Now with 100% chance to socket!
In Maelstrom, the lunagem system has received a complete overhaul to allow for the guaranteed socketing of gems! Going forward, everyone will have the ability to fully gem their gear with no worry of losing their progress. If you’re ready to gem up, earn yourself some honor to get started once 4.0 releases on the 13th.
What Is Happening To Old Gems?
Here’s a helpful chart that shows off the new set of gem stats and the changes to where they can be socketed. If you do not see one of the pre-4.0 gems in this chart, then it will no longer be able to be crafted or upgraded once 4.0 hits.
Lunascales will not be able to be crafted in 4.0 either, but all old gems will remain socketable alongside the new gems. It will cost 500 Labor to socket a new gem. Old and new gems alike may also be unsocketed using a Mornstone (price change: 2400 Honor) and 500 Labor. The potential failure-to-socket functionality of the old gems still exists, which would remove all gems on the gear, including new gems. We suggest socketing old gems first, and then the new gems to avoid this horrible fate.
We had lobbied for old gems to be salvageable once Maelstrom arrives, however the developers at XL decided not to provide this feature. We know it would be preferable to allow for salvaging, so we’ll continue to advocate for that change.
Also, there are no changes to Lunafrosts in Maelstrom, or to the functionality of Hero gems – though the stats for Hero gems have changed. Hero gems will also be unsocketable.
How To Make New Gems
If you’re looking to start crafting a new T1 gem, be sure you’ve got 10,000 Honor, then check out the Honor Shop. To upgrade a T1 into a T2 head over to your nearest Handicraft Bench. T3 gems have not been released in the Korean build, so NA/EU will have to wait for those as well.
Lunarite is still used to upgrade the new gems and can be most commonly found in the following places:
- Fireglow/Waveglow/Copperglow – Metallic Chests, Treasure Chests found with Treasure Maps
- Galeglow – Mistsong Reticule, Mistsong Orb
- Sunglow – Lord’s coin + 50 labor
- Earthglow – Prestige shop
In 4.0 there will only be two tiers of Lunarite – Fine(T1) and Superior(T2). All pre-Maelstrom Lunarite converts to the new Lunarite in your inventory. Any 1:1 conversion will happen automatically when you log in after patching.
The current tiers will transform and convert in the following way:
How Do New Gems Work?
The new gems will 100% socket, without a chance to fail like the old gems. Because everyone will have the ability to ‘full gem’ without any RNG, the new gems will cost 500 Labor and more gold than the previous system. The cost in the old system was quite variable due to the RNG failure, and having to recreate and re-gem your gear upon failure. This rebalancing of cost is made in consideration of the old system costs and new lack of RNG.
There are six categories of gems, each of which can be uncloaked to select specific stats and socket placement. Gems can only be upgraded in their cloaked state — but don’t worry, all new gems can re-cloaked using a Transmuter. If you’d like to extract them, it’ll cost you a Mornstone and 500 Labor as previously stated. They may be re-socketed into different gear, or even into the same gear after you’ve upgraded it. If you’re looking to make some gold, you can even trade or sell them on the Auction House!
The new Maelstrom gem system overhaul has removed the RNG in favor of a more stable system and allows all players to reach their full-gem potential.
May your pants be fully-gemmed.
– The ArcheAge Team