How to Upgrade Gems in Path of Exile: A Comprehensive Guide
Upgrading gems in Path of Exile (PoE) is crucial to maximizing your character’s power. The game features a diverse range of skill and support gems, and improving them significantly enhances their effectiveness. In essence, gem upgrades revolve around increasing gem level and quality, along with certain corruption mechanics that can further enhance their capabilities. Gems gain experience while equipped and used, and reaching their maximum level makes the most of their potential. In short, you upgrade your gems in PoE primarily through:
- Leveling: Gems gain experience and increase in level as you defeat enemies while they are equipped.
- Quality: You can increase a gem’s quality using Gemcutter’s Prisms (GCPs), which enhance a gem’s secondary stat.
- Corruption: Using Vaal Orbs on gems can corrupt them and, potentially, give them beneficial effects such as an additional level or alternate quality.
- Gear Modifiers: Certain gear pieces can add bonus levels to the gems socketed in them.
Let’s delve into the details of each of these upgrade methods to equip you with the knowledge you need.
Gem Leveling: The Foundation of Power
How to Level Your Gems
The primary way to improve a gem is by leveling it. As you defeat enemies while a gem is socketed into your gear, it earns experience points. Once it earns enough, the gem will level up, and its associated skill will gain better statistics, such as increased damage, duration, area of effect, or other significant improvements. Most gems have a level cap of Level 20.
Gem Leveling Tips
- Active Usage: While it might seem obvious, make sure the gems you want to level are actively equipped in your active skill setup. Experience is only gained by the gems you are using.
- Experience Gain: The speed at which you gain experience does depend on where you’re battling, with higher-level monsters yielding more experience.
- Prioritize Key Gems: Focus on leveling the gems that directly contribute to your build’s main skills before working on others.
- Gem Leveling Supports: There are items and skills that provide increased gem experience. Utilizing these can significantly boost leveling speed.
- Don’t Forget Support Gems: While they don’t deal direct damage, support gems are equally as important, if not more so, to boost your main skills.
Gem Quality: Enhancing Secondary Stats
How Gem Quality Works
Gems, in addition to levels, have a quality stat. This stat, initially at 0%, can be increased to a maximum of 20% using Gemcutter’s Prisms (GCPs). Each percentage point of quality provides a small but beneficial effect. For a support gem, quality might increase the potency of its bonuses or reduce mana cost. For active skill gems, quality typically improves damage, range, or duration.
Maximizing Gem Quality
- Gemcutter’s Prisms (GCPs): These are the primary currency item for increasing gem quality. Each GCP adds a small amount of quality, so multiple uses will be necessary to reach 20%.
- Alternate Quality Gems: Certain alternate versions of gems can have unique quality bonuses that may better suit your build and strategy. Alternate Quality gems are obtained from Heist.
Gem Corruption: Risk and Reward
The Power of Vaal Orbs
Vaal Orbs are currency items used to corrupt other items. When used on a gem, they can produce one of four results:
- Nothing happens: This is the most common outcome, the gem is corrupted, and its quality cannot be increased further but otherwise remains unchanged.
- Gain One Level: A corrupted gem can have its level increased by one. If you have a level 20 gem, this could become level 21 which is the standard level cap increase for corrupted gems.
- Lose One Level: Conversely, the gem can lose a level.
- Alternate Quality: The gem can be changed into a corrupted alternate quality version.
When to Corrupt
- Level 20 Gems: Corrupting a level 20 gem is the most common practice. Successfully increasing to level 21 is highly valuable.
- Multiple Attempts: Due to the inherent randomness of Vaal Orbs, you might need to corrupt multiple copies of the same gem to get the desired result.
- Avoid Early Corruption: Unless a specific build demands it, it’s best to avoid corrupting gems you still plan on leveling, because you cannot use GCP on corrupted gems.
Bonus Gem Levels from Gear
Gear with + Levels to Gems
Some items can have modifiers that add extra levels to gems socketed into them. For instance, a wand, a bow, or a helmet might have “+1 to Level of Socketed Gems” or “+2 to Level of Socketed Support Gems.” This can effectively boost gem levels up to a maximum of level 40.
Planning Your Gear
- Build Synergies: When selecting gear, prioritize items that boost the level of the specific skills and support gems used in your build.
- Stacking Bonuses: The bonus levels from multiple items are added together, making it possible to reach high gem levels.
- Strategic Socketing: Be mindful of where you place your gems. A bow skill is boosted by “+2 to Level of Bow Gems” only when it is socketed in a bow.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the maximum level a gem can reach in PoE?
The standard level cap for most gems is Level 20. However, a corrupted gem can reach Level 21, and the addition of levels from gear can bring the maximum effective level to 40.
2. What happens when a gem reaches level 20?
Once a gem reaches level 20, it no longer gains experience through normal means. You have to corrupt it with a Vaal Orb to have a chance at achieving level 21.
3. What does gem quality do in PoE?
Gem quality improves the secondary stat of a gem. This can be a range of beneficial effects, such as damage boosts or reduced mana costs for skill gems, or support gems could improve the scaling of their bonuses.
4. How do I get Gemcutter’s Prisms (GCPs)?
Gemcutter’s Prisms are found as drops from monsters, in chests, or as rewards from various game content. They can also be purchased from other players.
5. Can corrupted gems still gain experience?
Yes, corrupted gems can still gain experience and can level up naturally like uncorrupted gems. However, corrupted gems can no longer have quality increased.
6. What is the purpose of corrupting a gem with a Vaal Orb?
Corrupting a gem with a Vaal Orb introduces randomness, and the gem can gain a level, lose a level, change to an alternate quality version, or remain the same apart from now being a corrupted gem.
7. Are there gems that are better to leave at low levels?
Yes. Some gems, like Arcane Surge and some Cast When Damage Taken setups, are sometimes more beneficial at lower levels, due to reduced mana costs or damage thresholds respectively.
8. Can I stack multiple of the same support gem?
No, you cannot stack multiple of the same support gem on the same active skill. Only one of that support gem will apply its benefits at a time and it will always be the stronger one.
9. What are awakened gems and how do they work?
Awakened gems are a special type of gem with a max level of 5, or 4 for Exceptional Awakened Gems. They often provide an additional effect at max level and are highly sought after due to their unique powerful benefits.
10. Should I sell my gems if they are not being used?
Gems are in plentiful supply in PoE, especially if you are exploring. It’s generally okay to sell extra gems you aren’t planning on using. They are more valuable on the player market than as resources for fusing other items.
11. What are alternate quality gems, and how can I obtain them?
Alternate quality gems provide unique bonuses with their quality stat. These gems can be obtained from Curio Display Rooms in Grand Heists.
12. How can I increase gem experience gain while leveling?
Certain items or skills can provide increased gem experience. Look for items with increased gem experience modifiers and try to focus on areas with higher level monsters to maximize your leveling speed.
13. What are some of the best builds in Path of Exile?
Some of the most effective builds in the current metagame include Hexblast Mine Saboteur, Lightning Arrow Deadeye, Toxic Rain Pathfinder, Boneshatter Juggernaut, Devouring Totem Pathfinder, and Righteous Fire Juggernaut. Note that these may change as the game is updated and new patches are introduced.
14. What is the best class for beginners in Path of Exile?
For new players, the Marauder (for melee) and the Templar (for both melee and magic) classes are recommended for their sturdiness and forgiving gameplay.
15. How can I avoid Corrupted Blood in Path of Exile?
You can avoid Corrupted Blood by equipping a jewel with the corrupted implicit modifier “Corrupted Blood cannot be inflicted on you” or by using a non-jewel Delve mod found in the Azurite Mine.
By using the comprehensive advice in this guide, you are now equipped to successfully upgrade your gems in Path of Exile. Keep in mind the strategic combinations of leveling, quality, corruption, and gear modifiers to maximize your build and overcome the challenges of the game!