How the Crystal and Gem system works in Edge of Eternity

If you’re familiar with the RPG genre at all, then Edge of Eternity’s crystal and gem system might be familiar to you. If you’re new to the genre, then there are nuances to the way gems and crystals work. This isn’t helped by a tutorial that only glazes over the basics, leaving you to discover the rest. Our guide will help you gain a greater understanding of how this system works.

The tutorial briefly touches upon the idea of slotting gems into weapons in order to enhance their stats, sometimes with abilities attached to these gems, however there’s much more to dig into that will make the game much easier.

Understanding gems

Each weapon is leveled separately from the characters. Keeping an eye on weapon levels is the first step to mastering the gem system. At level one, only a single slot is open, with the remainder of slots locked off, with numbers adorning each slot. These numbers correspond to the weapon level.

For example, if a locked slot has the number six etched onto it, that slot only opens up once the weapon reaches level six. This grid requires careful decision making. Unlike other games that feature similar leveling systems, there is no way to fill every slot. Examining the screenshot above, you’ll notice that the red gemstone slot is blocked off.

That’s because we chose to slot a purple gem instead. You’ll also notice another lock icon near the top of that image. It’s up to you as a player to dictate your character’s progression, deciding which benefits are necessary. If you’re using Daryon and equipping the standard swords, it’s likely not the wisest choice to invest in gems that increase incantation speed.

It isn’t always that simple. Each slot has its own standard bonus. Using the same image above as reference, inserting any purple gem into the purple slot increases the character’s incantation speed on top of the gem specific bonuses. The red slot increases physical damage. However, the gemstone that is equipped offers up the defense breaker skill, allowing Daryon to decrease an enemy’s defense.

Enhancing gems

This leads us into a discussion of gem crafting. Gems can be crafted at major cities, indicated by crafting benches with a wrench icon overlapping a gem on the compass. Gems are acquired from chests and as battle rewards. The basic gems you get from just completing content won’t get you very far if you’re playing on hard or nightmare difficulty, and normal and easy players could get away without it, but it’s still worth engaging with the gem crafting system just in case.

Up to a total of five gems can be mixed together to modify stats or add extra abilities onto existing gems. The final output is determined by the gem slotted at the top. As an example, a yellow gem placed at the top of the crafting menu will always return a yellow gem no matter what other colors are mixed in. Keep this in mind when thinking back to your weapon’s available slots. Only unequipped gems show up on this screen.

This is the perfect opportunity to mod the aforementioned defense breaker skill from the purple gem onto a red gem, simultaneously granting access to it and the physical attack bonus. We recommend saving before attempting any gem crafting in case you wind up crafting something you didn’t want. The system doesn’t seem to follow a logical ruleset.

For example, mixing three gems might give you a significant bonus to health, speed, and attack. Adding a fourth gem with an attack bonus changes the entire stat distribution, giving you a measly amount of defense and incantation speed instead of adding more attack onto the existing gem. It’s worth setting time aside to experiment with gem crafting. Don’t worry if it takes a bit to find one you’re satisfied with. The end result will be worth the investment.