Gem questionFollow

After going over the sticky part (haha) of PvE gemming and reading the EJ pocket guide I have one question that I can't figure out and don't know why. Seeing the accurate monarch topaz (8exp/8hit) and wonder why no one recommends gemming that one. From what I read those are two of the most important stats and yet I cannot find the gem even mentioned anywhere. Is there something I'm not seeing?

Expertise cap is low, as noted above, hit was devalued by the flat haste of new Windfury, now needing enough to be capped for poison only.

*random waffle that may very well be incorrect as I was barely paying attention as I all but quit playing but still read EJ for laughs*
Agi/AP should be your choices for the majority of slots, AP better for Muti as the crit effect of Agi has no benefit on Poison damage
*end possibly wrong waffle*

*absolutely correct waffle hardwired to my brain during much forum reading*
Get a spreadsheet and use it.
*end correct waffle*

Ok thank you guys. I really didn't make that connection hehe.

I don't think that in this case the spreadsheet would have helped me, I just didn't grasp the concept here Escha. I figured expertise wouldn't be that easy to cap, just as hit still requires some work to get to 315.

Well, a little maybe, but in a short while raid gear itemization will make the poison cap trivial too, maybe not at entry level, but certainly by Uldaur I'd imagine. The difference now is that hit over the poison cap is definately a worse choice than Agi/AP, whereas, pre WF change, a case could be made for capping yourself (that is, capping hit could under certain circumstances provide dps competitive with other gear choices, say Agi or Haste stacking). The hard hit cap is now, what...? 700 or something? The gem you originally mentioned might well be useful situationally, if getting a new piece of gear with a drop in Exp/Hit puts you slightly under either cap, but flat gemming of hit/exp gems would require a really weird gear set up.

Plugging your gear and spec into a spreadsheet can be tedious, but you only actually have to do it once; after that, you're just fiddling around fine tuning it. You then use a loot mod or a gear list like Shadowpanther to determine where your next upgrades lie (if they are in fact upgrades), so you're ready to bid or roll if they drop.