(10 points and a cookie if you name that quote)
'k, so, suppose I just got a socketed quest reward? How do I decide what gems to put in the sockets? I'm assuming it's just more of my basic useful stats (STR, STA, AG)? Or is there some super secret formula I should know about?
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How do I know what it's got in its nasty little socketsesFollow
Riddles in the Dark, from The Hobbit. Gollum wondering about whether or not Bilbo had stolen his ring. I don't know about the other stuff...
Chocolate-Chip, by the way, my favorite cookie
.
Chocolate-Chip, by the way, my favorite cookie
.
You didn't say FIRST to name the quote, so I'm gonna go with "Riddles in the Dark, from The Hobbit." I like chocolate chip, too.
I'd say there's three things to consider when socketing:
1)The socket bonus
2)For what purpose you'll be wearing that piece
3)Your budget, in context of how long you think the piece will last
Socket Bonus
I'd ballpark that about half the time the socket bonus isn't worth a damn. In that case socket whatever you want per the logic below. But if it IS worth a damn, like +AP on something you'll wear for DPS or +dodge for a tanking piece, then socket with appropriate color gems. When you hit the AH be sure to check for orange and purple gems that can fit in "yellow or red", or "red or blue" sockets, respectively. They give you a little bit of two stats instead of a lot of one stat.
What the Piece is For
If you'll be wearing the piece when doing DPS, socket for strength or agility depending if you're looking to increase your AP or Crit %. If you'll be wearing it for tanking stack agility or stamina, depending on whether you want to boost dodge or HP.
Now in YOUR case, my sacrilegious little single-gear-setted friend, : ) I'd think you'd want to max out your agility whenever possible because it boosts crit in cat and dodge in bear. I think +hit would be good for you, too, since it helps reduce misses in cat and I just learned that it reduces the likelihood of your Growl getting resisted.
Your Budget
The green/uncommon gems are a LOT more cost-effective point-for-point than blue/rare ones. For example, the +6 agility gem will cost you 1g or so, while the +8 agility gem will set ya back 40-50g. That incremental +2 agility is friggin EXPENSIVE. : / So if you're socketing a piece you don't think you'll keep for a long time, save yourself that money, but if you think you'll roll with it for many a moon, shell out the gelt for the phat stats.
Edited, Dec 9th 2007 3:27pm by JeeBar
I'd say there's three things to consider when socketing:
1)The socket bonus
2)For what purpose you'll be wearing that piece
3)Your budget, in context of how long you think the piece will last
Socket Bonus
I'd ballpark that about half the time the socket bonus isn't worth a damn. In that case socket whatever you want per the logic below. But if it IS worth a damn, like +AP on something you'll wear for DPS or +dodge for a tanking piece, then socket with appropriate color gems. When you hit the AH be sure to check for orange and purple gems that can fit in "yellow or red", or "red or blue" sockets, respectively. They give you a little bit of two stats instead of a lot of one stat.
What the Piece is For
If you'll be wearing the piece when doing DPS, socket for strength or agility depending if you're looking to increase your AP or Crit %. If you'll be wearing it for tanking stack agility or stamina, depending on whether you want to boost dodge or HP.
Now in YOUR case, my sacrilegious little single-gear-setted friend, : ) I'd think you'd want to max out your agility whenever possible because it boosts crit in cat and dodge in bear. I think +hit would be good for you, too, since it helps reduce misses in cat and I just learned that it reduces the likelihood of your Growl getting resisted.
Your Budget
The green/uncommon gems are a LOT more cost-effective point-for-point than blue/rare ones. For example, the +6 agility gem will cost you 1g or so, while the +8 agility gem will set ya back 40-50g. That incremental +2 agility is friggin EXPENSIVE. : / So if you're socketing a piece you don't think you'll keep for a long time, save yourself that money, but if you think you'll roll with it for many a moon, shell out the gelt for the phat stats.
Edited, Dec 9th 2007 3:27pm by JeeBar
Cookies all around for correct Gollum identification, and an extra for JeeBar for the awesome answer. Thanks.
For those of you who are wondering what the various gems do...
Taken from the comments to any of the various gems here on the site. Someone by the username 'toldstrup' has been mass-posting the above. Quite useful information for dumbnuts like me.
toldstrup wrote:
How to find your wanted socketable gems in the AH
Source
All non BoP socketable gems are named in a particular two-part pattern:
<Stats> <Gem Name>
Where <Stats> represents a name that defines what stats the gem have and <Gem Name> represents the quality of the item. Rare quality gems gives more of each stat than uncommon quality gems. So for and example a Brilliant Dawnstone is a yellow gem that gives a high amount of intellect while a Brilliant Golden Draenite gives less intellect. To find the gem you want I suggest searching for the <Stats> part of the name - depending on what socket and stats you are looking for - and just use the quality selector on the AH UI to specify what amount of the desired stats you want (and how much gold you are willing to spend).
Below is an overview of the different gem names and stats parts you can find. I have only listed BoE gems that is uncommon or better.
Meta Gems
Gem Name: Earthstorm Diamond, Skyfire Diamond (both rare)
All meta gems have different stats combinations.
Red Gems
Gem Name: Living Ruby (rare), Blood Garnet (uncommon)
Stats:
- Bold = Strength
- Bright = Attack Power
- Delicate = Agility
- Flashing = Parry Rating
- Runed = Spell Damage
- Subtle = Dodge Rating
- Teardrop = Healing
Yellow Gems
Gem Name: Dawnstone (rare), Golden Draenite (uncommon)
Stats:
- Brilliant = Intellect
- Gleaming = Spell Critical Rating
- Rigid = Hit Rating
- Smooth = Critical Strike Rating
- Thick = Defense Rating
Blue Gems
Gem Name: Star of Elune (rare), Azure Moonstone (uncommon)
Stats:
- Lustrous = Mana per 5 second
- Solid = Stamina
- Sparkling = Spirit
- Stormy = Spell Penetration
Orange Gems (Fit Yellow and Red Sockets)
Gem Name: Noble Topaz (rare), Flame Spessarite (uncommon)
Stats:
- Glinting = Hit Rating and Agility
- Inscribed = Critical Strike and Strength
- Luminous = Healing Spells and Intellect
- Potent = Spell Critical and Spell Damage
Greem Gems (Fit Yellow and Blue Sockets)
Gem Name: Talasite (rare), Deep Peridot (uncommon)
Stats:
- Dazzling = Intellect and Mana per 5 seconds
- Enduring = Defense and Stamina
- Jagged = Critical Strike and Stamina
- Radiant = Spell Critical and Spell Penetration
Purple Gems (Fit Red and Blue Sockets)
Gem Name: Nightseye (rare), Shadow Draenite (uncommon)
Stats:
- Glowing = Spell Damage and Stamina
- Royal = Healing Spells and Mana per 5 seconds
- Shifting = Agility and Stamina
- Sovereign = Strength and Stamina.
Prismatic Gems (Fit Red, Blue and Yellow Sockets)
Prismatic gems are a bit different, here it's the stats part that decides the quality. Prismatic gems add resistance to all magic schools.
Gem Name: Sphere.
Stats:
- Void = +4 resist all (epic)
- Prismatic = +3 resist all (rare)
source
Source
All non BoP socketable gems are named in a particular two-part pattern:
<Stats> <Gem Name>
Where <Stats> represents a name that defines what stats the gem have and <Gem Name> represents the quality of the item. Rare quality gems gives more of each stat than uncommon quality gems. So for and example a Brilliant Dawnstone is a yellow gem that gives a high amount of intellect while a Brilliant Golden Draenite gives less intellect. To find the gem you want I suggest searching for the <Stats> part of the name - depending on what socket and stats you are looking for - and just use the quality selector on the AH UI to specify what amount of the desired stats you want (and how much gold you are willing to spend).
Below is an overview of the different gem names and stats parts you can find. I have only listed BoE gems that is uncommon or better.
Meta Gems
Gem Name: Earthstorm Diamond, Skyfire Diamond (both rare)
All meta gems have different stats combinations.
Red Gems
Gem Name: Living Ruby (rare), Blood Garnet (uncommon)
Stats:
- Bold = Strength
- Bright = Attack Power
- Delicate = Agility
- Flashing = Parry Rating
- Runed = Spell Damage
- Subtle = Dodge Rating
- Teardrop = Healing
Yellow Gems
Gem Name: Dawnstone (rare), Golden Draenite (uncommon)
Stats:
- Brilliant = Intellect
- Gleaming = Spell Critical Rating
- Rigid = Hit Rating
- Smooth = Critical Strike Rating
- Thick = Defense Rating
Blue Gems
Gem Name: Star of Elune (rare), Azure Moonstone (uncommon)
Stats:
- Lustrous = Mana per 5 second
- Solid = Stamina
- Sparkling = Spirit
- Stormy = Spell Penetration
Orange Gems (Fit Yellow and Red Sockets)
Gem Name: Noble Topaz (rare), Flame Spessarite (uncommon)
Stats:
- Glinting = Hit Rating and Agility
- Inscribed = Critical Strike and Strength
- Luminous = Healing Spells and Intellect
- Potent = Spell Critical and Spell Damage
Greem Gems (Fit Yellow and Blue Sockets)
Gem Name: Talasite (rare), Deep Peridot (uncommon)
Stats:
- Dazzling = Intellect and Mana per 5 seconds
- Enduring = Defense and Stamina
- Jagged = Critical Strike and Stamina
- Radiant = Spell Critical and Spell Penetration
Purple Gems (Fit Red and Blue Sockets)
Gem Name: Nightseye (rare), Shadow Draenite (uncommon)
Stats:
- Glowing = Spell Damage and Stamina
- Royal = Healing Spells and Mana per 5 seconds
- Shifting = Agility and Stamina
- Sovereign = Strength and Stamina.
Prismatic Gems (Fit Red, Blue and Yellow Sockets)
Prismatic gems are a bit different, here it's the stats part that decides the quality. Prismatic gems add resistance to all magic schools.
Gem Name: Sphere.
Stats:
- Void = +4 resist all (epic)
- Prismatic = +3 resist all (rare)
source
Taken from the comments to any of the various gems here on the site. Someone by the username 'toldstrup' has been mass-posting the above. Quite useful information for dumbnuts like me.
Please "talk up" if your comprehension white-shifts. I will use simple-happy language-words to help you understand.
Who has the time to memorize that list? I just use http://wowgems.jponrails.com/ and http://www.gurgleblaster.net/emmerald/Cat_Sustained_DPS/Socket.html for all my gemming.
That emmeralds list is not updated since 2.3, you can find a beta version
on his forums but really it's not that hard to remember.
Rule of thumb: Agility > Strength for very much the most part of lvl 70 druids.
Red gems: Delicate gems, pure agility (i.e Delicate Living Ruby +8 agility)
Blue gems: Shifting gems, either for example Nightseye (+4 agility, +6stamina) or
Tanzanite found in heroic Steamvaults (+4 agility, +5 strength)
Yellow gems: Glinting gems, i.e Noble Topaz (+4 agility, +4 hit rating) or even
better Fire Opal found in heroic Black Morass (+5 agility, +4 hit rating)
If you are already hit capped, Inscribed gems are possibly better (strength/crit rating)
Raw stats are generally better than +Attack power or +Crit rating,
since they scale with Blessing of Kings.
Don't ever gem for dodge rating, as agility gives you more dodge per point.
(~18 dodge rating for 1% dodge vs ~14 agility for 1% dodge @ lvl 70)
Same goes for critical strike rating, as agility also gives attack power in cat.
(~22 crit rating for 1% crit chance vs 25 agility for 1% crit chance @ lvl 70)
This is from a PvE cat form persepctive, and JeeBar's post explains excellently
the considerations you should take.
If the bonus is crap, go for only Delicate gems.
If you need a meta gem, consider it's requirements.
For bear form (tanking) I believe the gems to go for would be more like this:
In most cases pure stamina Solid gems win as they increase your survivability
the most. They are blue in color by the way.
If the socket bonus is worth going for
Red: Shifting gems with +agi/+stam.
Blue: Solid of course +stam
Yellow: Enduring gems +def/+stam
Again, NEVER gem dodge rating, if you are really starved go for Delicate.
Also consider your crit immunity. Generally gemming pure defense gems
is not the best use of a socket. If you don't have enough anti-crit from
your items alone, try to get it with head glyph, shoulder inscription,
defense enchant bracers etc.
I.e if you are crit immune, IMO the best way to gem your Heavy Clefthoof set
is using only Solid Stars of Elune.
Edited, Dec 10th 2007 11:57am by Kefas
on his forums but really it's not that hard to remember.
Rule of thumb: Agility > Strength for very much the most part of lvl 70 druids.
Red gems: Delicate gems, pure agility (i.e Delicate Living Ruby +8 agility)
Blue gems: Shifting gems, either for example Nightseye (+4 agility, +6stamina) or
Tanzanite found in heroic Steamvaults (+4 agility, +5 strength)
Yellow gems: Glinting gems, i.e Noble Topaz (+4 agility, +4 hit rating) or even
better Fire Opal found in heroic Black Morass (+5 agility, +4 hit rating)
If you are already hit capped, Inscribed gems are possibly better (strength/crit rating)
Raw stats are generally better than +Attack power or +Crit rating,
since they scale with Blessing of Kings.
Don't ever gem for dodge rating, as agility gives you more dodge per point.
(~18 dodge rating for 1% dodge vs ~14 agility for 1% dodge @ lvl 70)
Same goes for critical strike rating, as agility also gives attack power in cat.
(~22 crit rating for 1% crit chance vs 25 agility for 1% crit chance @ lvl 70)
This is from a PvE cat form persepctive, and JeeBar's post explains excellently
the considerations you should take.
If the bonus is crap, go for only Delicate gems.
If you need a meta gem, consider it's requirements.
For bear form (tanking) I believe the gems to go for would be more like this:
In most cases pure stamina Solid gems win as they increase your survivability
the most. They are blue in color by the way.
If the socket bonus is worth going for
Red: Shifting gems with +agi/+stam.
Blue: Solid of course +stam
Yellow: Enduring gems +def/+stam
Again, NEVER gem dodge rating, if you are really starved go for Delicate.
Also consider your crit immunity. Generally gemming pure defense gems
is not the best use of a socket. If you don't have enough anti-crit from
your items alone, try to get it with head glyph, shoulder inscription,
defense enchant bracers etc.
I.e if you are crit immune, IMO the best way to gem your Heavy Clefthoof set
is using only Solid Stars of Elune.
Edited, Dec 10th 2007 11:57am by Kefas
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