{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/rpg-grind--gem-rune-upgrades","type":"mechanic","id":"rpg-grind--gem-rune-upgrades","lang":"en","title":"Gem and rune upgrading","summary":"A gem has its own progression rank. Diablo III’s Urshi upgrades Legendary Gems after Greater Rifts; the image is from the historical 2014 patch 2.1 preview.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/rpg-grind--gem-rune-upgrades/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/rpg-grind--gem-rune-upgrades.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/rpg-grind--gem-rune-upgrades.md","aliases":[],"tags":["RPG grinding","Equipment upgrades"],"sourceIds":["source-34a5d0621fe87736"],"sources":[{"id":"source-34a5d0621fe87736","title":"Diablo III (2014 preview)","url":"https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/article/15317478/patch-2-1-0-preview-greater-rifts","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Equipment inserts have their own acquisition and upgrade loop, with transfer between items governed by the game’s rules."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Action → reward\n\n<a id=\"gem-rune-upgrades-loop\"></a>\n\n- Collect and combine gems or runes → strengthen equipment inserts. <a id=\"gem-rune-upgrades-repeat\"></a>\n- Develop separate insert types for different builds. <a id=\"gem-rune-upgrades-option-2\"></a>\n- Unlock additional insert slots. <a id=\"gem-rune-upgrades-option-3\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Three small rubies combine into one large ruby for a weapon socket."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A systematic RPG grind reference: 110 mechanics and 330 variants in 18 sections. Four layers answer different questions: what the player repeats, what develops, how rewards arrive and what constrains the loop. It covers single-player RPGs, ARPGs, MMORPGs and adjacent management and accumulation systems. Every mechanic has an explanation, variants and a hypothetical example; coverage, combinations and verified game observations follow the catalog."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"rpg-grind","id":"gem-rune-upgrades","title":"RPG grinding","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/rpg-grind/#gem-rune-upgrades","categoryIds":["equipment-upgrades"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Gem and rune upgrading","description":"A gem has its own progression rank. Diablo III’s Urshi upgrades Legendary Gems after Greater Rifts; the image is from the historical 2014 patch 2.1 preview.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/rpg-final-gems.webp","width":1200,"height":750,"game":"Diablo III (2014 preview)","sourceUrl":"https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/article/15317478/patch-2-1-0-preview-greater-rifts","originalUrl":"https://bnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net/cms/content_folder_media/EXH6RZIAVLVE1408586229644.jpg","credit":"Blizzard Entertainment","rights":"© Blizzard Entertainment. Publisher-distributed screenshot or documentation image; all rights reserved. Excluded from portal MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Diablo III, 2.1 preview (2014): choosing a Legendary Gem upgrade","alt":"Diablo III, 2.1 preview (2014): choosing a Legendary Gem upgrade","markers":[{"x":23,"y":79,"label":"The gem button selects a Legendary Gem upgrade with Urshi"}]},"tips":["Explain upgrade chances, rank limits and moving the gem between items."],"examples":[{"title":"Diablo III (2014 preview)","url":"https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/article/15317478/patch-2-1-0-preview-greater-rifts"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial RPG grind taxonomy authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and expanded to cover activities, progression goals, reward rules and constraints. All original thirty family/branch/variant identities are preserved. Official developer and publisher sources support only the specifically described released-game observations; design variants and scenarios are hypothetical.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/rpg-grind"}}