Monster Hunter World - Jewels & Gems

Posted in monster hunter world

Jewels and Gems are returning features in Monster Hunter World that have been a staple part of the series for quite some time. Jewels are endgame items that act much like mods, allowing the player to further enhance their armour with increased skills. Gems on the otherhand are crafting ingredients required to create High Rank gear.

In either case, players refer to these items as "Decorations" since they decorate your armour pieces.

Please note, this post does contain some endgame spoilers since Jewels are an advanced feature. If you don't want any spoilers then resist reading on now.

When do Jewels unlock

For veteran fans this is probably the most requested question - "when can you actually start using them?".

Towards the very end of the main MHW story you'll face up against Zorah Magdaros and then straight after a harder version of Pukei-Pukei. Completing both of these fights ends the main campaign and unlocks additional content.

At this point in the game, a new secret mission tasks players with the challenge of finding Rathian in all of the regions. Jewels are also unlocked along with 22 new sets of armour. Each of these endgame armour pieces has a varying number of slots for Jewels.

Opening the world map shows that two modes are also now available: Low Rank and High Rank:

High Rank Endgame

The following in-game items are unlocked at the end of the main story:

Searching for ??? Rathian Tracks

Accept high rank expeditions and optional quests to gather ??? Rathian tracks and discover the true nature of this enigmatic monster.

Collect enough ??? Rathian tracks and complete quests to obtain research points.

Once you have enough points, report back to the Ecological Research and select Special Investigations. A new assigned quest will then be issued.

High Rank Quests and Expeditions



Sighting of powerful monsters have been reported throughout the New World now more than ever before. Take on high rank quests and expeditions to investigate.

High Rank Quests: Quests with a rank of 6* or higher are considered “high rank.”. Quests with a red * will feature very powerful monsters.

High Rank Expeditions: To depart on a high rank expedition, ensure High Rank is selected on the World Map. Discovering a monster during a high rank expedition or quest will unlock that monsters optional quest.

What do Jewels do

Jewels behave like mods for your armour pieces. Each Jewel can be equipped (slotted) into your armour, in one of the empty slots. Only advanced armour has Jewel slots so you must unlock and collect these armour items first - standard campaign armour just won't have any slots.

Example armour piece with a single Jewel slot

The screenshot below shows a Rarity 6 armour piece called the "Mighty Strongarm I". It has just one available slot, shown as a Jewel icon on the right side of the screenshot under Equipment Info. You can have up to three slots, but the other two slots are "dashes" in this example, confirming that only one slot is available on this particular piece:



High Rank monster armour such as the Alpha and Beta sets have a higher number of Jewel slots, with the Beta sets offering the most slots at the cost of reduced base skills.

Each Jewel comes with a signature skill boost. For example, there could be a Jewel that provides Attack +1. Equipping that Jewel will add to your existing tally of skills. Another example might be a Strength Jewel that provides Health +2.

Like Armour and Weapons, Jewels also have a rarity, depicting their effectiveness (tier). Rarity 5 items are of course better than Rarity 1. Players can freely swap Jewels in and out of armour without the need to visit the Smithy or other crafting area.

Types of Jewels

There are probably around a hundred Jewels in MHW. I won't list every Jewel right now but we can at least understand the categories. As a rough guide, below are examples of the types of Jewels you can expect to find and what skills they relate to:

• Attack - Attack, Sharpness, Element etc.
• Defense - Defense, Fire, Water etc.
• Health - Health, Recovery Speed etc.
• Stamina - Stamina, Cooking etc.
• Gunner - Speed Fire, Piercing, Precision etc.
• Ability - Evade, Horn etc.
• Preventative - Paralysis, Sleep etc.
• Gathering - Carving, Fishing etc.

As you can see, there are Jewel categories for practically every skill in the game. The rarity of the Jewel determines the level of the skill improvement. For example, an Attack Jewel with Rarity 5 may provide Attack +3 whilst a Rarity 1 Attack Jewel may only provide Attack +1.

How do you get Jewels & Gems

Jewels

Jewels are by their very nature endgame items, and thus endgame content must be beaten to collect them. This endgame content comes in the form of:

• High Rank monster fights
• High Rank Investigations
• Certain Bounties

Remember, the new High Rank mode becomes available after you beat the main story fights against Zorah Magdaros and the harder version of Pukei-Pukei. These Hard Mode fights will be your main source of rare endgame rewards such as Jewels, Stones and Gems.

The screenshot below shows an Appraisal Box reward following the defeat of a High Rank Elder dragon. As you can see, the reward is the "Heavy Artillery Jewel 1":



Every reward in the game has a percentage chance of appearing. Endgame rewards are particularly hard to come by and it may take several High Rank fights before you even collect your first RNG Jewel. The chance of finding a very rare reward is typically less than 5% and probably must closer to 3-4%. For a better chance of earning a Jewel, check the reward items for Investigations and Bounties, particularly High Rank versions, these tasks will guarantee the reward "tier" they offer. Gold and Purple rewards are the ones to look out for.

In previous games, Jewels could also be crafted out of materials and monster parts, this feature is as yet unconfirmed in MHW.

Gems & Rubies

Gems and Rubies are typically attained via rare rewards but can also be crafted at a Melding Pot, such as the one on the lower platform of the Astera area. Players need Melding Points and money to create Gems and Rubies that can be used to upgrade and craft new gear.

The best way to earn Gems is to complete high level investigations or activities with Silver or Gold reward boxes. Roughly speaking, Silver reward boxes have between a 5-8% chance of dropping a Gem, whereas a Gold reward box has a 12-16% chance of dropping a Gem. Other actions such as carving a monster part e.g tail, have a very low (1%) chance of dropping a Gem as well.

Some named examples of Gems include Legiana Gem, Odogaro Gem, Rathalos Ruby, Bazelgeuse Gem etc.

Usage

Gems are an essential ingredient in some of the high level weapon and armour crafting recipes. For example, the Wyvern Gem is used to craft the Blacksteel Charge II Charge Blade, the Barroth Vambraces Alpha arm piece and others. Similarly, the Legiana Gem is used to craft the Legia Stealer weapon, the Legiana Mail Alpha and others.