In New World, Gems are a type of item you can socket into weapons and armor to grant further buffs to your character. Gems are required to progress through the endgame of New World comfortably, as they can grant damage absorption, bonus damage, damage conversions, and threat modifiers. This guide looks at the complete list of New World Gems and all the effects they have on armor and weapons.
You can refer to the New World Gems list down below for a complete overview of what each one does for armor and weapons. Gems can come in four different rarities:
- Flawed (Tier II)
- Normal (Tier III)
- Brilliant (Tier IV)
- Pristine (Tier V)
Each step up in rarity increases the stats by a percent amount, making each gem more effective. While leveling up, you may opt to use cheaper gems of the flawed or normal variety, but as you approach endgame, Brilliant and Pristine cut gems are much more in-demand. Make sure to check out our New World Gem scaling guide if you are curious how the percent damage conversion works. We go into detail explaining the conversion and provide some examples to help illustrate.
New World Gems and Effects
Here are all fifteen gems and their effects when socketed in weapons or armor in New World:
| Gem | Weapon Effect Name | Effect Description | Armor Effect Name | Armor Effect Description |
| Amber | Arboreal | Percent of damage is converted to Nature. Damage scales off base weapon stat or FOC, whichever is higher. | Nature Ward | Nature Damage Absorption |
| Amethyst | Abyssal | Percent of damage is converted to Void. Damage scales off base weapon stat or INT, whichever is higher. | Abyssal Ward | Void Damage Absorption |
| Aquamarine | Frozen | Percent of damage is converted to Ice. Damage scales off base weapon stat or INT, whichever is higher. | Ice Ward | Ice Damage Absorption |
| Carnelian | Taunting | Taunts are active. You generate more threat. | Calming | You generate less threat |
| Diamond | Rally | Percent damage and outgoing healing while at full health. | Wilderness Ward | Physical and Elemental Damage Absorption |
| Emerald | Opportunist | Extra damage against targets with less than 30% health. | Thrust Ward | Thrust Damage Absorption |
| Jasper | Retaliate | Extra damage after receiving 3 hits. | Strike Ward | Strike Damage Absorption |
| Malachite | Cruel | Extra damage against targets with an active Crowd Control status effect (Slow, Stun, Root). | Spectral Ward | Elemental and Physical Damage Absorption |
| Moonstone | Exhilarate | Extra damage when player is below 30% Health. | Slash Ward | Slash Damage Absorption |
| Onyx | Brash | Extra Damage against targets with full Health. | Physical Ward | Physical Damage Absorption |
| Opal | Gambit | Extra damage while your stamina is not full. | Elemental Ward | Elemental Damage Absorption |
| Pearl | Lucky | Better chance at rare items from chests and monsters. | Lucky | Better chance at rare items from chests and monsters |
| Ruby | Ignited | Percent of damage is converted to Fire. Damage scales off base weapon stat or INT, whichever is higher. | Fire Ward | Fire Damage Absorption |
| Sapphire | Empowered | Percent of damage is converted to Arcane. Damage scales off base weapon stat or INT, whichever is higher. | Arcane Ward | Arcane Damage Absorption |
| Topaz | Electrified | Percent of damage is converted to Lightning. Damage scales off base weapon stat or INT, whichever is higher. | Lightning Ward | Lightning Damage Absorption |
How to cut gems in New World
To cut gems in New World, you will need to level the Stonecutting Skill by using the Stonecutting Table in any settlement. You can cut a higher rarity of gems for every 50 Stonecutting skill levels. Here is the breakdown of Stonecutting skills you will need to cut different gems:
- Flawed – 0 Stonecutting
- Normal – 50 Stonecutting
- Brilliant – 100 Stonecutting
- Pristine – 150 Stonecutting
That’s the complete New World Gems list and effects for armor and weapons. We will update this guide when new gems are introduced into the game in future content updates. Check out our website’s New World section for more helpful guides and related content.
Where to find Gems in New World
There are a few different ways to find gems in New World, including:
- Mining Ore Nodes
- Running Expeditions
- Fishing Treasure Chests
- Purchasing from the Trading Post
Out of these four options, your best bet is through Mining Ore. You will need to level your Mining skills at some point, anyway. So, to optimize your chances of finding high-quality gems, you can equip a Mining Pickaxe that has the Mining Luck perk, eat herb-roasted potatoes, have a house with a Mining Luck Trophy, throw on some gear with Mining perks, and go to town. You’ll want to focus on hitting Silver, Gold, and Platinum veins for the most Gems, from my experience.
- Silver – Flawed and Regular Gems (1-3 raw Gems per node)
- Gold – Regular and Brilliant Gems (1-3 raw Gems per node)
- Platinum – Brilliant and Pristine Gems (1-3 raw Gems per node)
