Weapons and Armor Gem Perks Guide
Table of Contents
Gems Guide
Gems in New World are part of a complex armor and weapons perk system and give character equipment customization a traditional and classic MMO feel. In this guide we are going to walk through all 14 gems that are currently in New World, speak to how they are obtained, as well as categorize them in a digestible way. The gem system in New World can be confusing for new and experienced players alike, so this guide will bring us up to speed.
Gems are powerful and rare stones in New World that give players the ability to boost the effectiveness of their equipment. To acquire a gem, a player will need to mine precious metals around Aeternum like silver, gold, and platinum. Mining these veins has the chance to drop an uncut and rough version of a particular gem. Once a player has acquired an uncut gem, like the Flawed Amber, they will need to use the stonecutting workbench to cut the gem, preparing it for socketing: Cut Flawed Amber.
Each gem in New World provides a player with two different perks. One perk is obtainable when a gem is socketed into a weapon, and the other is claimed when a gem is socketed into armor or accessories. Each gem also has four rarity tiers. For example, the sapphire gem tiers are listed below with tooltips:
II) Sapphire
III) Brilliant Sapphire
As the tier of gem increases, so does the power of its perks.
Weapon Gem Perks
When socketed into weapons, all 14 gems will give the player a unique and specific perk. To simplify and make these weapon gem perks more digestible and memorable, 4 arbitrary categories were created that give each of the gems its own place. These categories are:
- Intelligence Scaling Gems
- Focus Scaling Gems
- Damage Gems
- Miscellaneous Gems
Intelligence Scaling Gems
When socketed into a weapon, intelligence scaling gems will convert a portion of the weapons damage into a type of elemental damage. With this conversion, the gem will also allow that elemental damage to scale off of intelligence if it is the player’s main attribute is intelligence (the weapon will scale normally if not). The intelligence scaling gems are as follows:
For example, if a greataxe player wanted to use the ice gauntlet, they may decide to put all of their attribute points into intelligence in order to increase the damage of the ice gauntlet. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t benefit the greataxe at all since it fully scales off of strength and nothing else. In order to partially remedy the situation, the player could place an intelligence scaling gem into the greataxe, taking a portion of the weapon damage (up to 50% with tier V gem) and scaling that weapon damage off of intelligence. The leftover portion would scale off of strength like normal.
Players should note that placing an intelligence scaling gem into a weapon when intelligence is not the primary attribute will only add elemental damage to the weapon. If intelligence is not the primary attribute, the weapon will scale normally.
Focus Scaling Gems
When socketed into a weapon, focus scaling gems will convert a portion of the weapons damage into a type of elemental damage. With this conversion, the gem will also allow that elemental damage to scale off of focus if it is the player’s main attribute is focus (the weapon will scale normally if not). The only focus gem currently in the game is the Amber gem:
Again, players should note that placing a focus scaling gem into a weapon when focus is not the primary attribute will only add elemental damage to the weapon. If focus is not the primary attribute, the weapon will scale normally.
Damage Gems
Other than the Carnelian gem (in miscellaneous gems), the rest of the gems when slotted into weapons give perks that amplify the damage of the weapon. These perks activate in specific and unique mobility and combat situations, allowing players to customize how they would like to play their game.
Miscellaneous Gems
The only miscellaneous gem that is currently in the game is the Carnelian. When socketed into equipment, the Carnelian gem gives perks related to threat generation. When slotted into weapons, the user will generate more threat.
Armor Gem Perks
Same as the weapon gem perks, when each of the 14 available gems are socketed into armor, they give the player a unique and specific perk. Armor gem perks fall under 3 categories. These categories are:
- Elemental Mitigation Gems
- Physical Mitigation Gems
- Miscellaneous Gems
Elemental Mitigation Gems
The first 6 elemental mitigation gem perks work to protect a player from incoming damage of a particular element. To make things easier, these gems protect against the exact same element that they grant when socketed into weapons. This makes it much easier to remember since a player will only need to remember the specific element that is tied to each gem to understand the perk for both weapons and armor. For example, the ruby gives a damage mitigation bonus against fire when socketed into a piece of armor or an accessory, while giving the player fire damage when socketed into a weapon.
Physical Mitigation Gems
Like the first 6 elemental mitigation gems, the first 3 physical mitigation gems offer protection from each type of physical damage present in New World, Slash, Strike, and Thrust. The last 2 gems, (Diamond and Onyx), offer a similar holistic approach to physical damage mitigation like the Malachite and Opal do for elemental mitigation. While socketed into armor, the Diamond and Onyx give primary protections versus Slash, Strike, and Thrust.
