How to gem/gear in ICC

[Grimz666]

Okay so the title says it all. I am just really unsure as to whether i should still b gemming for pure stam or should i be going for more avoidance since i lose 20% dodge... any advice, link to existing threads, angry flames, will be appreciated

[Dreador]

Armory link would help, the one in your profile is broken.

Best to gem stamina except for 1 purple gem to meet the meta bonus. Enchant for stamina or Armor. Use Glyph of indom and the best stam trinket you have access to.

[Aggathon]

CotT does not change stat priorities at all, especially since it is after DRs.

As always, gem/enchant for EHP.

EHP > RNG

[robbon]

The new armor items from emblems of frost, cataclysm chest and belt for example together with some drop items lure me towards combination gems, eg stam+dodge and def+stam just to get the socket bonus, now whilst this is probably losing me about 1-2k in HP i am gaining a little in other stats such as dodge/parry which isnt a bad bad thing.

Are people simply gemming these loverly new items with masses of stamina and armor allready on them with pure stam ??

i for one and being tempted to multi-gem.

[krc]

If you are gemming youir pieces most tanks gem all stamina unless the socket bonus only requires one multi-color gem and is 9 stamina or higher. Some tanks prefer to gem a mult-gem once the socket bonus is 6 stamina or higher, in current content it doesn't matter.

Lets please not turn this into a stamina vs. avoidance arguement there are already loads of those threads around already.

[Dreador]

If you are gemming youir pieces most tanks gem all stamina unless the socket bonus only requires one multi-color gem and is 9 stamina or higher. Some tanks prefer to gem a mult-gem once the socket bonus is 6 stamina or higher, in current content it doesn't matter.

Lets please not turn this into a stamina vs. avoidance arguement there are already loads of those threads around already.

^^that's what this thread already is.

I wouldn't go any less than 9 stamina for the bonus. If the bonus is defense, dodge, hit, parry or anything other than stamina I wouldn't bother. TBH, gemming with purple and green gems nets you between 1 and 3% avoidance on average for a health loss of 1000 or more. Hardly seems worth it.

[Sydien]

I'm toying with using hybrid gems more often, at least for the current available content that I'm tanking. Mainly, stamina is getting boring. 50k in a raid seems like enough, granted more is better, but the way these new ICC pieces are socketed, I think I favor the small amounts of avoidance. Not suggesting that the math on EHP would agree in any form.

[Dreador]

I'm toying with using hybrid gems more often, at least for the current available content that I'm tanking. Mainly, stamina is getting boring. 50k in a raid seems like enough, granted more is better, but the way these new ICC pieces are socketed, I think I favor the small amounts of avoidance. Not suggesting that the math on EHP would agree in any form.

Those pieces aren't socketed any different than any socketed gear since gems came out in Burning Crusade. Rarely will you see a breastplate with 3 blue sockets and a 12 stamina bonus, it just doesn't happen. Basically they do that to give you options.

[Sydien]

Those pieces aren't socketed any different than any socketed gear since gems came out in Burning Crusade. Rarely will you see a breastplate with 3 blue sockets and a 12 stamina bonus, it just doesn't happen. Basically they do that to give you options.

I meant that we seem to be getting Red+Yellow instead of Red+Blue or Yellow+Blue. Maybe it's a perception thing.

[Dreador]

I meant that we seem to be getting Red+Yellow instead of Red+Blue or Yellow+Blue. Maybe it's a perception thing.

Gotcha, thanks for clarifying. Still though, that's why you aren't forced to use that color, you get options, one gets a bonus the other won't. It's all down to what your priorities are.

[rkid1296]

I'm trying to figure out what ill need to gem in ICC as a frost 2h dk tank (i know frost isnt 2h but its abilities generate fine threat with some points in the blood talent tree) ive been gemming mostly stam and some dodge/parry/exp when neccascary, but i talked to a person about join his icc raiding guild and he told me i needed more mitigation, so i threw on some dodge trinks to go to 29% dodge 20% parry 26000 armor and 32500 hp (all unbuffed) unfortunately most icc raids dont want a tank with 32.5k hp, so ive been wondering, do i ges more dodge/parry and get the frost badge trink (228 stam and some armor) and the TotC 25 trink (192 stam and armor proc(i think)) or just keep the dodge trinks and gem more stam with better stam gear, please help me out here!

[krc]

There isn't a single encounter in the game other than Anub adds that penalize you for stacking EH, go with EH all the way but don't get the the trinket with your badges first since it is really a subpar upgrade in the scheme of things.

[winterbourne]

I was wondering something about sockets and their bonuses.

I was hopeful to see that the new iLvls of gear would allow for an expansion of the socket bonuses for adhering to color.

My wonder is that Blizzard opted to keep the 6/9/12 stamina bonuses when the gems are in the +30 stamina range. Slotting a def/stam or agi/stam for the bonus means that you still sacrifice something in the 14 stamina range. Which is why it is SO easy to just ignore everything and go straight blue.

I think raising the socket bonuses, even just slightly, would motivate us to do a little more with our gems instead of farming up 47 solid majestics for every single tank toon in Azeroth. Just my humble opinion.