Gem crafting is the main equipment customization layer in Alabaster Dawn. Gems are slotted into Divine weapons and Divine Armor to add stat bonuses or situational effects, and they are forged or upgraded by special NPCs called Artificers using Essences dropped by Nuemera.
How It Works
Essences are the crafting material. They drop from defeated Nuemera; harder enemies tend to drop higher-tier Essences.
Artificers are crafting NPCs found in settlements. They forge new gems and upgrade existing ones using your Essences.
Slotting happens at the Artificer or in the equipment menu. Both Divine weapons and Divine Armor have gem sockets; the number of sockets scales with the equipment's tier.
Effects range from flat stat boosts (attack, defense, stamina) to situational buffs (post-parry damage, post-Divine Art cooldown reduction, elemental resistance, gathering speed).
Unslotting is supported. Gems can be removed and re-slotted without destroying them, encouraging experimentation across builds.
Where to Craft
The earliest Artificer is reachable during the Chapter 1 settlement rebuild. Additional Artificers appear in later regions and tend to specialize: a regional Artificer typically offers gems aligned with the region's elemental theme or with the Divine weapon obtained nearby. The basic crafting service is free; the cost is paid in Essences. Some advanced upgrades may also require side ingredients gathered out in the field.
Build Layers
Gem crafting is one of three customization layers. Together they determine how a Divine weapon performs in combat:
Layer | Source | Customizes |
|---|---|---|
Per-weapon skill tree, leveled with Growth Points | Combat Arts available for that weapon | |
Gem slots | Artificer crafting from Essences | Stat boosts and situational triggers on weapons and Divine Armor |
Element / loadout | See Elements and Divine Weapons | Damage type, Divine Art unlocked, weakness coverage |
Slotting Strategy
Defensive setup. Stack defense gems in armor and a stamina-recovery gem in a weapon for boss attempts where parry timing matters.
Aggressive setup. Slot post-parry damage and post-Divine-Art cooldown gems in the weapon you intend to swing the most. Pair with Combat Arts unlocked from that weapon's Growth Chart.
Anti-resistance setup. If a region pushes a single elemental Nuemera type, slot resistance gems for that element and an offensive gem aligned with its weakness.
Utility setup. Gathering-speed and stamina gems make settlement-rebuilding side quests faster, reducing the time spent on Branching Out, Rice to the Occasion, and similar content.
Tips
Gems can be unslotted, so do not hold onto a single optimal build out of fear of losing it. Experiment across regions.
Feed weaker gems into upgrades when an Artificer offers it; the upgrade path tends to be more efficient than holding low-tier gems forever.
Match gems to playstyle, not raw stat numbers. A flat-attack gem on a player who never reaches a parry is worse than a stamina gem that lets that player play the game.
Co-ordinate with the cooking buff stack: gems and dishes are independent, so a stat that maxes out from one source still benefits from the other.
Gem Slot Categories
In the launch build, the equipment menu shows eleven gem slot types. Six of them have at least one obtainable gem, and the remaining five have only empty slots. Major weapon gems are the primary slot on each weapon and are obtained as static drops in Koro Valley and the Trial of Aether; Cordis, Armis, Aegis, and Decoris gems are slotted into the Divine Armor and tune defensive and stamina stats. Minor weapon gems unlock from the Growth Chart but no minor gems are obtainable yet. A second slot for Cordis, Armis, and Aegis exists but no gems fitting it have been added yet.
Currently Obtainable Gems
Each gem in the launch build is a single-rarity item slotted into a specific category. A Purity stat (Rough, then higher tiers in future patches) sits alongside the gem name and is the upgrade axis Artificers will use once the crafting feature is fully wired in.
Melee weapon gems
Gem | Effects | Obtained |
|---|---|---|
Chipped Edge | Melee Attack +20% | Auto-equipped to both melee weapons at the start of the Trial of Aether. |
Bent Edge | Melee Attack +15%, Bullseye +20%, Affinity +5% | Treasure in Koro Valley (Lumber Corner). |
Ruff Edge | Melee Attack +15%, Weave Siphon +35% | Treasure in Koro Valley; only reachable with glitches in the current build. |
Ranged weapon gems
Gem | Effects | Obtained |
|---|---|---|
Shaggy Quill | Ranged Attack +20%, Breaker +15% | Treasure in Koro Valley (Lumber Corner). Also auto-equipped to both ranged weapons at the start of the Trial of Aether. |
Fickle Quill | Ranged Attack +20%, Gamble +25% | Treasure in Koro Valley (Hollow Incline). |
Cordis gems (Divine Armor)
Gem | Effects | Obtained |
|---|---|---|
Dim Halo | Max Life +10%, Armor +5% | Auto-equipped before the Nyx Avatar battle. |
Armis gems (Divine Armor)
Gem | Effects | Obtained |
|---|---|---|
Flexing Bracer | Strength +15% | Auto-equipped at the start of the Trial of Aether. |
Aegis gems (Divine Armor)
Gem | Effects | Obtained |
|---|---|---|
Brittle Shell | Armor +10%, Max Life +5% | Auto-equipped at the start of the Trial of Aether. |
Decoris gems (Divine Armor)
Gem | Effects | Obtained |
|---|---|---|
Tireless Boulder | Tenacity +25% | Auto-equipped at the start of the Trial of Aether. |
Libra's Blessing | Aether Ward +20% | Treasure in the Trial of Aether. |
Lore Notes On Gems
In-world lore presents gems as artifacts that predate the current age. According to in-game text fragments, gems were valued long before the gods began enchanting them, originally used to adorn marbles for ceremonial reasons. The gods later began crafting and gifting enchanted gems alongside the Divine Arms, in tandem with the Twelve Chosen's preparation against Nyx. On the day of the Calamity, both gems and weapons lost their visible glow, but kept their stat bonuses. The artisans who craft and upgrade gems are referred to in lore text as Artificers; the launch build does not yet include a usable Artificer NPC for player-driven crafting, so all current gems are static drops.