Gems

"Gem" redirects here. For the item, see Gem of True Sight.

Socketing-prev2 — An item with an Ethereal Gem, Prismatic Gem, Inscribed Gem, and an empty socket.

Gems are items that can be placed into sockets to alter or enhance a cosmetic item.

Acquiring Gems

Gems can be acquired by:

Opening a Treasure and acquiring a bundle with gems installed on it. When the bundle is unpacked the gems will be moved to a randomly selected output wearable. Spectator gems will be moved to all output wearables.
Opening a Locked Gemstone Cache.
Extracting them from an item that comes with Gems (using Artificer's Hammer and Unusual Artificer's Hammer).

Gem Types

Gem Type	Quality Granted	Hero-specific	Explanation
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	Unusual	No	These gems give the item an Unusual particle effect. They are only effective on Unusual couriers. Take care when hammering your unusual couriers.
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	-	No	These gems alter the color of an existing Unusual particle effect on the item.
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	-	Yes	These gems add or modify one or more new animations to the hero equipping the item. They are hero-specific.
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	Inscribed	Yes/No	These gems gives the item the ability to track in-game stats. Adding an Inscribed Gem changes the item's Quality to Inscribed.
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	-	No	These gems allow the item to track the number of games viewed in a certain league, tournament, or played by a certain team.
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	Ascendant	No	These gems are memorial items that tracked victories or gifts given during the Beta. Adding them to an item will display this record in the item's description.
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	Autographed	No	Autograph Runes contain digital signatures from professional players or community members. They are regarded as gems and can be placed into sockets. Adding them to an item will display the signature in the item's description.

Miscellaneous/Individual Gems

Gem	Quality Granted	Hero-specific	Explanation
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	Corrupted	No	This gems tracks the number of Demons Imprisoned, and gives an item Corrupted quality. It was released for Frostivus 2013.
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	Inscribed	Yes	This gem comes socketed with the Blades of Voth Domosh. It tracks Legion Commander's successful Duels, and displays a special in-game effect when winning a Duel.
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	Inscribed	Yes	This gem comes socketed with the Manifold Paradox. It tracks Phantom Assassin's completed contracts.
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	-	No	This gem comes with the ASUS ROG DreamLeague Season 1 ticket. It tracks following abilities: Dream Coil, Nightmare, Echo Stomp, Song of the Siren.
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	-	No	Once the dust has settled and the new champions have emerged, this gem will awaken alongside an emoticon to show off your support of The International and the competitors by displaying your Compendium level. It will increase in prestige as your Compendium does.
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	-	No	This gem tracks the number of consecutive victories predicted by using the Assured Victory Shout in-game. A missed prediction will cause the gem's counter to reset. High numbers of recorded consecutive victories will earn the player trophies in the Gallery of Triumphs.
	-	-	Not released "Roshan Gem".

Socketing

Gems can be placed in cosmetic items that have sockets. Most items can have a maximum of five sockets. Sockets can be viewed and modified inside the Armory by right-clicking an item.

Socket Types

Socket Type	Gems Held	Creating Socket
Ethereal	Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	Unusual couriers will always have one Ethereal socket.
Prismatic	Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	Unusual couriers will always have one Prismatic socket. Specific Arcana items will always have one Prismatic socket.
General	All Other Gems	Use an Artificer's Chisel to create an empty socket. Use an Artificer's Hammer to remove a gem, leaving an empty general socket. Some items come pre-fitted with the gem types listed in a general socket.

Removal and Replacement

Inserting a gem into a socket that already contains another gem will destroy the existing one. General gems can be extracted with an Artificer's Hammer, and Ethereal and Prismatic gems with a Master Artificer's Hammer. Using a Master Artificer's Hammer on an Unusual courier/Arcana will destroy the courier/arcana.

Tools

Tool	Explanation	Availability
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	A magical chisel used to add sockets to items. This chisel creates general sockets.	Purchase Drop Unbox Craft
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	A powerful enchanted hammer used to extract gems that have been socketed into items. This hammer cannot be used on unusual couriers.	Purchase Drop Unbox Craft
Template:Single-hero cosmetic item nav/item	A powerful enchanted hammer used to extract gems that have been socketed into unusual couriers or Arcanas which come with prismatic gems. This item will destroy the courier or the arcana it is used on.	Purchase Drop Unbox Craft

Gem Packs

Main Article: Gem Pack

Gem Packs are bundles that were given out on November 14, 2013 to replace Strange Modifiers and Unusual Paints. They contain a gem with the corresponding effect, as well as an Artificer's Chisel to create a socket.

Quality Changes

needs user testing and confirmation -Lemon

Gems will change the Quality of an item. In the event of a conflict with an item's existing quality, a priority is followed. Higher priority qualities take precedence.

Example 1: Socketing an Inscribed item with an Autograph Rune will change the item's quality to Autographed.
Example 2: Socketing a Genuine item with an Autograph Rune will not change the item's quality.

Quality	Priority
Genuine, Elder, Self-Made	1
Unusual	2
Autographed	3
Ascendant	4
Heroic	5
Inscribed	6
All other qualities	-