Alright folks, grab a coffee, let’s talk gems in Diablo 2. You know, those sparkly jewels we shove into gear sockets? Yeah, needed a pile of ’em for runewords and socketed gear, so I decided to buckle down and farm. Here’s how it went down.
Starting Point: Blind Running Around
First thing I did? Hopped onto my Hammerdin, thinking anywhere with lots of monsters must drop gems sometimes. Rushed the Secret Cow Level. Cleared it super quick with blessed hammers flying everywhere. Moo-moo’s went down easy, but guess what dropped? Mostly trash. White items, some low runes, zero gems. Felt like a total waste of time. Okay, cows are out.
Next bright idea: Chaos Sanctuary. Big area, tons of demons, high level. Spent an hour running it. Got some nice runes here and there, even a Gul, which was sweet! But gems? Hardly saw any. Maybe one flawed topaz or something pathetic like that per run. Not efficient at all for specifically hunting gems. Felt kinda frustrated.
Actually Looking Stuff Up
Threw my hands up. Decided to actually look into it instead of just guessing. Did some reading, talked to a couple folks online. Figured out gems aren’t the main drop anywhere special. They pop up more as extra loot when farming for other things, especially in high-density areas with lots of chests.
The key seemed to be two things:
- Monster Density: Places absolutely crawling with enemies.
- Chests & Poppables: Smashable stuff like chests, logs, corpses – they all can drop gems.
Got some specific spots people kept mentioning.
Testing the Waters: The Pit
Took my Blizzard Sorc, teleported straight to the Tamoe Highland in Act 1 Hell. Found the entrance to The Pit Level 1 and 2. Holy smokes, packed with monsters! Cleared it methodically, blizzard dropping everywhere. Paid special attention to smashing every single chest, log, sarcophagus I found. Saw way more gems popping up! Mostly flawed and normal ones, but hey, a start! Also got some decent magic items. It felt much more productive than my random cow or chaos runs.
Trying Another Suspect: Ancient Tunnels
Heard good things about Ancient Tunnels in Act 2 Lost City. Teleported there with my Sorc. Inside, same deal – tons of bugs, skeletons, chests everywhere. Cold immunes aren’t a problem here for blizzard, perfect. Went through slowly, blasting monsters and smashing everything wooden or stone. Again, much better gem drop rate! Found a flawless sapphire and some decent topazes in just two runs. Definitely seeing a pattern.
Big Payoff: Lower Kurast Runs
The big suggestion was Lower Kurast in Act 3. Specifically, looking for super chests in the huts. This one sounded odd, just running for chests? Loaded into Hell difficulty, rolled a map with two campfire groups kinda close together. Teleported straight to them. Each campfire usually has one hut with a special “super chest” inside.
Here’s the drill:
- Pop into game.
- Teleport to the first group of huts, check hut for super chest, pop it open.
- Teleport to the second group, do the same.
- Maybe grab nearby armor racks, bodies if super quick.
- Exit, remake game. Takes like 20-30 seconds.
Man, this felt weirdly efficient. Not killing any monsters! Just teleporting and clicking chests. But the loot? Amazing! Not only good runes (found a Mal!), but tons of gems flooded my inventory. Flawed, normal, flawless, even a perfect emerald! Jewelry, charms, runes, runes, runes. It was insane. My stash started filling up fast with those shiny jewels I needed. Best part? Super fast runs, zero danger for my Sorc.
What’s Working Now
So, summing up my painful learning curve:
- The Pit & Ancient Tunnels: Solid spots when I feel like actively killing monsters and popping stuff. Steady gem flow, plus chances for other goodies. Good for variety.
- Lower Kurast Super Chests: THE king for sheer gem quantity per hour, hands down. It’s tedious teleporting, but the gem (and rune!) payoff is absolutely ridiculous if you just spam runs.
No magic perfect gem spot dropping non-stop gems, but focusing on these high-yield areas worked wonders. My advice? If you just want mass gems fast, Lower Kurast chest running is the boring but brutally effective way. If you want combat too, hit the Pit or Tunnels. Forget random high-level zones unless you’re farming something else anyway!