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Im sure the guys will need to know what spec you wanna play to answer your questions m8

Edited, May 20th 2008 8:34am by colarbear

Check the sticky again for options, check wich ones you like and go look at cheeky's.

Do you have a meta gem? If you do I suggest socketing two Jagged Talasites and the rest Bright Living Ruby. I generally try and make the talasites fill a scoket requirement, but not always. When you get epic gear I would put in Delicate Living Rubys instead.

If you're low on hit then socket these or these

These gem choices are assuming a meta gem of this kind

Edited, May 20th 2008 10:35am by Xsarus

Any socket bonus that is not crit/agi/hit should be ignored. If you accidentally fill in a socket bonus because it happens to be all red great. In addition, compare the socket bonus to the dps loss due to not socketing all red gems. If the bonus increases your dps, go for it. However if the bonus merely is the same (or lowers your dps), then you should go with agi gems. I recommend using cheeky's spreadsheet to determine this for individual gear pieces. I've found that I pick the one piece of gear with the biggest socket bonus and put my green gems in there. Everything else I'm better off just using red agi gems. I can't wait for the gem vendor, I already have badges for 6 epic gems.

Put blue quality gems into any and all epics you get. If you must save money by putting green gems into blue gear fine, but money's not that hard to get.

Edited, May 20th 2008 12:49pm by Xsarus

I would completely disagree with this statement. Those stats aren't free if you're sacrificing gem stats to get them.

For example, socketing gems with Agi/Stam (+4/+6) or AP/Stam (+8/+6) just to get a Stam bonus isn't worthwhile, in my opinion. The trade-off involved is half the Agi or AP if you used a straight Agi (+8) or AP (+16) gem instead of a purple Agi/Stam or AP/Stam gem.

For raiding, you want to increase your damage, not your health. Socket gems that will increase your dps. Ignore the socket bonus unless it's beneficial to dps. And, even then sometimes it's okay to ignore it. For example, if you have to socket a Agi/Stam gem instead of a Agi gem to get a +3 Agi bonus, you're coming out -1 Agi.

For OP, I think Sir Xsarus' list hits the nail on the head.

Also, in general I would agree that using green-quality gems is okay on gear that will likely not last very long. In the case of the Felstalker set, however, you can easily use those three pieces for quite a while and prioritize other gear replacements first. With the Felstalker set, I wouldn't hesitate to put blue-quality gems in it. You should get a lot of mileage out of the Felstalker set.

Get stam from gear not gems. Your sockets that you match are the ones that get you a dps increase. You only need two gems that aren't red to make the meta work.

Of course, if you don't care about maximizing your dps, do whatever you feel like. I've never had a problem with having enough stam. you get fort and kings, and you're set. Get a few high stam items to swap in for fights that need it. This is generally more effective them gemming for it.

Just to clarify, all my advice here relates to PVE.

(now I'll admit, using the last blue socket in the 3 socket item to get your meta requirement is a solid choice. be smart about your offgems)

Edited, May 21st 2008 1:56pm by Xsarus

I am all about maximizing my DPS. I run in a T6 raid, now a Sunwell raid (not much of one yet, I grant you), and I regularly find my name at or near the top of the damage meter.

If you are raiding where you never have to worry about your health bar, move on to next level of content. Progression raiding does not allow for wasted opportunities statwise.

I said it before and will say it again for emphasis. Dead Hunters have lousy DPS. Stamina matters. If you neglect your Stamina you are taking healing resources from the raid that are better used elsewhere. The Heal Team has better things to do than heal you all the time because you want to top the meters.

Hit rating and crit rating matter. Mana matters. Neglect any of these stats, and your total contribution to the raid declines. Throwing away free stats for a slavish devotion to Agility alone does not pay off in the long run. Yes, Agility is the best choice for a Hunter, but only when you aren't throwing away a significantly better amount of another stat for it.

If your thing is doing amazing DPS on easy fights, well, I can see your point. I don't like farming. I play a Hunter, not a farmer.

Another thing to consider is that not every good Hunter item that drops is going to have a socket in it. A lot of the T5 and T6 equivilent drops lack any sockets at all. To keep a meta bonus, I have actually had to use a green gem before. (Ugh! Thankfully, that time has passed.) You are not always going to have the luxury of many extra gem sockets. Sometimes you have to consider your entire gem set, and not just one socket to maximize DPS and raid utility.

Shelor007

Edited, May 21st 2008 3:56pm by shelordoubleoseven

Edited, May 21st 2008 3:57pm by shelordoubleoseven

And getting that Meta to work is about the only value of non-DPS focussed gems. There are the occasional items which work well with a sub-par gem, and for those the yellow, blue, and hybrid gems are great. For every other gem slot a Hunter should be stacking either AP or AGI, depending on their progression level.

Are you seriously advocating that a Hunter socket for a STA bonus? Or a Defense bonus? Or many other bonuses which are completely overtaken by using a proper gem in the first place? Take for example the Pauldrons of Primal Fury. For 40 Health you'd socket a yellow gem, assuming that your meta requirements are met elsewhere? That would be a shame. Your argument that a dead Hunter does no DPS is based on 40 Health? And how many Boss fights has 40 Health kept you alive in, vs. the Boss fights where the raid wiped at 1%?

Socket for maximum DPS, except where necessary to enable a Meta. All other socketing should be for pure DPS, and damn the socket bonus.

Gemming for STA is a waste Shelord007, especially in T6 level raiding.
I do not know a single fight where I'd want extra HP. That is up to Brutallus in Sunwell, the other fights I have not done until now, but I doubt that things will change there.
There are a few fights in BT and in Sunwell where everyone has to have >10k HP raid buffed to survive the fight mechanics (like Najentus, Archimonde, Illidari Council, Reliquary of Souls, Illidan phase 2 to some extent, Kalecgos and Brutallus).

However with T6 level gear you should have no problems at all to get 10k HP raid buffed. Stamina is a stat which I totally ignore. With my current DPS gear I have ~9.7k HP unbuffed which gives a comfortable 11.5-12k raid buffed. So I'm at least 1k above the HP that I really need. For most fights 6-7k unbuffed would be more than enough.
Even if there are some fights where you need the HP I would rather collect some extra items with a lot of STA on them (pvp & arena item come to mind). Better switching 2-3 items for some boss fights then wasting DPS by poor gem choices on every boss fight.

Other classes have it hard to meet the 10k raid buffed (mages & priests seem to have some problems with their standard DPS gear). Those classes still gem for 100% damage stats. You won't find a single STA gem in their gear. For those fights where HP are important they just switch 1-2 STA items into their gear (like some S3 items or some vindicator items).

This seems a bit odd. One off gem loses you 5 Agility. Can you link your armory so we can understand your gemming choice? If you're socketing and get the agility lost back via the socket bonus this is the usual method for filling your meta requirement anyway.

Edited, May 22nd 2008 10:11am by Xsarus

Orange gems are yellow gems.

You've just lost all credibility, thank you very much.

Backpedal, much? What was that about the 40 Health again?

Ah, so now it's neither right now wrong. Way to give solid, concrete advice backed with logic and reason.

To the OP: Hunters are a DPS class, so socket for DPS. Ignore socket bonuses unless they are necessary for Meta prerequisites. For those, make them work for you as best you can, including using hybrid gems &cet. But don't lose sight of the fact that you are a DPS class. Socketing for 40 Health is so contemptible that it doesn't even bear arguing over other than to dismiss the opinions of the fools who would advise such a thing.

Wow I double posted on my 200th.

Also, ding.

Edited, May 22nd 2008 11:05pm by Ieatrocks

1k is the first ding, if you ding 100's there's way to many of em to keep track :P