Diablo is the series that introduced the concept of socketable items, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that the feature is also present in the latest entry. Diablo 4 uses a more streamlined and simplistic version of the feature compared to some of its predecessors, but sockets continue to have a big impact on progression regardless.
Unlike Diablo 2: Resurrected, Diablo 4 doesn’t feature any Runes or Jewels, meaning the only items you can insert into sockets are Gems. This limits your ability to customize items but, on the other hand, Diablo 4 does make up for it by also including enchanting, so it all sort of evens out.
What Are Sockets?
Sockets are pretty much what you’d expect and come in the form of receptacles that can hold various types of Gems. Some of the items you’ll come across while exploring Sanctuary come with sockets right off the bat while others need to be socketed manually. Items that do spawn with them will always have empty sockets, allowing you to insert any type of Gem you want.
Items in Diablo 4 can only have up to a maximum of two sockets, which is another big change from previous games. Only certain types of items can hold two sockets. Namely, the chest piece, the pants, and two-handed weapons like greataxes and bows. Most other types of items can only hold one socket while gloves and boots can’t hold any of them.
How To Add Sockets To Gear
You can start adding sockets to your gear as soon as you unlock the Jeweler at level 20. Simply select the Add Socket option and choose the item you want to modify. In addition to a sizeable lump of gold, adding a socket to an item also requires a rare crafting material known as a Scattered Prism.
There are three primary ways of acquiring Scattered Prisms in Diablo 4. The first method involves killing World Bosses like Ashava The Pestilent, Avarice The Gold Cursed, and The Wandering Death. World Bosses only spawn on Nightmare and Torment difficulties, so you’ll first need to beat the campaign on Veteran before you’ll have a chance to encounter them. There’s no guarantee that you’re going to get a Scattered Prism upon killing a World Boss, but the chances are pretty high.
The other two methods involve scavenging Legendary gear and hunting down Treasure Goblins. Treasure Goblins are a rare sight and there’s no way to farm them or get them to spawn more often. In other words, you’re better off trying your luck with Legendary gear. Scavenging a piece of Legendary gear has a lower chance of dropping a Scattered Prism than killing a World Boss, but these items are pretty easy to come by, especially in the late game. You’ll typically want to scavenge unneeded Legendaries anyway in order to farm other rare crafting materials like Baleful Fragments, Abstruse Sigils, and Coiling Wards.
It's worth mentioning that socketing an item isn’t a permanent process. In exchange for some gold, Jewelers can also unsocket items, removing all Gems in the process. This won’t destroy the items, so feel free to experiment with various Gems until you find the combination that works best for your build.