Diablo 2 Resurrected gems guide: Tiers, properties, how to combine & remove

Lauren Bergin
diablo 2 resurrected gems guide feature image

Gems are a socketable item in Diablo 2 Resurrected that grant slight boosts to your character’s attributes. Here’s a rundown of every gem in the game, as well as how to go about combining them. 

The wartorn world of Diablo 2 Resurrected‘s Sanctuary is packed to bursting with unique gear and items to help you level up your chosen hero, kitting them out to slay the hordes of hell in style.

As you progress on your quest to take down Diablo and his tyrannical band of terrors, you’ll start to accumulate a whole collection of socketable gems, which can be added to your armor and weapons to grant stat boosts. There’s an awful lot of them, though, and they come in all different tiers.

So, here’s a rundown of all of the gems in Diablo 2 Resurrected, as well as how to combine them, remove them, and which work best for each class.


Contents


diablo 2 resurrected gems
Diablo 2 Resurrected’s gem system has undergone a few changes over the years.

Diablo 2 Resurrected gems: Tiers & properties

Diablo 2 Resurrected has seven different gem types (although one is a skull, so not really a gem), which are split into five different tiers. Chipped is the lowest of these, while Perfect is the highest.

Each gem type provides players with different attributes when socketed into different parts of your kit. So, placing a gem into your weapon will grant different attributes than if it’s welded into your body armor.

Below we’ve all of the different gems, as well as what bonuses each tier grants:

Amethyst

Quality Helm/Body Shield Weapon
Chipped +3 Strength +8 Defense +40 Attack Rating
Flawed +4 Strength +12 Defense +60 Attack Rating
Normal +6 Strength +18 Defense +80 Attack Rating
Flawless +8 Strength +24 Defense +100 Attack Rating
Perfect +10 Strength +30 Defense +120 Attack Rating

Diamond

Quality Helm/Body Shield Weapon
Chipped +20 Attack Rating +6% Resist All +28% Damage vs. Undead
Flawed +40 Attack Rating +8% Resist All +34% Damage vs. Undead
Normal +60 Attack Rating +11% Resist All +44% Damage vs. Undead
Flawless +80 Attack Rating +14% Resist All +54% Damage vs. Undead
Perfect +100 Attack Rating +19% Resist All +68% Damage vs. Undead

Emerald

Quality Helm/Body Shield Weapon
Chipped +3 Dexterity +12% Resist Poison +10 Poison Damage/3 sec
Flawed +4 Dexterity +16% Resist Poison +20 Poison Damage/4 sec
Normal +6 Dexterity +22% Resist Poison +40 Poison Damage/5 sec
Flawless +8 Dexterity +28% Resist Poison +60 Poison Damage/6 sec
Perfect +10 Dexterity +40% Resist Poison +100 Poison Damage/7 sec

Ruby

Quality Helm/Body Shield Weapon
Chipped +10 Life +12 Resist Fire +3-4 Fire Damage
Flawed +17 Life +16 Resist Fire +5-8 Fire Damage
Normal +24 Life +22 Resist Fire +8-12 Fire Damage
Flawless +31 Life +28 Resist Fire +10-16 Fire Damage
Perfect +38 Life +40 Resist Fire +15-20 Fire Damage

Sapphire

Quality Helm/Body Shield Weapon
Chipped +10 Maximum Mana +12% Resist Cold +1-3 Cold Damage
Flawed +17 Maximum Mana +16% Resist Cold +3-5 Cold Damage
Normal +24 Maximum Mana +22% Resist Cold +4-7 Cold Damage
Flawless +31 Maximum Mana +28% Resist Cold +6-10 Cold Damage
Perfect +38 Maximum Mana +40% Resist Cold +10-14 Cold Damage

Skull

Quality Helm/Body Shield Weapon
Chipped +2 Replenish Life
Regenerate Mana 8%
Attacker Takes 4 Damage Steals 2% Life, 1% Mana
Flawed +3 Replenish Life
Regenerate Mana 8%
Attacker Takes 8 Damage Steals 3% Life, 1% Mana
Normal +3 Replenish Life
Regenerate Mana 12%
Attacker Takes 12 Damage Steals 3% Life, 2% Mana
Flawless +4 Replenish Life
Regenerate Mana 12%
Attacker Takes 16 Damage Steals 4% Life, 3% Mana
Perfect +5 Replenish Life
Regenerate Mana 19%
Attacker Takes 20 Damage Steals 5% Life, 3% Mana

Topaz

Quality Helm/Body Shield Weapon
Chipped +9% Magic Find +12% Resist Lightning +1-8 Lightning Damage
Flawed +13% Magic Find +16% Resist Lightning +1-14 Lightning Damage
Normal +16% Magic Find +22% Resist Lightning +1-22 Lightning Damage
Flawless +20% Magic Find +28% Resist Lightning +1-30 Lightning Damage
Perfect +24% Magic Find +40% Resist Lightning +1-40 Lightning Damage

How to combine Gems in Diablo 2 Resurrected

As you progress through the early stages of the game, you’re more than likely going to end up with an inventory full of Chipped gems. Thankfully you’ll be able to combine these into one sparkling new Perfect gem using the elusive Horadric Cube.

You will be able to combine three gems of the same level to get one gem of the level higher. So, if you combine three Chipped rubies, you’ll receive one Flawed ruby and so on.

In order to do this:

  1. Open the Horadric Cube
  2. Place your three gems into the slots
  3. Click ‘Transmute

They can also be upgraded at Gem Shrines, which appear at random throughout the game. However, you can’t choose which gem is improved, and if you don’t have a gem in your inventory you’ll be gifted a random Chipped one.

Of these, the Horadric Cube is the more reliable method, but it’s always worth visiting a Gem Shrine when you find one.

Diablo 2 Resurrected character approaches a gem shrine
If you’re lucky enough to find a Gem Shrine, you’ll receive a free random upgrade.

Which Gems are best for each class?

It’s all fair and good having all of these sparkly treasures rattling around in your pocket, but just what ones are actually beneficial to your specific class?

Below we’ve listed each class, as well as the gem you’ll want to socket:

Class Gem Why?
Amazon Diamond

Emerald

Perfect for Shields as they grant resistance against all attack types.

If running Plagueazon, Emeralds add increased Dexterity and Poison Damage.

Assassin Amethyst Add Strength, Defense, or Attack Rating
Barbarian Amethyst

Ruby

Add Strength, Defense, or Attack Rating

Gives extra Life

Druid Sapphire Give extra maximum Mana, Cold Resistance, or Cold Damage
Necromancer Skull Provides Life/Regenerate Mana, damage to attacker (thorns), or dual leech of Steal Life and Steal Mana depending on socket.
Paladin Diamond Diamonds are perfect for Shields as they grant resistance against all attack types. Also grants the Paladin more Holy damage.
Sorceress Sapphire

Topaz

Ruby

Give extra maximum Mana, Cold Resistance, or Cold Damage. Perfect for any frost-based build.

If running Electric based build, Topaz provide Magic Find, Resist Lightning, or Lightning Damage

Provides extra Fire Damage if running Fireball Sorceress

How to remove gems in Diablo 2 Resurrected

Accidentally added a gem you shouldn’t have? Or have you simply found or crafted a more superior one? Removing gems in Diablo 2 Resurrected requires your Horadric Cube once more, as well as a few other ingredients.

To remove gems:

  1. Open the Horadric Cube
  2. Insert the socketed item, as well as a Hel Rune and a Scroll of Town Portal. 
    • Scrolls of Town Portal are relatively common and can be bought from most store NPCs in major cities.
    • The Hel Rune is much harder to get but can be obtained by defeating the Countess in Act 1 on Nightmare and above, or, alternatively, by completing Hell’s Forge on Hell.
  3. Hit ‘Transmute

Bear in mind that you will not get the socketed gem back. It is destroyed during the removal process – so make sure you really want rid of it!


So that’s everything you need to know about gems in Diablo 2 Resurrected! Looking to etch your name into Sanctuary’s history and send Hell’s finest fleeing? Check out our other Diablo 2 Resurrected guides:

Diablo 2: Best builds for Barbarian in Resurrected | Diablo 2 Amazon: Best builds for Resurrected | Diablo 2 Assassin: Best builds for Resurrected | Diablo 2 Druid: Best builds for Resurrected | Diablo 2 Necromancer: Best builds for Resurrected |  Diablo 2: Best builds for Paladin in Resurrected | Diablo 2 Sorceress: Best builds for Resurrected | Horadric Cube guide | Horadric Staff guide | How Diablo 2 Resurrected’s ladder system works | Best Runeword combinations

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About The Author

Lauren was formerly Dexerto's Features Editor and resident Diablo Sorceress. With two Master's degrees under her belt and a lot more Steam achievements, she specializes in all things Blizzard and Riot Games, with some Lost Ark and FFXIV on the side.