View source for Gems

{{Item_navbox}}Functionless on their own, '''gems''' possess great power when utilized with a [[weapon]], [[shield]], or [[helm]], bestowing potent [[magic]]al enchantments upon the [[item]] and its wearer. [[Socket]]ed [[armor]] is added in the [[Expansion]], but all items have identical stats in either armor or helms. Gems, once socketed, add special bonuses to the items. Considering that the bonuses of even perfect gems cease to amaze at a certain point, they are probably best hoarded for crafting in various [[Horadric Cube]] recipes.


==Gem Varieties==
There are seven different types of gems:
* [[Amethyst]]s
* [[Diamond]]s
* [[Emerald]]s
* [[Ruby|Rubies]]
* [[Sapphire]]s
* [[Topaz]]es
* [[Skulls]]

All have different effects depending on what sort of item they are "socketed" in.  There are five levels of quality for gems: from worst to best they are:
* Chipped
* Flawed
* Normal (simply called by the gem type in the game, i.e. "ruby")
* Flawless
* Perfect
Gems can not be bought, only found, though this changed several times during development.  Better quality gems are found as you progress in the game.

* In Diablo II the system is rigid: Chipped gems show up in [[Act I]] and [[Act II]] and Flawed in [[Act III]] and [[Act IV]], with very rare exceptions of [[monster]]s ([[High Council]] usually) dropping Normals. In [[Nightmare]] and [[Hell]] all gems dropped are normal.
* In the expansion there is more variety. Gem quality dropped is based on [[Mlvl]], and though it progresses at about the same rate, you can find some Normal gems in [[Act IV]] and [[Act V]], and can even rarely come across Flawless gems.  By late Nightmare nearly every gem dropped is Flawless, and this continues through Hell, though some lower quality, usually chipped, will still drop from time to time. Perfect gems are never dropped, though one may be found as a reward for the [[Quests_Act_Four#Quest_Two:_The_Hellforge|Hellforge]] Quest.

==Socketed Items==
Only [[weapon]]s, [[helm]]s, [[shield]]s and [[body armor]] can have sockets, with [[body armor]] being the new addition to the list in the [[Expansion]].  No [[boot]]s, [[glove]]s, [[belt]]s, or [[jewelry]] will ever be [[socket]]ed, and this includes [[Uniques]].

* The number of sockets is fixed in Diablo II, all helms have 2, and all shields and weapons have 3, unless the item is only 2 spaces tall in inventory (bucklers, daggers) in which case it has two sockets.
* In the Expansion items can vary in their number of sockets. Helms can have from 1-4, Body armor 1-4, weapons 1-6, and shields 1-4.  Full details elsewhere in the [[Items]] section. 

Once a gem is inserted into a socket, it is there forever, and can't be upgraded in quality, so be sure you want to put a gem in before you do.  However, there is a [[Cube Recipes|Horadric cube recipe]] which will allow a player to remove items from a socketed weapon.  The items within the sockets are destroyed in the process.

In Diablo II only [[normal]] items are socketed, and you can find or buy them.

In the [[Expansion]] you can only buy [[magic]]al equipment, so you can never buy anything socketed from the [[NPCs]] (unless someone else in your game sells a socketed item, and you then buy it from the NPC).  Sockets can be found on normal or [[superior]] items, and can be made in magical, [[rare]], [[unique]], and [[set]] items, either with [[Horadric Cube]] recipes, or as an [[Act Five]] quest reward.  The maximum number of sockets is never more than the spaces an item takes up in inventory, and you can only get 1 socket in Rares, and only one or sometimes two in Sets and Uniques.  Two or sometimes three in magical items.

==Upgrading Gems==
Three gems of the same type and quality combine in the [[Horadric Cube]] to upgrade one level of quality.

Gem shrines are found only rarely, but they are worth preparing for and using, as they'll upgrade one gem from your inventory one level. It's best to carry around a flawless gem of whatever type you want upgraded and be sure it's the only gem in your inventory when you click the shrine. If you don't have any gems, or only have perfect gems, one random chipped gem will be dropped.

==Gem Effects==
So what do gems do?  Their effects vary, but are logical: Gems placed into weapons generally add [[damage]], while gems in [[shield]]s provide [[resistance]], and gems in [[helms]]/[[body armor|armor]] add to [[hit points]] or other [[attribute]]s.  Exactly how much benefit a socketed gem provides depends on the quality of the gem.

[[Image:gemmed-hat.jpg|left]]You can see how gems look in an item here in this shot.  The [[socket]]s display down the left side of the image for all socketed items, and if they are filled the gem is visible there, rather than an empty hole.   Socketed items in the game appear brightly-coloured, and their appearance is based on the first gem socketed. An item with an [[Amethyst]] first, then two [[Emerald]]s will be purple, not green.

The bonuses from gems of the same type stack, so if you had two [[Ruby|rubies]] in a sword, the [[fire]] damage would be added together. It is arithmetic, never geometric, so if you had say three [[sapphire]]s, all of them chilling for 3 seconds, you wouldn't move up to freezing the monster, you'd just chill it for longer. The same goes for other gems. For example rubies add fire damage to your attack. Three perfect rubies would do a lot of fire damage, but they wouldn't create a small firewall under the monster.

Gems in shields do nothing for the Paladin's Smite attack.

==Gem Stats (Expansion)==

===Amethyst===
{{:Amethyst}}


===Diamond===
{{:Diamond}}


===Emerald===
{{:Emerald}}


===Ruby===
{{:Ruby}}


===Sapphire===
{{:Sapphire}}


===Topaz===
{{:Topaz}}


===Skulls===
{{:Skulls}}


==Gem Stats (Classic)==

===Amethyst===
{| width="95%"
! width=10% | Quality
!
! Weapon
! Helm or Armor
! Shield
! Sell Price
! Clvl Req
|-
| Chipped
| class="red" | [[Image:amethyst-chipped.gif]]
| +40 to Attack Rating
| +3 to Strength
| +5 to Defense
| 125
| 1
|-
| Flawed
| class="red" | [[Image:amethyst-flawed.gif]]
| +60 to Attack Rating
| +4 to Strength
| +7 to Defense
| 375
| 5
|-
| Normal
| class="red" | [[Image:amethyst-normal.gif]]
| +80 to Attack Rating
| +5 to Strength
| +9 to Defense
| 1250
| 12
|-
| Flawless
| class="red" | [[Image:amethyst-flawless.gif]]
| +100 to Attack Rating
| +7 to Strength
| +12 to Defense
| 3750
| 15
|-
| Perfect
| class="red" | [[Image:amethyst-perfect.gif]]
| +150 to Attack Rating
| +9 to Strength
| +16 to Defense
| 7500
| 18
|}


===Diamond===
{| width="95%"
! width=10% | Quality
!
! Weapon
! Helm or Armor
! Shield
! Sell Price
! Clvl Req
|-
| Chipped
| class="red" | [[Image:diamond-chipped.gif]]
| +28% damage vs. the undead
| +10 to Attack Rating
| +5% Resistance to All
| 125
| 1
|-
| Flawed
| class="red" | [[Image:diamond-flawed.gif]]
| +34% damage vs. the undead
| +15 to Attack Rating
| +7% Resistance to All
| 375
| 5
|-
| Normal
| class="red" | [[Image:diamond-normal.gif]]
| +44% damage vs. the undead
| +20 to Attack Rating
| +10% Resistance to All
| 1250
| 12
|-
| Flawless
| class="red" | [[Image:diamond-flawless.gif]]
| +54% damage vs. the undead
| +25 to Attack Rating
| +14% Resistance to All
| 3750
| 15
|-
| Perfect
| class="red" | [[Image:diamond-perfect.gif]]
| +69% damage vs. the undead
| +30 to Attack Rating
| +19% Resistance to All
| 7500
| 18
|}


===Emerald===
{| width="95%"
! width=10% | Quality
!
! Weapon
! Helm or Armor
! Shield
! Sell Price
! Clvl Req
|-
| Chipped
| class="red" | [[Image:emerald-chipped.gif]]
| Adds 5 (5.9) poison damage in 1 sec
| +3 to Dexterity
| +11% poison resistance
| 125
| 1
|-
| Flawed
| class="red" | [[Image:emerald-flawed.gif]]
| Adds 11 (11.7) poison damage in 1 sec
| +4 to Dexterity
| +15% poison resistance
| 375
| 5
|-
| Normal
| class="red" | [[Image:emerald-normal.gif]]
| Adds 17 (17.6) poison damage in 1 sec
| +5 to Dexterity
| +19% poison resistance
| 1250
| 12
|-
| Flawless
| class="red" | [[Image:emerald-flawless.gif]]
| Adds 23 (23.4) poison damage in 1 sec
| +7 to Dexterity
| +24% poison resistance
| 3750
| 15
|-
| Perfect
| class="red" | [[Image:emerald-perfect.gif]]
| Adds 29 (29.3) poison damage in 1 sec
| +9 to Dexterity
| +29 poison resistance
| 7500
| 18
|}


===Ruby===
{| width="95%"
! width=10% | Quality
!
! Weapon
! Helm or Armor
! Shield
! Sell Price
! Clvl Req
|-
| Chipped
| class="red" | [[Image:ruby-chipped.gif]]
| +3 fire damage
| +6-8 to maximum life
| +11% fire resistance
| 125
| 1
|-
| Flawed
| class="red" | [[Image:ruby-flawed.gif]]
| +4 to fire damage
| +10 to maximum life
| +15% to Fire Resistance
| 375
| 5
|-
| Normal
| class="red" | [[Image:ruby-normal.gif]]
| +4 to fire damage
| +14 to maximum life
| +19% fire resistance
| 1250
| 12
|-
| Flawless
| class="red" | [[Image:ruby-flawless.gif]]
| +5 to fire damage
| +19 to maximum life
| +24% fire resistance
| 3750
| 15
|-
| Perfect
| class="red" | [[Image:ruby-perfect.gif]]
| +6-7, 6-8, or 6-9 fire damage
| +24 to maximum life
| +29% fire resistance
| 7500
| 18
|}


===Sapphire===
{| width="95%"
! width=10% | Quality
!
! Weapon
! Helm or Armor
! Shield
! Sell Price
! Clvl Req
|-
| Chipped
| class="red" | [[Image:sapphire-chipped.gif]]
| +1-2 cold damage<br> 1 second cold time
| +7 to maximum mana
| +11% cold resistance
| 125
| 1
|-
| Flawed
| class="red" | [[Image:sapphire-flawed.gif]]
| +1-2 cold damage<br> 1.4 second cold time
| +10 to maximum mana
| +15% to cold resistance
| 375
| 5
|-
| Normal
| class="red" | [[Image:sapphire-normal.gif]]
| +2-3 cold damage<br> 2 second cold time
| +14 to maximum mana
| +19% to cold resistance
| 1250
| 12
|-
| Flawless
| class="red" | [[Image:sapphire-flawless.gif]]
| +3-4 cold damage<br> 2.4 second cold time
| +19 to maximum mana
| +24% to cold resistance
| 3750
| 15
|-
| Perfect
| class="red" | [[Image:sapphire-perfect.gif]]
| +3-6 cold damage<br> 3 second cold time
| +24 to maximum mana
| +29% to cold resistance
| 7500
| 18
|}


===Topaz===
{| width="95%"
! width=10% | Quality
!
! Weapon
! Helm or Armor
! Shield
! Sale Price
! Clvl Req
|-
| Chipped
| class="red" | [[Image:topaz-chipped.gif]]
| +1-6 Lightning Damage
| +9% chance to find magical items
| +11% Lightning Resistance
| 125
| 1
|-
| Flawed
| class="red" | [[Image:topaz-flawed.gif]]
| +1-7 Lightning Damage
| +12% chance to find magical items
| +15% Lightning Resistance
| 375
| 5
|-
| Normal
| class="red" | [[Image:topaz-normal.gif]]
| +1-8 Lightning Damage
| +16% chance to find magical items
| +19% Lightning Resistance
| 1250
| 12
|-
| Flawless
| class="red" | [[Image:topaz-flawless.gif]]
| +1-10 Lightning Damage
| +20% chance to find magical items
| +24% Lightning Resistance
| 3750
| 15
|-
| Perfect
| class="red" | [[Image:topaz-perfect.gif]]
| +1-12, 1-13, or 1-14 Lightning Damage
| +24% chance to find magical items
| +29% Lightning Resistance
| 7500
| 18
|}


===Skulls===
{| width="95%"
! width=10% | Quality
!
! Weapon
! Helm or Armor
! Shield
! Sell Price
! Clvl Req
|-
| Chipped
| class="red" | [[Image:skull-chipped.gif]]
| Steals 2% life and<br> 1% mana per hit
| +2 Replenish life and <br> +9% mana regeneration rate.
| Attacker takes<br> damage of 2
| 250
| 1
|-
| Flawed
| class="red" | [[Image:skull-flawed.gif|skull-flawed.gif (1424 bytes)]]
| Steals 2% life and<br> 2% mana per hit
| +3 Replenish life and<br> +8% mana regeneration rate.
| Attacker takes<br> damage of 3
| 750
| 5
|-
| Normal
| class="red" | [[Image:skull-normal.gif]]
| Steals 3% life and<br> 2% mana per hit
| +3 Replenish life and<br> +12% mana regeneration rate.
| Attacker takes<br> damage of 4
| 2500
| 12
|-
| Flawless
| class="red" | [[Image:skull-flawless.gif]]
| Steals 3% life and<br> 3% mana per hit
| +4 Replenish life +4 and<br> +12% mana regeneration rate.
| Attacker takes<br> damage of 5
| 7500
| 15
|-
| Perfect
| class="red" | [[Image:skull-perfect.gif]]
| Steals 4% life and<br> 3% mana per hit
| +5 Replenish life +5 and<br> +19% mana regeneration rate.
| Attacker takes<br> damage of 6-7
| 25000
| 18
|}






[[Category:Items]]