinzet (Umir Plateau)
Gem exchange values
There are five different tiers of Diablo 4 Gems, with their effects increasing in power as they graduate as you gather and combine them through. These tiers are as follows:
- Crude (level 15)
- Chipped (level 20): Requires three same-type Crude Gems to craft
- Standard (level 40): Requires three same-type Chipped Gems to craft
- Flawless (level 50): Requires three same-type standard Gems to craft
- Royal (level 60): Requires three same-type Flawless Gems to craft
Adding Gem slots and removing Gems
If you have a great piece of gear but want to add a Gem slot or two, you can do it as long as you have enough gold and a special item called a Scattered Prism. Scattered Prisms are relatively rare, and you'll come upon them in the world via Treasure Goblins, World Bosses, and occasionally via salvaging Legendary gear.
Once you have a Scattered Prism and are ready to create a Gem slot, visit the Jeweler, and you'll gain a new socket at the cost of gold and a Scattered Prism.
You can also remove Gems from pieces, which can be a good idea if you want to combine and upgrade them. There are two ways to do this. If you're looking to get rid of the piece with the socketed Gem anyway, you can visit the Blacksmith to salvage it, which provides materials and returns any Gems therein to your inventory.
Another way to unsocket Gems is to visit the Jeweler, though they will charge you a fee. The costs for unsocketing gems will generally get higher as you begin to equip higher-level gear. So, in many cases, salvaging will be more worthwhile than
Upgrading jewelry
The Jeweler can also upgrade your jewelry. You can upgrade Rare gear up to three times and Legendary gear up to four times. Upgrades are expensive and cost you resources including Iron Ore, Silver Ore, Veiled Crystal, and Abstruse Sigil. Here's how much you can expect to spend upgrading.
- Rare ring/amulet (rank 1): 5 Iron Chunk, 4,800 gold
- Rare ring/amulet (rank 2): 5 Iron Chunk, 4 Silver Ore, 11,250 gold
- Rare ring/amulet (rank 3): 8 Iron Chunk, 6 Silver Ore, 3 Veiled Crystal, 4,800 gold
- Legendary ring/amulet (rank 1): 5 Iron Chunk, 6,750 gold
- Legendary ring/amulet (rank 2): 8 Iron Chunk, 6 Silver Ore, 13,500 gold
- Legendary ring/amulet (rank 3): 8 Iron Chunk, 6 Silver Ore, 3 Veiled Crystal, 42,500 gold
- Legendary ring/amulet (rank 3): 12 Iron Chunk, 7 Silver Ore, 6 Veiled Crystal, 2 Abtruse Sigil, 135,000 gold
Now that you have the low-down on Diablo 4 Gems, you'll want to put them to good use. We can help you make the most of your Diablo 4 builds with our best Diablo 4 Barbarian build guide, best Diablo 4 Druid build guide, best Diablo 4 Necromancer build guide, best Diablo 4 Rogue build guide, and best Diablo 4 Sorcerer build guide.
And, if you're keen to explore everything Sanctuary has to offer, you may want to look at our interactive Diablo 4 map, have a peek at our Diablo 4 battle pass coverage, learn about Diablo 4 murmuring obols, and review what to expect when Diablo 4 seasons launch in July.
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