Is gemming for defense really that bad?

[thedrawrf]

Hey all,
I recently got into a long, drawn out argument with a mage, who insisted that my defense rating (269) is way too high, and I'd be better off going for the 540 minimum and stacking stamina past 30 k. I argued that defense gems are the highest avoidance gems in the game right now, and that's why I tend to favor them. Is gemming/enchanting for defense really that bad, or is he just having a knee-jerk reaction to seeing such a high number?

Here's my armory, for your consideration: The World of Warcraft Armory (http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Shu%27halo&n=Thedrawrf)

[Inshius]

its not really bad either way you look at it, if you are just gemming haphazardly for defense rating there is no real point for the current content, maybe we will see a shift to more avoidance type situations in ulduar so for now just gem for dps / tps.

I know everyone else is doing this but there are viable reasons for doing so, faster mt can dps, higher his threat, more dps can go all out.

[Tatt]

Personally I choose to gear for expertise and hit to improve my threat, but each to his own...you have enough stam for any encounter currently in the game, so stam gems would not be worth it IMO.

[skypilot870]

I've been wondering the same thing. I have been gemming for EH + AV and right now I am sitting at exactly 540 defense after a lot of careful gem balancing. But if I can avoid this in the future, as I will certainly be getting new gear/gems, I would like to.

[Petninja]

I'd say you could afford to lose a little bit in favor of hit and expertise, just because that much def isn't really helping any. Your mage friend isn't standing on solid ground though.