+24 stam or +8 dodge +12 stam?

[DwarfWarrior]

I got my 226 legs from conquest badges today, and when it came to gem'ing I'm a bit lost. I was wondering if it would be better to go with the +24 stam gem vs. a +8 dodge +12 stam gem?

Here's my armory - The World of Warcraft Armory

[Bulk]

Stamina =)

[proudmoore]

Do you find yourself suddenly dying to large bursts of damage, or are you likely to encounter content where you fear this may happen?
Yes -> Stamina is good
No -> Stamina will do you only mildly more good than spirit gems will

Do you tend to die because you take too much damage over a significant timeframe?
Yes -> Dodge
No -> Dodge, or threat stats

Do you find you have threat issues?
Yes -> Expertise, or maybe strength. Probably Expertise
No -> You won;t notice a difference whatever you gem.

[Martie]

Honestly, at your gear level stamina trumps almost anything.

Feel free to go for purple or orange gems to grab a stamina socket bonus, but otherwise, stamina is king.

[Ryoku]

just a side question why don't you go for +30 stamina? or if you want +10 dodge and 15 stamina?
The raw gems are easily obtainable by doing a little bit wintergasp (hope thats how you write it)

[DwarfWarrior]

I didn't go for the +30 yet because I figured I would be replacing them to quickly to benefit from +6 stam.

[Airowird]

dodge if you get 6+ sta from this single choice.
Atleast on a ToC level.
At Ulduar you're proably looking at 3+ sta per hybrid sta/XXX gem

[Brawndo]

Honestly, you really should be putting epic gems in ilvl 226 gear. Even if you intend to replace them soon. There's no reason you should be gimping yourself to save a little bit of cash. I've always held the philosophy, blue gems are for blue gear, purple gems for purple gear.

[Biigfoot]

Do you find yourself suddenly dying to large bursts of damage, or are you likely to encounter content where you fear this may happen?
Yes -> Stamina is good
No -> Stamina will do you only mildly more good than spirit gems will

Do you tend to die because you take too much damage over a significant timeframe?
Yes -> Dodge
No -> Dodge, or threat stats

Do you find you have threat issues?
Yes -> Expertise, or maybe strength. Probably Expertise
No -> You won;t notice a difference whatever you gem.

Mmmmm not quite.

Do you tank?
Yes -> Stamina
No -> not stamina

Is the socket bonus enough stamina to make it worth it?
Yes -> Hybrid gem
No -> Stamina

Are you an OCD player who has to match every single socket?
Yes -> get over it
No -> good for you

If you want to use a hybrid for this then my suggestion would be a Regal Dreadstone. If you are very very low on expertise then use Guardian's Dreadstone.

*Note* Some Paladin tanks swear by Shifting Dreadstone so you could try that too.

[Fledern]

You dont seem to be doing any of the recent raid content. If you're asking for heroics, it doesnt really matter. If you're asking so you can get spots on pug raids, gem for epic stam. PuGs only look at your stam and are oblivious to your other stats
(and stam is really good for current raid content)