A little question about gemming ?

[Varlak]

Should I always go for +30stam gem or is going for a +stam + X stats in order tog et a soket bonus ?

Like on the crafted wrist going for a +15stam + 10def would give me +6stam for a total of 21stam + 10def vs 30stam.

[Dasverlassen]

To put it simple: 9stam > 10defense

[Selene]

It kinda depends.
If you need to to activate a Meta-gem, might as well socket for a bonus for the activation.
If you need more hit rating, might as well do a Hit/Stam to get a socket bonus for it, same with Expertise, use an Expertise/Stam for a bonus.
But over all unless you get a +9 stam or higher bonus to socket for a non-blue socket (per non-blue socket), you socket stamina. Very rarely will you socket for a +6 stamina socket bonus.

[Dragaan]

Usually, a good rule of thumb is to socket stam and skip all bonuses that are less than 9stam PER hybrid gem. Skipping all but +12 stam bonuses isn't a bad idea either.

[Fayre]

Usually I put 30 stamina in everything, but find the 'best' red socket bonus over all of my gear to put a dodge/stam gem in for my meta gem.

[jh7468]

I definitely agree that +6stam isn't a big loss and +12stam is a big loss. But if you're a tank, what about the other important stats? 8% hit rating, 540 defense rating and (28?) expertise rating are all important. You can't argue that any are more important than stamina, but if you're a couple click sorts on expertise, gem exp/stam so you'll be closer to where you want to be on expertise and the socket bonus will help offset the loss from +30 stam on the gem.

I'm not sure what level you're at in terms of gear, but the other thing to note is that (depending on your gold and availability to get gems) you will probably re-socket as you gear up. When I first hit 80 I needed to gem for defense to hit the def cap, but I soon got gear that put me at the cap without gems. Then I needed to boost hit rating, but again, gear put me where I needed to be. Now, I'm almost all stamina.

[Miste]

Yes, you need to maintain 540 defense for any raid. By ICC, every tank is swimming in defense gear.

Reaching the hit cap(8% with buffs) and expertise soft cap (26) are nice goals, but not worth reducing your stamina unless you are severely deficient in those stats. The relative value of expertise and hit changes depending on the tank. Druids and DKs tend to value expertise more than warriors or paladins. Hit stays somewhat lower on the priority list unless it is a tank swapping fight. At that point, most people will use their respective taunt glyph if they are uncomfortable with their hit rating for the fight.

[MrMooky]

You shouldn't need to gem defense. Never gem for hit, you get enough with gear. Use taunt glyph for a fight that a taunt NEEDS to land. If you are having thread issues, gem exp/stam to get a +9 or higher socekt bonus. Other than that, gem +30 stam. If you need a yellow for your meta, that would be the only acceptable time to socket hit/stam.