In Enshrouded 1.0, each gem grants a weapon a passive benefit. Effects include triggering a fire blast when you land after gliding, giving you ice armor while blocking, or making orbs appear to restore your Shroud timer. A gem has no effect unless installed in a weapon’s gem slot, and all gem operations take place at a Gem Forge. Every forge operation uses Archaic Essence, and each forge has its own maximum gem level.
Quick answer: Finish the Alchemist’s “Finding and Using a Gem Forge” quest. Then, at any Gem Forge, choose “Forge weapon gems,” select a weapon’s Empty Gem Slot, and pay with that forge’s tier of Archaic Essence.
Unlock Gem Forges through the Alchemist quest
Every Gem Forge stays inactive until the Alchemist shows you how to use it. If you find a forge on your own first, you can’t use it yet. At your base, talk to the Alchemist and pick the “About Weapon Gems” dialogue option, which has a red exclamation point next to it. That starts Finding and Using a Gem Forge, and the quest sends you to the forge in the Low Meadows.
That first forge is about 280 meters south of Wistful Fields. Clear the enemies around it, follow the Fell trail into the nearby Shroud Lair, and defeat the Fell Banshee inside. The quest rewards a Gem of Bleeding, a starting stack of Archaic Essence, and 150 XP, so you have everything you need for your first socket. The Shroud Gazers in that Lair also drop more of the same essence.
Finishing the quest adds every Gem Forge to the map as a point of interest. There are three in each region: two in the open Shroud and one within a Night Sanctum, where the level cap is higher. Since most forges are in the Shroud, monitor your Shroud timer as you travel to them.
How to socket a gem into a weapon
Only weapons with a gem slot can take a gem, and not every weapon has one. Since Update 6, higher-rarity weapons have a chance to roll a slot. Weapons you picked up before that update never gained slots, so check the weapon itself before you go farming for a specific gem. You also need enough Archaic Essence of the tier your chosen forge uses.
Any weapon with a slot shows up here. One example is the Club of Defiance, a Legendary Two-Handed Club for the Warrior that already rolls Retaliation 20%, Health Leech 3%, and Critical Strike Chance 4% as perks.
A successful socket is indicated by the gem taking the place of “Empty Gem Slot” and its effect appearing on the weapon. To verify it during combat, attack an enemy and look for the effect to activate, such as an elemental proc or a health orb.
Archaic Essence tiers and Gem Forge level caps by region
Every forge operation—gem insertion, removal, or upgrading—requires Archaic Essence. Forges in a region accept only that region’s essence tier, and each forge’s level limit determines how far it can raise a gem.
| Region | Essence used | Standard forge max | Night Sanctum forge max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Springlands | Archaic Essence (5) | 10 | 12 |
| Revelwood | Archaic Essence (13) | 15 | 18 |
| Nomad Highlands | Archaic Essence (18) | 20 | 22 |
| Kindlewastes | Archaic Essence (25) | 30 | 32 |
| Albaneve Summits | Archaic Essence (33) | 35 | 40 |
| Veilwater Basin | Archaic Essence (40) | 45 | 50 |
Essence tier determines which forge accepts it; it has no effect on the strength of a socketed gem. After your gems exceed the caps at Albaneve Summits, the Veilwater Basin Night Sanctum forge can still upgrade them. Cinder’s Cradle Shroud Lairs also drop Archaic Essence VII, a higher tier, so check the level cap displayed at any forge there before spending it.
Archaic Essence glows gold, which makes it easy to spot. You can get it from:
- Brood nests, three per region, either mined with a pickaxe or picked up by hand
- Shroud Lairs
- The giant eyeball monsters found in some dungeons
- Recycling gems you don’t need at a Gem Forge
Upgrading, removing, and recycling gems
All three actions use the same forge menu, and you can do them on a gem while it’s still in a weapon. They follow these rules:
- Upgrade: increases all of the gem’s stats. The option is available only at a forge with a maximum level above the gem’s current level.
- Remove: uses Archaic Essence but leaves the gem intact for installation in another weapon.
- Recycle: destroys the gem and gives back essence of the forge’s tier. Higher-level gems return more.
If a Springlands forge won’t take a gem any higher, bring it to Revelwood or a later region and pay with that region’s essence. Recycling works the same way. A level 40 gem recycled at a Veilwater Basin forge gives back more Archaic Essence (40) than a level 20 gem would. Enchantments stay tied to one weapon, but you can swap gems between weapons as often as you like. Before you recycle a gem, make sure you won’t want it for another weapon later.
A weapon with a socketed gem cannot be salvaged. First remove the gem at a forge; otherwise, it remains bound to that weapon.
How to build a Gem Forge at your base
Enshrouded 1.0 lets you craft a Gem Forge for your base later in the game. To get the recipe, go to the Citadel in Cinder’s Cradle; the “Find a Gem Forge Crafting Recipe” quest guides you there. Crafting it takes:
- 30x Basalt
- 10x Gold Dust
- 10x Celestium Bars
- 5x Moonstone Dust
- 5x Diamond Dust
- 2x Archaic Infusion
Which enemies drop gems in Enshrouded 1.0
Gems never appear in chests. Instead, they drop occasionally from a limited set of enemies, with the region where you defeat one determining its possible gems. For instance, a Fell Banshee in the Springlands can drop different gems from one in the Nomad Highlands or the Albaneve Summits. These enemies can drop gems:
- Fell Banshee and Fell Shackled Banshee
- Hollow Reaper, found in Hollow Halls dungeons
- Scavenger Berserker
- Vukah Berserker
- Fell Commander
- Shroud Stalker
Fell Banshees are the easiest enemies on this list to locate, and they may also drop Legendary Runes. Their numbers differ considerably between regions.
| Region | Fell Banshee spawn points |
|---|---|
| Kindlewastes | 99 |
| Revelwood | 55 |
| Nomad Highlands | 49 |
| Veilwater Basin | 39 |
| Springlands | 32 |
| Albaneve Summits | 32 |
| Cinder’s Cradle | 23 |
| Blackmire | 4 |
| Hollow Halls | 1 |
When gem drops are scarce, increase the enemy count in your world’s difficulty settings. With additional enemies at each camp, every run gives you more drop chances.
Early gem farming in the Springlands and Revelwood
You can start farming once you reach the border between the Springlands and Revelwood. Hill of Scavengers and Fawnsong Frontier both have Scavenger Berserkers. Banshees show up around the Low Meadows Gem Forge and in the Shroud Lair just east of it, around the Revelwood Gem Forge, and at Ancient Vault – Carpenter. The Springlands Hollow Halls has Hollow Reapers, but you have to fight through waves of skeletons to reach them.
Every gem by region and drop source
Because gems are tied to regions, the fastest way to get a specific one is to kill its enemy in its home region.
| Gem | Region | Drops from |
|---|---|---|
 Gem of Bleeding | Springlands | Fell Banshee |
 Gem of Burning | Springlands | Fell Banshee |
 Gem of Puncturing | Springlands, Nomad Highlands | Scavenger Berserker |
 Gem of Skulls | Springlands Hollow Halls | Hollow Reaper |
 Gem of Retaliation | Revelwood | Vukah Berserker |
 Gem of Toxic Betrayal | Revelwood | Scavenger Berserker |
 Gem of Swiftness | Revelwood | Scavenger Berserker, Hollow Reaper |
 Gem of Hopeful Embers | Revelwood | Fell Banshee |
 Gem of Fracturing | Revelwood Hollow Halls | Hollow Reaper |
 Gem of Agility | Nomad Highlands | Fell Banshee |
 Gem of Overpowering | Nomad Highlands | Berserkers, Hollow Reaper, Shroud Stalker, patrol Scavenger Wolf |
 Gem of Storm’s Eye | Nomad Highlands | Vukah Berserker, Fell Commander, Shroud Stalker |
 Gem of Lesser Necromancy | Nomad Highlands Hollow Halls | Hollow Reaper |
 Gem of Battle Mania | Kindlewastes | Scavenger and Vukah Berserkers |
 Gem of Focused Light | Kindlewastes | Fell Commander, Scavenger Berserker |
 Gem of Corruption | Kindlewastes | Fell Banshee |
 Gem of Soul Reaping | Kindlewastes Hollow Halls | Hollow Reaper |
 Gem of Meteoric Impact | Albaneve Summits | Hollow Reaper, Vukah Berserker |
 Gem of Bloodlust | Albaneve Summits | Hollow Reaper, Vukah Berserker |
 Gem of Cold Composure | Albaneve Summits | Fell Commander, Fell Banshee |
 Gem of Aerobatics | Veilwater Basin | Elixir Wells |
 Gem of Currents | Veilwater Basin | Drak Warriors |
 Gem of Lycanthropy | Veilwater Basin | Lacemaker Pond Night Sanctum |
Repeatable gem farming spots
Some camps have the right enemy for more than one gem in the same place. Put a base altar or fast-travel point nearby and you can run them as loops. A high altar on the Pillars of Creation works well, because you can glide from it to several spots in the Nomad Highlands, the Springlands, and the valleys around them.
| Spot | Enemy | Gems |
|---|---|---|
| Shroud Lair south of Pillars of Creation | Fell Banshee | Bleeding |
| Moth’s Grove, near Allyn Bridge | Fell Banshee | Burning |
| Hillock | Scavengers | Puncturing |
| Snapiap Tar Pits cave | Vukah | Retaliation |
| Thornhold | Scavenger Berserker | Swiftness, Toxic Betrayal |
| Umber Hollow | Two Banshees | Agility, Corruption, Cold Composure |
| Vukah camp near Strange Structure | Vukah Berserker | Overpowering, Storm’s Eye |
| Scatterbone (Kindlewastes) | Two Scavenger Berserkers | Battle Mania, Focused Light |
| Hollow Halls near Howling Peak | Hollow Reapers | Bloodlust, Meteoric Impact |
At Thornhold, look for the Scavenger Berserker armed with green poison blades. In the Hollow Halls near Howling Peak, identify your target by the red, bloody scythes carried by Hollow Reapers. The Hopeful Embers Banshee is near the Shroud Gem Forge beneath Ancient Spire Revelwood.
Gem rarity, base stats, and effects
These figures show the base values, before upgrades. Upgrading a gem at a forge increases all of its stats.
| Gem | Rarity | Base stats |
|---|---|---|
| Gem of Retaliation | Common | 33% trigger on block, +15 blunt |
| Gem of Toxic Betrayal | Uncommon | 3 poison/s for 6 s |
| Gem of Overpowering | Uncommon | 10 stamina damage |
| Gem of Storm’s Eye | Uncommon | 4 chain lightning damage |
| Gem of Hopeful Embers | Rare | 20 s refill below 120 s |
| Gem of Battle Mania | Rare | 25 health, 15 mana, 10 stamina regen; 3 s buff; 10 s debuff |
| Gem of Meteoric Impact | Epic | 7 impact fire, 3 burn/s for 3 s, +3 fire for 5 s |
| Gem of Cold Composure | Legendary | 20 physical and 20 magical armor, 10 ice explosion, -30% speed |
| Gem of Focused Light | Legendary | 10 fire; 100% / 225% / 450% at 1–3 stacks |
Gem of Retaliation can trigger when you block a hit. If it does, your next attack within a few seconds deals extra blunt damage and pushes the enemy back farther.
Gem of Toxic Betrayal inflicts poison on an enemy when you backstab it, making the gem suited to stealthy builds using daggers or rapiers.
Gem of Overpowering drains more stamina from blocking foes and sends them farther back on a hit, making shielded enemies easier to break through.
Gem of Storm’s Eye marks each enemy you strike. Strike a marked target and a lightning bolt jumps to a different marked enemy, continuing to chain among enemies with marks.
Gem of Hopeful Embers is useful for extended journeys through the Shroud. When your Shroud timer falls beneath the threshold, slain enemies leave orbs that restore time.
Gem of Battle Mania works only while an Elixir buff is running. Damage you deal replenishes health, mana, and stamina, and every hit resets the buff’s timer. When the Elixir effect expires, a temporary debuff halts regeneration of all three resources, so keep attacking to avoid the downtime.
Gem of Meteoric Impact triggers a burst of flame when you land after gliding, scorching the ground. For a brief period afterward, your attacks inflict bonus fire damage.
Gem of Cold Composure grants physical and magical armor after you spend a moment blocking or aiming, while also reducing your movement speed for the buff’s duration. Taking damage or attacking during this effect triggers an ice blast that slows nearby enemies and ends the buff.
Gem of Focused Light marks an enemy you keep targeting while aiming or blocking. Attacks on a marked enemy deal extra fire damage. The mark stacks up to three times if you keep targeting, and the bonus grows with each stack.
In each region, gather its Archaic Essence tier alongside gems from enemies that drop them. Before heading onward, use that region’s Night Sanctum forge to upgrade your gems. Recycle duplicate gems as you go; essence tends to run out sooner than expected.
