Diablo 3: Here’s How To Add Sockets to Items

A majority of your success in Diablo 3 will depend on your items. Items are at the core of every Diablo game, so it doesn’t surprise us that there are many mechanics and systems in the game associated with them. We’ve recently covered socketing in Diablo II, and now it’s time to explain this mechanic in Diablo 3 as well. One thing, in particular, is of interest to many returning and new players, and that’s adding sockets to items. Before we begin with the analysis, let’s answer the base question first, can you add sockets to items in Diablo 3?

Sockets make your items more powerful

Sockets are holes in your items that serve as placeholders for gems, runes, and jewels. By empowering your items with gems, runes, and jewels, you can greatly increase the stats of your weapons and other types of gear. The number of grey circles you see on your user interface corresponds to a single socket. A single socket can hold only 1 item (for example, a single weapon socket can only hold one gem). Socketing can make your items extremely powerful, and this is why there are certain limits implemented. 

The maximum number of sockets that you can have on a certain item was greatly reduced in Diablo 3 when compared to Diablo 2, but this balanced itself out with the fact that several new types of items can have sockets, such as jewelry. The maximum number of sockets that an item can have depends greatly on the type of item. Weapons, Helms, Shields, Off-Hand items, Amulets, and Rings can have only a single socket. Pants can have two sockets, and Armor can have a maximum of 3 sockets. Under the best circumstances, the most sockets you can have is 11, and this number cannot be changed. 

You can replace the gems, runes, or jewels in the sockets at any time by visiting the jeweler. The items extracted from the sockets can be salvaged (one more change when compared to Diablo 2). 

Can you add sockets to items? 

You can have sockets to items, but only if the item doesn’t have one, but it could have. For example, you can add a single socket to a weapon that doesn’t have a socket, but you can’t add an additional socket. The same goes for any other item type. Sockets can be added only if they don’t go over the already established limit. You can add sockets to items in Diablo 3 by using Ramaladni’s Gift or visiting an Artisan. In the rest of this post, we’re going to explain both approaches. 

Adding a socket to an item via Ramaladni’s Gift

Ramaladni’s Gift is a torment-only random world drop that allows you to add a socket to a weapon that already doesn’t have one. Additionally, you can use Ramaladni’s Gift to modify a weapon with a socket, but the socket has to be removed prior to the attempt through enchanting. 

You cannot use Ramaladni’s Gift to add a second socket to your weapons since it’s impossible for a weapon to have two sockets. 

Ramaladni’s Gift is a single-use item that will be destroyed after you use it. It can be used on a single weapon twice only if the first socket has been removed.

Adding a socket to an item by visiting Mystic Artisan

You can add a socket to an item that already doesn’t have one by visiting Mystic Myriam Jahzia. Myriam Jahzia was added to the Reaper of Souls expansion, and she offers transmogrification and enchanting services. Through enchanting, you can select one primary property to re-roll into a socket. The number of sockets you acquire through enchanting cannot exceed the maximum limit of sockets that an item can have. You cannot re-roll legendary special properties. 

Re-rolling property is not free, and it usually costs gold and certain materials. The more powerful the item is, the rarer the material needed will be, and overall the cost of enchanting will be higher. You cannot use enchanting services to re-roll additional affix into a second socket (if the item cannot have two sockets), and once the item has been modified through enchanting, it cannot be traded to another player. It becomes account-bound. 

You can find Mystic Artisan in all major times if you have completed Act 5. As of patch 2.2.1, you don’t have to own Reaper of Souls expansion to have access to Mystic Artisan. This was a welcome change as originally, Diablo 3 Vanilla players did not have access to her services.

Summary

As you can see, players can add sockets to items in Diablo 3, and they have two ways of doing it. First, you can use an item called Ramaladni’s Gift to add a socket to a weapon that doesn’t have one but only once. The item also works only on weapons, so don’t attempt to use it on jewelry or other types of items. Second, you can visit Mystic Artisan in towns to re-roll a single primary property of an item into a socket, but only if the item doesn’t have a socket already. Special legendary properties cannot be re-rolled, and it will cost you. The cost depends on the quality of an item. You can likewise employ enchanting services to remove a socket for an item. 

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