With only two weeks remaining until Diablo 4 Season 13, you might be tempted to look ahead to the new season and its upcoming expansion, foregoing the completion of Season 12.

However, building a powerful Season 12 character, and doing so without any regrets, is a rewarding endeavor in its own right.

To achieve this, continuously upgrading your gear is paramount. Once you reach the maximum level, gear, alongside your Paragon Board configuration, becomes the core factor determining your character's overall strength.

Diablo 4 offers numerous methods for enhancing your gear; among them, socketing gems into your equipment stands out as a relatively low-difficulty option that yields excellent returns.

In this guide, we will introduce you to the specific functions of these gems and the most effective ways to farm them.

What are Diablo 4 gems?

While gems are a common feature in the item systems of many ARPGs, in Diablo 4, they function specifically as magical artifacts that can be socketed directly into your gear.

There are seven distinct types of Diablo 4 gems, each type is further subdivided into five different tiers. Naturally, the higher the tier, the greater the statistical bonuses provided.

Each type of gem provides specific bonus effects depending on whether it is socketed into a weapon, armor, or jewelry slot:

(Chipped/Base/Flawless/Royal/Grand) Amethyst:

• Weapon: + Damage Over Time
• Armor: + Barrier Generation
• Jewelry: + Shadow Resistance

(Chipped/Base/Flawless/Royal/Grand) Diamond:

• Weapon: + Ultimate Damage
• Armor: + All Stats
• Jewelry: + Resistance to All Elements

(Chipped/Base/Flawless/Royal/Grand) Emerald:

• Weapon: + Critical Strike Damage
• Armor: + Dexterity
• Jewelry: + Poison Resistance

(Chipped/Base/Flawless/Royal/Grand) Ruby:

• Weapon: + Overpower Damage
• Armor: + Strength
• Jewelry: + Fire Resistance

(Chipped/Base/Flawless/Royal/Grand) Sapphire:

• Weapon: + Vulnerable Damage
• Armor: + Willpower
• Jewelry: + Cold Resistance

(Chipped/Base/Flawless/Royal/Grand) Topaz:

• Weapon: + Basic Damage
• Armor: + Intelligence
• Jewelry: + Lightning Resistance

(Chipped/Base/Flawless/Royal/Grand) Skull:

• Weapon: + Life on Kill
• Armor: + Healing Received
• Jewelry: + Armor

How to obtain gems?

Generally speaking, gems in Diablo 4 do not drop as complete, single units. Instead, you will primarily farm gem fragments and then visit Jeweler to craft them into the final finished gems.

However, if you don't want to consume extra time farming and would prefer to acquire the gems you desire instantly, the best option is to buy Diablo 4 gems at IGGM!

How to farm gem fragments?

There are many sources for gem fragments in Diablo 4; however, not all of them are equally reliable.

Therefore, we recommend prioritizing the farming of Infernal Hordes Chests, Augment Caches, specific Whispers Caches, and Gem Caches that may be awarded from side quests.

The specific methods for obtaining each type of chest/cache are as follows:

• Infernal Hordes Chest: Collect a sufficient amount of Burning Aether during combat encounters to exchange for the chest.
• Augment Cache: Unlock Bartering System at The Den by reaching Affinity Level 8 with the mercenary Aldkin, then exchange for the cache.
• Greater Cache of Gem Fragments and Greater Collection of Materials: Complete the bounty quests issued by Tree of Whispers, then redeem them using Grim Favors you have earned.
• Gem Cache: Complete various side quests.

In addition to being used to craft gems, fragments can, in certain seasons, also be used to craft specific Jewelry Caches, Incense, or other consumables.

How to craft gems?

Once you have obtained enough fragments, and paired them with a sufficient amount of gold or Forgotten Souls, you can craft gems at Jeweler. The material requirements for crafting each tier of gem are as follows:

• Chipped: 10 gem fragments and 1,000 Gold
• Base: 100 gem fragments and 10,000 Gold
• Flawless: 1,000 gem fragments and 100,000 Gold
• Royal: 10,000 gem fragments and 1,000,000 Gold
• Grand: 100,000 gem fragments, 30 Forgotten Souls, and 10,000,000 Gold

Gold can be obtained from most events or dungeons in Diablo 4. As for Forgotten Souls, their drop sources include (specifically on Torment difficulty settings):

• Salvaging Ancestral items
• Legion Events
• Helltides
• Tree of Whispers
• Infernal Hordes
• Undercity of Kurast

It is worth noting that, aside from standard crafting, you can also exchange 100 fragments each of three different gem types for 200 fragments of a fourth type. This is particularly useful when your inventory of gem fragments is unbalanced.

Gems can be replaced/removed/salvaged

Since gear sockets are limited, once you have crafted higher-tier gems, you will naturally want to use them to replace your lower-tier ones. You can do this simply by performing a direct swap; the gem being replaced will be returned to your inventory.

If you decide you no longer wish to have any gems socketed, you can simply unsocket them from the gear slot, and the embedded gem will be removed. Furthermore, neither replacing nor removing gems requires the consumption of any additional materials.

In the late stages of a season, once your character is sufficiently advanced, those removed or replaced lower-tier gems will probably no longer serve any purpose for you.

At this point, you can choose to salvage them to avoid cluttering your inventory space. However, salvaging a gem will only refund the fragments you originally used to craft it; gold and Forgotten Souls are not included in the return.

Which gems should you prioritize obtaining?

Regardless of the type, Grand-tier gems are undoubtedly the best choice, as they provide the highest stat bonuses. And now, nearing the end of the season, you should have ample materials on hand to craft Grand gems.

Therefore, the best strategy is to take a gradual approach: as you progress through the game, make sure to timely salvage your old gems and craft new ones to equip.

With this in mind, Grand Ruby and Grand Emerald are particularly popular choices in Season 12, as their stat bonuses are highly effective at countering most bosses.

The above covers all the essential information you need to know regarding gem acquisition in S12. Barring any major class-specific reworks, these guidelines are expected to remain just as valid for Season 13!

On April 13, the development team behind WoW TBC Classic Anniversary released a short blue post that unveiled a startling adjustment. This change directly targets dungeon boosting and potentially solo dungeon farming, effectively dismantling both practices.

Prior to this, the team had already adjusted related mechanics on the eve of The Burning Crusade's launch, aiming to stop players from using spell cleave compositions to rush from level 60 to 70. However, those efforts had limited success. Now, they have introduced a change that truly puts an end to boosting.

Official Statement

In their announcement, the team noted that they had observed a large number of Burning Crusade players entering dungeons without engaging in meaningful gameplay - often just one party member clearing the entire instance. This phenomenon, they stated, could lead to detrimental economic effects and other issues. As a result, they implemented a series of hotfixes to address the problem.

Simply put, this targets players who were being boosted. Previously, you could join dungeons like Slave Pens or Shadow Labyrinth, do nothing, and let one or two Mages cast Blizzard while you gained levels.

This practice had become extremely popular since 2019. Players even organized dedicated Discord communities offering full boosting services from level 8 to 60, covering instances such as Shadowfang Keep, Scarlet Monastery, and Maraudon. Now, the team is cracking down on exactly these services.

Specific Changes

The adjustment consists of two key points. First, the condition for earning experience has changed. Players must now actively participate in combat to receive Experience Points (XP) from a dungeon. In other words, if you have not attacked a single monster, you will not gain any XP.

Second, the number of loot drops has been adjusted. In higher-level dungeons, the amount of loot dropped by non-boss enemies will depend on how many players actually participated in defeating them. It is presumed that loot will dynamically scale based on the number of combatants. For a normal five-player group, this change will be imperceptible - the vast majority of players who engage with dungeons in the conventional way will not notice any difference.

Impact of the Changes

This adjustment will effectively curb boosting in high-end dungeons. Instances such as Slave Pens, Shattered Halls, and The Steamvault will be hit the hardest. These dungeons have been very popular farming spots because they offer large amounts of XP, reputation, and WoW TBC Classic Anniversary gold.

It remains unclear whether classic high-level dungeons like Stratholme and Scholomance will also be affected. However, during PTR, players noticed that monsters now apply a daze effect, forcing groups to reduce the number of mobs pulled at once. This has already led to a modest reduction in gold earnings.

Additionally, because loot drops have been nerfed, it is foreseeable that reputation items such as Mark of Sargeras and Fel Armament will see their market value rise.

These materials, sourced from high-level dungeons, will probably begin increasing in value after tomorrow's reset. If you need to stock up, the sooner the better.

Solo Farming

The most controversial aspect of this change is the second point, as solo farming may face a devastating blow. Many players rely on running dungeons alone to obtain materials like Runecloth and Arcane Tomes. If these higher-level dungeons are also included in the restrictions, then players who are genuinely engaging with the game - trying to gear up - will be penalized.

Player Reactions

Some players believe the team is indirectly pushing people toward the level-58 boost service. However, lower-level boosting had already been limited by previous changes: a level 70 character cannot boost someone from 1 to 60, and a level 60 character can only cover the 50–60 range.

Many others argue that the real problem lies with gold buyers. Without them, bots would not exist. Yet, if enforcement becomes too widespread, a large portion of the player base might end up penalized.

Overall, players support restricting dungeon boosting for leveling purposes. When a large number of players simply AFK their way to level 70 without actually playing the game, it harms the game's ecosystem. The bot problem has already spiraled out of control, and boosting has been the primary service players sought to acquire with their WoW TBC Classic Anniversary gold. With GDKP already banned, this adjustment may further curb gold trading.

However, limiting loot drops for solo farming is widely seen as a poor decision. Not only do some players lack a fixed group and rely on solo farming for gear and materials, but this change will also reduce item availability, slowing down character progression. With Phase 2 on the horizon, such an adjustment could disrupt the game environment.

The biggest question right now is: which dungeons are defined as high-level? Does this include only The Burning Crusade dungeons? Or does it also cover level-60 classic high-level dungeons? The team needs to provide a clear list. If the scope includes level 50–60 dungeons, it will spark even greater controversy.