In Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2), reaching level 20 or 21 for skill and spirit gems is an important milestone for enhancing your character's endgame power. These high-level gems are rare and valuable, often requiring specific strategies to obtain. In this Path of Exile 2 High-Level Gem farming guide, we efficiently break down the efficient way to get level 20 and 21 gems in PoE 2!
Guide To Get Level 20/21 Gems in PoE 2
High-level gems - especially level 20 and 21 - are a major step in boosting your character's performance. While level 18 and 19 gems are easier to acquire as you progress through higher-tier content, level 20 gems are much harder to obtain. Level 21 gems, on the other hand, are extremely rare and require additional methods to farm or craft.
This guide covers the mechanics of gem drops, the requirements for obtaining level 20 gems, and strategies to increase your chances of acquiring level 21 gems.
Path of Exile 2 Level 20 Gem Drop Mechanics
First of all, let's outline the mechanics behind gem drops in Path of Exile 2, and explain how to improve your chances of getting level 20 gems:
PoE 2 Level 20 Requirement:
Character Level Requirements for Gem Use:
Level 18 Gems: Usable at character level 78.
Level 19 Gems: Usable at character level 84.
Level 20 Gems: Usable at character level 90.
Item Level Requirements for Gem Drop:
Gems are tied to the item level of the loot dropped by monsters:
Item Level 1-34: Rank 1 Gems
Item Level 35-52: Rank 2 Gems
Item Level 53+: Rank 3 Gems
Endgame exclusively drops Rank 3 Gems due to the higher item levels of loot.
PoE Level 20 Gem Drop Rates
Level 20 gems are tied to item level and zone level. Here are the chances for level 20 gems to drop from uncut gem loot:
Item Level 81 or lower: 0% (level 20 gems cannot drop).
Item Level 82: ~1.82% chance (1 in 81).
Item Level 83: ~3.03% chance (1 in 33).
Item Level 84: ~5.26% chance (1 in 19).
Item Level 85: ~5.71% chance (2 in 35, extremely rare due to item scarcity).
There are currently no known ways to obtain item level 8-6 or higher loot, although the game files hint at probabilities for these levels.
Support Gems Drop
Support gem tiers depend entirely on the item level of the loot dropped by monsters. RNG determines whether a support gem drops, but the tier is fixed based on the item level:
Item Level 1–34: Rank 1 Support Gems
Item Level 35–52: Rank 2 Support Gems
Item Level 53+: Rank 3 Support Gems
This means:
In Acts 1 and 2, you’ll only see Rank 1 Support Gems.
In Acts 3 and 4, Rank 2 Support Gems dominate.
From Act 5 onward, Rank 3 Support Gems become the standard.
There’s no randomness in which support gem tier you’ll receive—it’s strictly tied to the item level of the loot dropped by monsters. Strongboxes with modifiers like +2 Item Level can slightly change this, but they are rare.
Skill Gems Drop
Skill gem levels increase in a predictable pattern during the campaign based on zone level:
In Acts 1 and 2, gem levels increase every 4 zone levels.
From Acts 3 to 5, the progression slows down, with upgrades occurring roughly every 5 zone levels.
Once you reach Act 6 (around level 62), randomness starts playing a role in gem drops. At this point:
Most gem drops will be at a "common" level for the zone.
There’s a chance for gems to drop one level higher or lower than the common level.
At higher zone levels, gems two levels higher than the common level can rarely drop.
This mechanic makes level 20 gems rare, as they can only drop from item level 82 or higher loot, and even then, the odds are stacked against you.
Spirit Gems Drop
Spirit gems function identically to skill gems but are much rarer. On average, spirit gems trade for about three times the price of equivalent-level skill gems.
PoE Level 20 Gem Drop Spots
To increase your chances of getting level 20 gems, you need to farm in areas where monsters drop loot of item level 82 or higher. Here are the best farming spots and strategy:
Tier 16 Maps:
Focus on Corrupted and Irradiated Slots on your Atlas. These zones ensure that all monsters drop item level 82+ loot.
Corrupted Modifiers:
Running corrupted maps can further improve your odds by increasing the number of monsters you fight and loot dropped.
Level 20 gems remain rare, but consistent farming in these zones will eventually yield results.
How To Get Level 20 Uncut Skill & Spirit Gems?
A practical way to get level 20 gems is by farming Tier 16 maps with the right modifiers. Here’s an example project:
Setup for Farming Maps:
The goal of this experiment was to farm 30 Tier 16 maps with the necessary modifiers to ensure all monsters dropped level 82 loot. These modifiers included Irradiated and Corrupted, which together provide a +2 area level bonus. This raised monster levels to 82, making it possible for level 20 gems to drop.
No specific layouts were selected for the project, but care was taken to avoid maps with frustrating or inefficient layouts, such as Vaal Factory. Maps with bosses or favorable mechanics were prioritized where possible.
Map Rolling:
Start by collecting lower-tier maps (e.g., Tier 11–14) and upgrading them to Tier 15 through reforging. Use Alchemy Orbs to roll modifiers on maps. If a map only had one modifier, additional modifiers were added using Augment Orbs or Regal Orbs. Once the maps were prepared, they were corrupted with Vaal Orbs to transform them into Tier 16 maps. This process sometimes removed or altered modifiers, but the focus was on obtaining Tier 16 maps with high loot potential.
Avoiding Problematic Modifiers:
Certain modifiers, such as Burning Ground, Elemental Penetration, or Minus Maximum Resistances, were avoided. These modifiers can make maps significantly harder, especially for builds vulnerable to elemental damage or stun mechanics.
Efficiency Considerations:
Maps with extra pack size, extra magic monsters, or rare monsters were prioritized to maximize the chances of gem drops. These modifiers increase the number of loot drops, which improves the odds of finding level 20 gems.
Testing Results:
2 level 20 uncut skill gems dropped.
5 level 19 spirit gems dropped.
After running 30 Tier 16 maps:
Most drops were level 19 uncut skill gems, with no notable additional loot.
Tips for Farming:
Here are some suggestions to make the process more productive:
Focus on Map Modifiers: Prioritize maps with additional pack size, rare monsters, or magic monsters. These modifiers increase the number of loot drops, which improves your chances of finding level 20 gems.
Use Spare Tier 16 Maps: Whenever you encounter suitable corrupted and irradiated maps in your Atlas, use a Tier 16 map to farm level 20 gems. This approach allows you to integrate gem farming into your regular Atlas progression.
Sell Unwanted Maps: Maps with unfavorable modifiers or layouts can still have value in the trade market. For example, highly rolled Tier 15 maps can sell for 2–5 Chaos Orbs or more, depending on their rarity and modifiers.
Prepare for Long-Term Farming: Farming level 20 gems is not something to rely on for quick results. Instead, treat it as a long-term goal while progressing through other aspects of the game.
The randomness of level 20 gem drops means this method isn’t highly efficient for currency farming, but it can be done alongside other map farming goals.
How To Get Level 21 Skill & Spirit Gems?
Level 21 gems can be created by corrupting level 20 gems. Here is the cheapest and easiest method to make level 21/20 corrupted skill gem:
Why Corrupt Gems to Level 21?
Most skills benefit significantly from gem level upgrades. For example:
A skill like Spark gains approximately 10% more damage when moving from level 20 to level 21.
Certain buffs, like Archmage, have breakpoints where an increase in gem level provides an additional multiplier to damage or effectiveness. For Archmage, going from level 20 to 21 increases its bonus from 8% to 9% damage as lightning, which can greatly improve output.
Hitting level 21 can provide flat damage increases, additional effects, or breakpoints for certain builds, making it a valuable upgrade for many skills.
Steps to Craft a Level 21 Gem
Corruption Mechanics:
Using a Vaal Orb on a gem can lead to one of several outcomes:
+1 to Gem Level (e.g., level 20 → level 21).
-1 to Gem Level (e.g., level 20 → level 19).
The chance to achieve +1 to Gem Level is approximately 1 in 8 (12.5%). This means, on average, eight corruptions are required to upgrade one gem successfully.
+Quality or -Quality (e.g., 20% → 23% or 17%).
Gain or Lose Links (e.g., change from 4-link to 3-link or 5-link, but cannot exceed 6-link).
Nothing Happens (no change to the gem).
Improving Odds with Omen of Corruption:
An Omen of Corruption can be used to remove the "Nothing Happens" outcome, slightly increasing the chance to succeed:
When using an Omen of Corruption, the odds of hitting +1 to Gem Level improve to 1 in 6 (16.7%).
While using an Omen increases costs slightly, it can save time and materials in the long run.
Crafting Process:
Start with a level 20 gem (or use an uncut level 19 gem to save costs).
Raise the gem to 20% quality using Gemcutter’s Prisms.
Use Lesser, Greater, and Perfect Jeweller’s Orbs to maximize links if desired.
Apply a Vaal Orb (optionally with an Omen of Corruption).
Cost Breakdown:
Without an Omen of Corruption: ~24 Divine Orbs (on average to succeed).
With an Omen of Corruption: ~22 Divine Orbs (on average).
Budget-Friendly Option for Spirit Gems
For spirit gems, a cost-effective method involves starting with a level 19 uncut gem:
Corrupt the level 19 gem to gain +1 to Gem Level, raising it to level 20. These gems are much cheaper than level 20 gems.
Use supports like Lightning Mastery to push the gem to level 21.
This approach significantly reduces costs, as level 19 uncut gems are far cheaper than level 20 gems.
Practical Example
Here’s how a crafting session might look:
Prepare eight level 20 gems with 20% quality.
Corrupt them one by one until the desired result is achieved.
Track outcomes:
One gem succeeds in becoming level 21.
Several gems lose a level, links, or quality.
Some gems remain unchanged (if no Omen was used).
Use the successful gem as your main skill gem, and store or sell the others.
Total cost: ~15 Divine Orbs (due to good luck).
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