u/Raisehe11

I'm sure this is common sense for most, but I didn't even think about it until last night after hundreds of failed attempts at getting gem strength on my weapons.

The same rule applies where they have to be the same item type (e.g. x3 2h mace, x3 polearm, etc.) but you can transmute them into a new non-transfigured item of that type.

In other words, bricked 3 of your 2h maces? Put those into the cube and it should default to the 3 to 1 Transmutation, which turns your 3 duds into a new 2h mace to attempt transfiguring gem strength. As long as they're ancestral (900 ilevel) you'll also have the chance at getting a GA'd version.

Don't be like me and immediately salvage an entire inventory's worth of 2h maces. 33 bag slots with bricked 2h maces = 11 more "free" attempts I could've had :(