Gem Forges Should Be Base Crafting Stations

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• 03 Dec, '25
  spacefiddle

  Highlighted comment
  
  I think the main issue here is that using gems is waaaaay too much prep time, leg work, and repetetive travel, to get some .... not very impressive results out of them.
  
  Having to go to a forge and spend essence just to SLOT a gem in a weapon, or REMOVE it (without spending essence but ya still gotta go there), is tedious and time-consuming. Consider when someone gets a weapon upgrade, goes to Salvage the old weapon - oh you can't, it has a gem, gotta get some cheap Essence and go back to the cheap forge to pry the gem out, then slot it in the new weapon, NOW i can salvage the old one
  
  On top of that there are just WAY too many tiers. I get you wanted them per biome, but in practice
  - level 5 essence is now just for slotting because why spend the good stuff on sticking a rock in a hole
  - Current level essence is what i'm using to upgrade my gems
  - all others in between are now trash
  - OR i gotta slog around to each one and minmax upgrade
  
  It would also be helpful to upconvert old ones

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• 06 Sep, '25
  Berme Merged

  Gem Forge should be buildable at base.
  The Gem forge locations could be used for getting the upgrades you need for your forge to level your gem forge. Give us an actual artificer NPC
  
  Reason:
  Its Tedious to go look for a forge and remember to bring upgrade materials. Also to remove gem from weapons for your new weapon.
  Starting to make a good idea quickly fade to a game mechanic I don't use.

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• 22 Nov, '25
  Jasper_2077 Merged

  Suggestion:
  • Allow players to craft a gem forge at their base and upgrade it using items found at higher-level forge locations.
  
  The current gem system feels overly complex. Gem forges are level-locked and located deep in enshrouded areas, creating unnecessary travel and interrupting the gameplay loop. Gems must be upgraded through multiple stages, socketing requires consumables tied to forge level, and the system adds inventory clutter. These layers discourage experimentation and make build swapping tedious. Gem descriptions also lack clarity on requirements and effects, making informed choices difficult.

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• 03 Dec, '25
  Jonny Panic

  Gems, in general, feel underwhelming, and requiring me to farm Ancient Essence AND find and go to a level-appropriate Gem Forge makes me just not want to use gems at all. The best gems I have, in practical terms, are common, uncommon, and rare; the epic and legendary ones are far too niche.

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• 03 Dec, '25
  Toast System

  "GEM Forge Base" (suggested by <Hidden> on 2025-09-06), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.

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• 04 Dec, '25
  Vapok System

  "Gems Socketing Simplified" (suggested by <Hidden> on 2025-11-22), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.

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• 05 Dec, '25
  Shellque

  Absolutely! It feels like a total chore going there and often intensly frustrating if you e.g forgot something. I'd like to be able to build them in my base e.g after I've found all the night sanctums or gem forges in an area. So you have to work a bit for it but you can get there.

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• 22 Dec, '25
  Hiemis

  Just my opinion:
  
  To craft a Gem Forge should only be a late Game Unlockable (so after/during getting to the flying islands), to ensure that people have to explore more, and make gem upgrades a „meaningful“ upgrade etc., instead of giving the player immediate access and make gems „just another upgrade“.
  
  So the gem effects should be tweaked to make them more useful with more variety and customizability, maybe also with sockets in legendary accessories to give one 2-3 „minor“ gem effects that can be used no matter the weapon used while the stronger gem effects would be used for weapons and maybe shields??
  
  So that the gems used really change the gameplay of the player and become a defining aspect of a character build???

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• 31 Dec, '25
  PaulJ

  Agreed with all of the above. I posted a similar critique in another thread; basically, the whole slotting feature requires players to find level appropriate gear, gems, essences, AND gem forge. ALL of those have to line up. Which is insanely tedious and discouraging, especially when the results are so underwhelming compared to the effort required. Players will end up waiting until they're high level so they don't get killed gathering the required stuff, then they slot a gem and go "huh this didn't really do much". RIP feedback.
  
  1) Remove essence levels - they should all be one unified currency.
  2) Remove gem forge levels - let players use any forge they come across, if we aren't allowed to craft our own or move the ones we find back to our bases.
  3) Not directly related, but we need more gear variety, and more of those need slots, AND we need more gem variety as well.
  
  Right now it feels like a feature that's being alpha tested, "does it work?"

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• 03 Jan
  Zewks

  Make the forge in the world allow for the crafted item needed to upgrade your forget at home to allow it to work with higher level gem upgrades.
  
  That way you still need to go to the gem forge in the world, at least once.
  
  Allowing a crafted forge at your base removes the obnoxious tedium of having to make a often lengthy run into the shroud just for gear management, maintenance and upgrading. That simply isnt fun.

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• 27 Jan
  DeLindsay

  +1 from me. I do think it should be expensive though, maybe even requires a Questline to discover ancient (broken) Gem Forges that you must bring the fragments back to the Blacksmith to forge anew.

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• 30 Jan
  leilar

  I feel like the design choice to make the gem system as inconvenient as possible is a poor one. Just look at all the feedback where people call gems "useless" and to just remove them. I'm sure that has nothing to do with how much effort they take to engage with for such a disproportionately low return.

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• 03 Feb
  Maulino

  maybe a buldable gem forge that lets us slot gems is enough, and the other ones for upgrades.

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• 04 Feb
  Wintrez

  The current game mechanics for the gem forges are kind of more tedious than worth doing, especially when playing in a 6+ player group (even as a solo, with constant gear changes, the content is not worth doing).
  
  Instead of scattering multiple different-level forges and their corresponding leveled essences, give players a player-craftable gem forge/station and/or a corresponding Gem artificer NPC?
  
  Without deleting the current content, you could keep the existing gem forge locations on the map for players to discover, complete the level, which rewards the player with a home forge upgrade, unlocking new gem crafting options. Or you could make it similar to the Elixer Wells concept of progression, where each map forge is completed, an overall level or skill point is awarded for the server (easier to keep track?).
  
  Each forge could contain an unlockable gem drop that the NPC can craft, ensuring that all players who want to use a specific gem can craft the item.
  Refactor the essences.

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• 21 Feb
  Grisha

  Not only this but I also think that any weapon upgrades should happen IN a forge, and not pointlessly being available at ANY NPC (not even only blacksmith). Shields should be upgradable too anyway.
  But I also know that developers are aware of this and they just left it unfinished. The game has many unfinished features like this.
  I still see "tank" in the talents instead of "guardian" or "protector" as basic terms which is, to say the least, ridiculous to the point it's funny. Talents are scattered, their connections are sometimes weird and often inefficient. And a lot of other stuff which is relatively insignificant but you notice it nevertheless.
  Good that we have these topics to remind Keen about these such things.
  
  Whether they decide to leave the forges only in the open world or as a crafting station, I'm ok with both but I prefer an unlockable crafting station "Forge" which you can upgrade along with the respective level of essences you gather.

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• 26 Mar
  Ursso

  Gem Forge should be a collectible with a 1-time boss fight and the gems available should unlock with each boss you defeat. Think of it as a mini-boss to unlock adding it to any weapon at your base, and still attach it to material and runes. The current system defeats the purpose of a sandbox game, where you can play and test different builds and weapons combos by having to run to a Gem Forge every time you want to re-spec. I've made an Altar just to teleport near a Gem Forge, and it is TEDIOUS!

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• 12 Apr
  Skyward Merged

  forcing us to return to the gem forge to dismantle a weapon that has a gem for components feels punishing.

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• 13 Apr
  Kira System

  "gem forge" (suggested by <Hidden> on 2026-04-12), including upvotes (1) and comments (0), was merged into this suggestion.

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• 28 Apr
  rabb1t

  Didn't read responses, just dropping a +1 vote and saying I'm surprised this isn't already an option. :)
  
  Also, I'm concerned about it needing different currencies. This is a MAJOR issue Bungie has where they have 10 different currencies for one thing and add new ones all the time. I really think this should be streamlined in some way. Either just make it increasing costs or add on a station function to increase/decrease the level of the essence. Leave the stations capped at certain levels, that makes sense, but if someone has say 250 left over they shouldn't be left with things they can't use. Since I'm a returning player the first ones I got were tier 4 and 5, but I had to work through the gem stations in order. I have like 500+ of each I can't do anything with because I didn't know where those stations are.
  
  Also the UI could be a bit better. I get it makes sense for controller, but for PC it's a bit akward.

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• 23 May
  Bob

  I agree with most of these comments. I think having a quest that allows you to build a gem forge would be a good way of unlocking it, and then maybe upgrading the gem forge to higher levels would require materials

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• 24 Jun
  Christi

  I whole heartedly agree that gem forges need to be able to be built at base, their descriptions clearer and have more use/impact. Adding a jeweler or artificer type npc that can be unlocked, even if it happens mid game would be amazing. We don't get any crafter npcs aside from the bard mid to late game so they feel very front loaded, another late game to let us customize gear feels appropriate. Unlocking one that will allow us to do gem forging at home and/or make simple would really make this feature practical rather than tedious.

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• 04 Jul
  Gorganzola

  Agreed on most points here.
  
  The amount of prep needed to socket and unsocket gems is too much to the point where I start to ignore the mechanic entirely.
  
  An artificer would be a welcome addition but if you really want us to go to forges in the world then we should be able to do a few things. Essence should be a global currency (as long as it is within a base somewhere, we can draw the appropriate essence to the forge)
  
  Let us unsocket a gem outside of the forge.
  
  Stacking gems would be nice and/or let us shatter/dispose of them for additional essence.
  
  Some of the new gems in the water update is very nice but it wasn't until late game where I felt they made an impact at all. I was able to completely ignore gems after I realized how tedious it was early game without issue at all. So making slightly more impactful gems that change the way you play would go a long way. Because for now, I feel like they are an afterthought for me.

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