How to Socket Gems in Burning Crusade Classic

To socket a gem in Burning Crusade Classic, Shift+right-click a piece of gear with a socket, drag a cut gem into its slot, and press the socket button to confirm. Check the socket bonus before you commit. Replacing a gem destroys the old one, so use the preview to catch an expensive mistake before pressing the button.

Insert a gem and confirm the result

1. Inspect the gear's tooltip for a socket. Choose a compatible cut gem from your bags. Raw gems used as Jewelcrafting materials aren't the finished gems you're looking for.
2. Hold Shift and right-click the item to open its socketing window. You can start from the item's icon in your bags or from equipped gear.
3. Drag the cut gem into the socket in that window. If the gear has more than one socket, check that you placed the gem in the slot you meant to use.
4. Review the preview and press the socket button. Hover the gear again to confirm the gem appears on the item.

You can use gems on your own equipment without being a Jewelcrafter. The profession makes the cut gems. The socketing window is where the wearer applies them. If a friend is helping you, ask for the finished gem rather than handing over the equipment and assuming they need to apply it for you.

Decide whether the socket bonus is worth matching

For ordinary colored sockets, the gear can take a gem that doesn't match the socket's color. You still get the gem's own stats, but the item's socket bonus requires the sockets to match. Check all the sockets on the piece before buying gems for a bonus. Matching just one of two sockets won't activate the bonus if the other remains unmatched.

Hybrid colors count as both of their component colors. For example, an orange gem can match a red or yellow socket. That can help when you want some of the stats from a hybrid gem and still want the socket bonus. Compare the result you want from the whole piece, since a socket bonus isn't always worth sacrificing the stats you value more.

Say a piece has a red socket and a yellow socket. You could use a red gem and an orange gem to match both. You could also choose a red gem for each normal socket if you want their stats more than the item bonus. Preview the pairing and read the resulting tooltip so you know which tradeoff you're making.

Check meta gems separately

Meta sockets need meta gems, and meta gems have activation conditions. Read the gem's tooltip before buying it. The conditions can depend on the colors of gems elsewhere in your equipped gear, so filling the head slot with a meta gem doesn't guarantee that its effect is active. Check the tooltip again after you equip the rest of your gear.

If you change equipment regularly, include those swaps in the check. A set that activates your meta gem for one activity can lose the effect when you remove a piece whose gems counted toward the condition. If the effect is inactive, work out which gem colors are missing before replacing anything. One suitable hybrid gem may solve the problem without changing every socket.

Replace an existing gem only after comparing options

Open the socketing window again and put the new gem in the occupied slot you want to change. The old gem is destroyed when you confirm. It won't return to your bags. This is the point to double-check that you aren't replacing a gem on a similar piece of gear you intend to keep.

If the item is a short-term upgrade, consider whether an inexpensive gem will do for now. If it's a piece you plan to keep and the gem unlocks a useful bonus or activates a meta gem, paying for the better cut may make more sense. The socketing screen gives you time to compare before you commit.

If the window won't open, confirm you have the right item and that its tooltip actually lists a socket. If a gem can't be inserted, check whether it's cut and whether you're trying to put a normal gem in a meta slot. If the gem appears but the bonus stays inactive, review the color match for every socket on that item. For a meta effect, check the gem's separate requirement across your equipped gear.