Elder Scrolls Blades gems: how to get gems in Blades and cut the grind

Elder Scrolls Blades gems are a form of in-game currency that you can spend on both items and certain actions. These actions are often shortcuts that remove much of the Elder Scrolls Blades' grind: item chests, for example, open on timers, and some will take hours to unlock, but you can spend gems to open them straightaway. You can also spend gems to instantly complete some quests and gain their rewards, expand your inventory, or purchase extra chests full of powerful items.

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Elder Scrolls Blades gems are also the subject of all the microtransactions in the game. You can directly buy gems with real money through the in-game store, and some packages go for as much as $100. However, you can also earn gems for free by just by playing the game—in this guide we’ll explain how to do just that. We’ll also provide advice on what you should spend gems on to ensure you don’t waste them early on. Read on for everything you should know about the Elder Scrolls Blades gems then when you're done, take a look at our top Elder Scrolls Blades tips.

How to get Elder Scrolls Blades gems

There are many ways to get Elder Scrolls Blades gems. The easiest method is to buy them with real money—which we’ll go over later—but thankfully you can also pick them up from the following places without spending a penny.

You get given gems at the start of the game
You’re handed enough gems to get you started when you first boot up The Elder Scrolls: Blades. Try to save them until you really need them.

Random drops after you defeat an enemy
Occasionally, a single gem will drop from an enemy’s body after you kill them. This happens rarely, and isn’t a reliable way of obtaining gems, but those single pickups quickly add up. If you run through a handful of quests then you’ll probably have enough gems to open a few wooden chests, which cost one gem per chest.

Reward for levelling up
You occasionally earn gems as a reward for levelling up your character. You get around 30 gems when you level up, although it won’t happen every time. To level up, you need to complete quests and defeat enemies, earning XP.

Find gems in chests
You can find gems in chests that you pick up during quests and jobs. There’s only a small chance that a chest will contain gems, and it appears to occur randomly rather than in pre-defined locations. It will yield less gems than levelling up: typically, you’ll find around five gems if you get lucky with a chest. 

Chests are usually easy to find, but make sure you search for secrets in levels behind hidden doors or locked gates. Look for items that glint, such as chains on a wall—interacting with them will open new routes.

Rewards for completing quests
You might also receive gems as a reward for completing quests. If you’re in desperate need of gems, check the rewards for each mission before choosing what to do next.

Buying Elder Scrolls Blades gems in microtransactions

As you can see, getting gems without paying real money is somewhat random: you will find gems just by playing the game, but it’s not a reliable way of building up a big reserve. If you want to do that, your only real options is, unfortunately, microtransactions.

You can buy gems in the following amounts through the store, which you can access via the menu or launch screen.

• Pouch of Gems: 160 gems – £1.89/$1.99
• Sack of Gems – 500 gems – £4.69/$4.99
• Stash of Gems – 1,200 gems – £8.49/9.99
• Strongbox of Gems – 2,500 gems – £18.49/19.99
• Hoard of Gems – 6,500 gems – £39.99/49.99
• Imperial Coffer – 14,000 gems – £92.99/99.99

You will receive bonus items on the first gem package that you purchase—in our game, they were Scrolls of Revival, with more scrolls given in the higher-cost gem collections.

What should you spend Elder Scrolls Blades gems on?

In general, wait as long as possible before spending gems
Everyone’s Blades playstyle is going to be different. Some players might fill their inventory with items, and only sort through them once they run out of slots. Others might meticulously comb over all their items after every mission. You might want to focus on upgrading your town—or perhaps buying shiny new gear is a more appealing time sink.

Depending on how you play, you’re going to come up against one or more of Blades’ limitations, which you can often circumvent by spending gems. You might find that your inventory is full, or that you’ve built up so many chests that you can’t pick up any more, for example. It’s a good idea to wait until this happens before deciding where to spend your gems, rather than spending them pre-emptively where they might not be useful. Play at least a few hours before you decide so that you don’t waste them on a whim.

Expand your inventory
In most Elder Scrolls games, you can carry 10 swords, five shields, three pairs of boots and seven chest pieces—and still have room for a stack of bear pelts. Blades, however, isn’t quite so generous. You only have 20 inventory slots, and you may well find yourself running out of space early on. Consider spending 10 gems to boost your carrying capacity by 10 slots. Bear in mind that there’s a perk called Load Bearer that has the same effect, and costs two skill points to unlock.

Increase your chest capacity
You’ll find chests everywhere as you explore Blades, and they’re your main source of items. But chests that are silver or better take at least an hour to unlock, and you’ll likely find yourself backed up with unopened chests after a few hours of play. You can only store 10 at a time by default—if you find you’re reaching the limit, you might want to spend 10 gems to double your chest capacity.

Respec your character later on
Blades is heavy on character customisation, and it has separate skill trees for spells, perks and abilities, all of which lend themselves to a particular playstyle. That’s great if you know how you want to play—but it can be restrictive if you want a flexible character. Luckily, you can reset all your skills and attributes by spending 65 gems. We’d advise you play normally for the first ten hours or so and then, if you don’t like your decisions, pull the plug and start over.