Trying to make a compilation of gems to consider assuming a socket bonus is worthwhile. I know what gem you choose will change based on what stat you need but this is going to attempt to be a quick at a glance place to come in and get gem ideas. Below are the blue quality versions of the gems, but once epics are the standard the cut name will be the same anyways.
Note: As of now you may be forced to find "green" quality of the gems listed below until the rest of these gems are unlocked/put in game. Try and find the "perfect" cuts of these gems if the "blue" quality is not available.
Any input or feedback is appreciated, I will update this list if I miss something or picked a bad gem for a certain spec. I could definitely use some input on feral druid DPS gems.
Last edited by Eilt : 04/20/09 at 1:49 PM.
Reason: Added Luminous/Ember skyflare to resto, etched to feral, accurate to feral. UPDATE: Changed feral DPS strength gems to Agility UPDATE2: Added ArP gem to feral DPS
There's never any reason to gem for anything but Spellpower or Regen for Resto. Spirit now gives us some more SP, so Purified and Runed are the clear options for Blue/Red. If you have a Yellow socket, Luminous (Spellpower/Int) will give us more than Haste or Crit, due to the poor scaling we have with both of those stats.
For Meta, Ember is another option (+25 SP/+2% Int), though admittedly not as popular as Bracing or Insightful.
Edit: Wow, we all jumped on that fast. Delete this post if anyone feels its unnecessary.
As previously mentioned, using [Perfect Purified Shadow Crystal] is better than spellpower/stam for both resto and balance specs in blue slots.
For balance, it should only really be Runed (Red), Veiled (Red/Yellow), Rigid (Yellow) and Purified (Blue) as options I believe. Spellpower is better than haste generally, and you get more points per gem anyway (9 spell power instead of 8 haste on split gems, 19 spell power instead of 16 haste on pure).
Since the feral hitcap isn't that high it might happen that you are a bit over the hitcap but can't afford to lose a 16 Hit gem but you can afford to lose just 8 Hit rating, so you would gain 8 Strength by using this gem.
For balance, it should only really be Runed (Red), Veiled (Red/Yellow), Rigid (Yellow) and Purified (Blue) as options I believe. Spellpower is better than haste generally, and you get more points per gem anyway (9 spell power instead of 8 haste on split gems, 19 spell power instead of 16 haste on pure).
haste can still be considered on gems needing a yellow component (reckless only, never quick) once hit is capped. It is the best yellow gem stat for balance that doesn't cap.
The rounding errors on gems are worth considering as well. In TBC with blue gems, it was often better to use 2 reckless or veiled gems, than one runed and one great/quick, because you'd get an extra spellpower (10 vs. 9). With wrath blue gems, it's the opposite. Better to socket one runed and one rigid/quick (assuming you have a red slot and a yellow slot to fill where you care about the bonus) and get an extra spellpower over two orange gems.
However, the last I checked, Sovereign and Shifting Twilight Opal had not yet been implemented in game.
Correct - Wowhead (obviously) does list them, so they must've been around on Beta. I am hopeful they'll arrive shortly (from dailies or what-not).
It might be worthwhile pointing out that a Perfect [...] Shadow Crystal will be missing only one stat point each (two in total) when compared to the rare gems, which makes them a reasonable replacement for the time being.
Ignorance can be solved with a book. Stupidity requires a shotgun and a shovel.
I think it is also worth mentioning: [Regal Twilight Opal] for feral tanking gems as well as the shifting is unavailable. Personally i'm sticking to the [Guardian's Twilight Opal] in blue slots until shifting is available.
haste can still be considered on gems needing a yellow component (reckless only, never quick) once hit is capped. It is the best yellow gem stat for balance that doesn't cap.
True, but there are very few yellow sockets in Balance gear (if any), and generally those that you do have will be filled with hit in order to just clip the cap (rather than getting more than needed). Point taken that haste is the more worthwhile option (over crit) if you happen to be hit capped and the socket bonus is worth getting.
Insightful Eearthsiege (Meta) is a 5% chance for 600 mana. Someone with a pool of around 20k only gains 400, and only once, from Ember Skyflare, but the spellpower keeps it slightly appealing. Not sure where we'd need reduced threat, though - I'd tend to consider Insightful Earthsiege a DPS gem.
For the Feral(tank) yellow slot you should list the Enduring Forest Emerald as it is the best gem to put in a yellow slot if you're looking for mitigation.
For the Feral(tank) yellow slot you should list the Enduring Forest Emerald as it is the best gem to put in a yellow slot if you're looking for mitigation.
I fail to see how stacking defense when Feral druids are already crit immune is helpful. If it was, feral tanks would have been doing this in BC as well which was not the case. Yes it has stam on it, but the def is totally wasted.
@Vrakk:
When Spirit changed the ToL modifier to benefit everyone spirit stacking was fun, but now you get 15% of it to your healing and the rest will be there for regen purposes. If you are having such mana issues that you need the spirit there is probably other issues somewhere. I do believe the current sentiment for trees, is to maximize your spellpower to make your HoTs as strong as possible with just enough regen to last you a full encounter without having to stop casting.
Defense gives dodge, it is not totally wasted. In TBC, you could just stack tons of agility to get your dodge but now thanks to diminishing returns it is not crazy to add some defense. You certainly won't stack it, but for a not-that-great color like yellow, when the socket bonus is good, green Enduring gems are reasonable for a bear.
I fail to see how stacking defense when Feral druids are already crit immune is helpful. If it was, feral tanks would have been doing this in BC as well which was not the case. Yes it has stam on it, but the def is totally wasted.
Defense still provides dodge and miss even though you are already crit immune. The reason to use this gem would be that defense provides at least a little mitigation whereas hit rating and other stats available on yellow gems provide none.
I see what you mean, but there would seem to always be a need for a little extra hit or expertise from a yellow slot, instead of stacking dodge through DEF, but if the ferals think it is applicable I can add it to the list no problems.
I recommend adding it. The choice between the two is a matter of threat against avoidance, and therefore will be influenced by preference and gear. Both are valid.
[edit] And Defense isn't just dodge, it's chance to be missed as well. Doesn't change the argument at all, but.
Well it seems that in this new WoW, there really is no need for a healer or a boomer to stack any stam gems. But I do think that if a boomer really really lacks hit [Vivid Forest Emerald] is a good idea until you can properly replace it!