Upgrading gems.

Posted by Member Mehsiah on 12/14/12 11:42 AM #1
Posts: 248

What is the best/cheapest way to get gems up to max level? (If there is any.)

Just looking at my current gems, Im missing the following if I had max level gems:

-- Would have 72 extra strength, replace my vit gem in Ammy would equal 130. (130 extra strength is a good chunk.)

-- Missing out on 20% Crit Dmg on 1 Weapon. When I went from a 80% to a 100% thanks to @Anuiran 's one contest giving away gems, it equaled around a 5k dmg increase.

Any advice?
Posted by Member shniggies on 12/14/12 02:59 PM #2
Posts: 909

i'm not quite sure i understand... the only way to upgrade them would be either craft them or buy them no?
Posted by Member sabin on 12/14/12 03:38 PM #3
Posts: 338

I've seen a calculator or 2 that people have made to actually calculate out the total cost to craft a max level gem starting from say a flawless square, but I don't have any saved. If you don't count the time it takes to hit the craft button and wait (which is significant) it's generally cheaper to craft them yourself. Exceptions would be low level gems when all the prices are low, and the max level gems where people suspect the system is manipulated at times. Other than that, most gem prices are logical based on the crafting cost and 15% AH fee.

Usually the cost of a particular gem is a bit higher than the material cost (gems + tomes) + gold to account for the 15% fee. You save some gold if you buy the mats, but if you work with materials that you found then you really start to save a lot of gold. A star gem takes 27 flawless squares to make. The next level is 3x that, and so on. Then factor in the tomes.

I find the best option is to save up gems and start crafting while I'm waiting for people to join a group for ubers or something like that. If you buy mats, just be sure to properly keep an eye on prices so get a feel for what price is a good deal.
Posted by Member shniggies on 12/14/12 03:44 PM #4
Posts: 909

i've got a ton of flawless squares... maybe i'll start selling the star version for some profit... i think it costs 500k just to craft (not including the mats right?)

does anyone have the highest gem plan for ruby and emerald? how about i provide the mats, and gold, and you craft for me? pretty please?
Posted by Member sabin on 12/14/12 04:21 PM #5
Posts: 338

@euggie I'm pretty sure I have all the gems plans except the top level emerald and topaz (gotta craft 1 of each eventually for the achievement). Message me if you see me on and I'll help you with some rubies if you want.

http://diablo-3-gem-calculator.com/index.php seems to work well enough, and calculates the 15% fee for you as well. I saw one recently that also calculated the time it took to craft, but I can't find it.
Posted by Member Metta on 12/14/12 04:54 PM #6
Posts: 411

You guys realize that crafting a radiant star from flawless squares takes over 18 minutes of just clicking, right? At one click every 3 seconds, you're going to click "craft" 364 times. So it's over 18 minutes assuming you click perfectly and you don't click early and cancel the current crafting. Not to mention the time spent buying the flawless squares, tomes of secrets, and checking AH prices to make sure that the crafted gem will still be profitable.

It's profitable, but incredibly tedious.
Posted by Member Ammostiel on 12/14/12 05:24 PM #7
Posts: 122

A wish -

An appendix to the Price Tracker Section which, in consideration of the current cost of all gems below Radiant Star as well as the Tomes, would show you the amounts to craft up to Radiant Star on the cost basis of each sub-RS gem.

Or is it the best choice to always work up from Flawless Square? Because I really don't want to spend 4K each on a few hundred Emeralds if I don't have to.
Posted by Member ecocd on 12/14/12 05:45 PM #8
Posts: 1059

Crafting Radiant Star Gems is nearly always a loss. The profit, when there is any, comes at the Star and Perfect Star Gem level. There's a ton of volatility in the Emerald market so be wary of buying. The "last 10" price is often far lower than the actual price you'll pay due to market manipulation. That said, the only profit I've found in crafting gems has been Emeralds and Topazes. Rubies just never seem to make the jump to profitability and Flawless Square Amethysts could nearly be free some nights and still not turn a profit.
Posted by Member sabin on 12/14/12 06:17 PM #9
Posts: 338

@Metta IDK, occasionally some people seem to like it. I guess they do it while watching TV or something. I don't mind crafting for myself with self found mats while I'm sitting around waiting for people to join and such, but wouldn't enjoy trying to do it for profit. Spending that time doing runs would definitely end up more profitable IMO.
Posted by Member douvinsky on 12/14/12 06:21 PM #10
Posts: 1445

My previous post on this:

Gem crafting info

TLDR:
At my level, craft only if I want to use 3rd party programme.
Posted by Member Mehsiah on 12/14/12 06:48 PM #11
Posts: 248

These gems would not be for profit at all. This is to get the best gems in the game for gear and to keep em.

^ Some post I saw talk about profit out of it. Im tired so I could be going crazy, haha.
Posted by Member EnzyOne on 12/14/12 07:22 PM #12
Posts: 107

It sure seems tedious. I haven't quite done my homework when it comes to gems. I collect every gem I see and combine gems when I need one, normally Perfect Stars.
Posted by Member shniggies on 12/14/12 07:51 PM #13
Posts: 909

Posted by sabin at 12/14/2012 04:21 PM

@euggie I'm pretty sure I have all the gems plans except the top level emerald and topaz (gotta craft 1 of each eventually for the achievement). Message me if you see me on and I'll help you with some rubies if you want.

http://diablo-3-gem-calculator.com/index.php seems to work well enough, and calculates the 15% fee for you as well. I saw one recently that also calculated the time it took to craft, but I can't find it.


sweet, i'll hit you up in game :)
i'll do some math and see how many star gems are needed for the top gem
thanks

edit, the site (very cool btw) says i need 27 star, and 1.9m gold + 173 tomes... i might not have enough gold right now... :/
Posted by Member sabin on 12/14/12 08:53 PM #14
Posts: 338

@euggie I could give or lend ya some if you want. We'll figure it out.
FYI if you want the lower level plans, some of them are super cheap around 5-20k according to the AH tracker.
Posted by Member shniggies on 12/15/12 02:04 PM #15
Posts: 909

Posted by sabin at 12/14/2012 08:53 PM

@euggie I could give or lend ya some if you want. We'll figure it out.
FYI if you want the lower level plans, some of them are super cheap around 5-20k according to the AH tracker.


thanks for the offer... i realized in order to craft 27 star gems, i need like 13.5m and i have less than 1 at the moment... i need my crap to sell on AH :/
Posted by Member eastdragon42 on 12/16/12 07:53 PM #16
Posts: 413

Posted by sabin at 12/14/2012 08:53 PM

@euggie I could give or lend ya some if you want. We'll figure it out.
FYI if you want the lower level plans, some of them are super cheap around 5-20k according to the AH tracker.


Yah, as far as I could tell, all of the gem plans are relatively cheap except for the emerald ones... bought the amethyst ones on the AH some time ago & it was well under 20k.
Posted by Member shniggies on 12/19/12 12:15 PM #17
Posts: 909

@sabin i bought one for 18m... it was below market price and i recently came across some gold...so i pulled the trigger
Posted by Member ninjax on 12/20/12 04:39 AM #18
Posts: 600

Never bought a plan or gems before, but have just upgraded my first emerald to Perfect Star. Man that's taken a long time.

I'm not sure if I'll ever made Radiant upgrading only on self found, as I'll have to make another perfect star, while building the Radiant... can't see it bring worthwhile.

You must log in or register to reply.
10 users posted in this thread: Ammostiel, douvinsky, eastdragon42, ecocd, EnzyOne, Mehsiah, Metta, ninjax, sabin, shniggies

© 2025 DiabloHub | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact