Use gems to overcome tough obstacles
In Diablo 4, enemies will scale up to your current level. While you can be underleveled for certain types of content, you can’t ever become overleveled. Because of this, overcoming a tough obstacle often involves leaning into other sources of power. That’s where Gems come into play.
As you find loot in Diablo 4, you may notice one or more empty circles on the icons of certain pieces of equipment. This means you can slot Gems onto them. You’ll naturally find Gems while you play, and at any point you can slot them onto any applicable equipment. This will give you gear powerful bonuses that can easily turn the tide of battle. For example, an Emerald can give a weapon extra Critical Strike damage against Vulnerable enemies, or it can add Thorns damage to a piece of armor.
Of course, gems come with a couple caveats. Though equipping a gem is easy, unsocketing a gem from a piece of equipment costs gold. Additionally, getting the most powerful Gems potentially involves sacrificing dozens of lesser quality Gems. All these systems will become apparent once you unlock the Jeweler.
How to unsocket Gems in Diablo 4
Once you progress far enough, you’ll unlock the Jeweler in every major hub city of Diablo 4. Here you can select any piece of gear with a Gem attached to it and remove it for a small fee. I highly recommend keeping all your Gems, even if you don’t think you need them anymore.
For much of the main campaign, applying and removing Gems really isn’t worth the hassle. Gold doesn’t come quite as easily as you might think, and you’ll swap out your gear too frequently to get much mileage out of the bonuses. Because of this, I’d recommend only slotting gems into your gear if you’re specifically struggling to defeat foes.
Once you reach roughly level 50, however, you’ll have a bit more gold to work with. Since your levels will slow sufficiently by this point and your challenges will become greater, I suggest leaning harder into your Gems for extra power. You might even save money if your Gems prevent deaths that would require you to repair your gear.
How crafting Gems works in Diablo 4
Gems come in a few varieties. Throughout your adventure, you’ll notice words like “Chipped” next to the Jewelry you find. Obviously, the less broken your Gem is, the more power it will pack. This is where crafting comes into play.
By visiting the Jeweler, you can take multiple gems of a certain condition and combine them into a single stronger Gem. This way, even the worst Gem you find can become useful. Unless you specifically need multiple copies of a certain type of Gem, I recommend fully crafting your Gem collection as much as you can. I personally like to put my Gems in storage, and when I’m looking to upgrade my gear, I craft as much Jewelry as I can before deciding which equipment I want to upgrade.
The Gem system will look familiar to longtime Diablo fans, but it’s surprisingly robust all the same. As you progress further into the Diablo 4 postgame, you can even opt to add Gem sockets to your equipment in exchange for rare materials. It’s a grind for sure, but the advantage you’ll gain is well worth the effort. Happy collecting!
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