Preface: This is my own edited version of the /Gems Command. I and numerous others disagree with the recommendations and after several attempts, we have been unsuccessful in getting the changes made so I have decided to just create this instead. Some recommendations will remain the same, there will be new ones, and for ones which are not recommended I will provide a brief explanation of why I and others disagree with the recommendations.

Gems in Azur Lane are fairly rare from a free-to-play perspective. However, the gacha in Azur lane does not require gems and their main usage is expansion of facilities like dorm, academy, docks and depot, as well as buying resources, resource packs, premium items (rings and name change), and skins. As a free-to-play player, you can get up to 4700 guaranteed gems (3750 for 3* clearing up to W15 in the Main Campaign, 800 for completing Bands collection, and 150 for 8 days login campaign), not counting random gems from commissions or occasional bonuses from mini-events or maintenance compensations. Considering the limited availability of gems for F2P players, even if spent exclusively on base upgrades, it is impossible to upgrade everything. Some examples of how to best spend your gems are listed below. Note, that every example utilizes 4200 gems(3 staring W14 and W15 is not generally feasible for newer players so getting the gems from there will be a while, so the gems obtained from there have been omitted), which requires clearing every chapter up to and including World 13, so specific order is left up to the player.

Note: For F2P players the primary sources of additional Gems will mainly be Lunar New Year and your region’s anniversary. They will also occasionally giveaway gems for milestones and obviously some commissions can drop gems but these are exceptionally rare.  

It is highly recommended if you are free to play NOT to spend Gems on anything other than Dock Space or Dorm Slots. Resource Packs, Cubes, Oil, etc are all just extremely bad value even if you buy Gems with real money. Skins and Oath Rings simply cost too much of your limited Gem stock to be considered worthwhile. If you do want these items it is recommended instead to buy gems with real money to get them, you’ll also be supporting the game helping it keep going.

• 5 Dorm slots, 2nd Floor, +90 Dock space Dorm focused upgrade that ignores academy in favor of bigger dorm, allows for higher passive EXP gain and morale restoration compared to previous one. Recommended for active players. Edit: As a note it is not recommended to go above 5 Dorm slots and the 2nd floor due to the extremely high cost of the 6th Dorm Slot(1200 Gems). Also the 2nd floor takes priority over the 4th and 5th dorm slots.

• +170 Dock space, 3rd Dorm slot, 2nd floor. This largely serves the same purpose as the “+150 Dock space, 4 Dorm slots”. The reason why the 2nd floor is favored over the 4th dorm slot is that it still allows you to dorm a full fleet to maintain morale in heavy farming sessions.

• 4 Dorm slots, 2nd Floor, +140 Dock space A compromise between the first 2 that allows for a slightly higher capacity dorm while compromising less on dockspace. Also note the 2nd floor has priority over the 4th dorm slot.

NOT RECOMMENDED

• +150 Dock space, 4 Dorm slots Extremely heavy dock focused upgrade, mostly recommended for players who want to collect a lot of characters, while still having a functional dorm. Alternatively possible to ignore 4th dorm in favor of +30 Dock space and slightly higher per-ship EXP gain in the dorm (due to having fewer ships). Not recommended for players who play actively due to poor ability to restore morale. Please note, that while these are "recommended" upgrades, players are free to use their own judgment. For example, 5th dorm slot can be exchanged for 2nd dorm floor depending on preferences (5th dorm for higher passive EXP gain, 2nd floor for easier farming with morale restoration) and vice versa. Any upgrade can be ignored in favor of additional dock slots or the other way around, but the generally recommended amount is +100 slots (up to 250).

Re: I’ve already said this in the alternate recommendation but the 2nd floor is overall superior to the 4th dorm slot.

• 4 Dorm slots, 2nd Floor, 3rd Academy slot, +100 Dock space "A little bit of everything" upgrade that allows for the faster skill upgrade process and completely functional dorm together with 2nd floor and high dock capacity.

Re: This recommendation is bad mainly because of the 3rd academy slot. It does not provide enough long term benefit to justify its cost and even in the short term its benefits are marginal due to the lack of skill books new players will have in the early game. It is not recommended to buy academy slots as a free to play player period.