Topic
(Sticky)
Gems, Enchants, and Reforging
|
Edited by Acrimony on 12/6/11 5:40 PM (PST)
=====
Gems ===== Despite the seemingly small bonuses and stats on each gem, remember that full sets of gear can easily have 10 or more sockets. High-end weapons and armor will sometimes have 3 gem sockets. This means that your choices are very important; because when you're done, the stats will really add up. If you're a Jewelcrafter, you have access to a high-quality gem known as a "Chimera's Eye." At the moment, epic gems are ludicrously expensive, so this guide will continue to reference Uncommon quality gems. Remember that Epic gems are preferable if you can acquire them. The best enchants for a slot will be listed first, with weaker enchants following, unless otherwise noted. =================== Where to Buy Your Gems =================== == Auction House == You can buy your gems uncut from the Auction House, for generally between 10-200 gold (varies by gem color and realm). A Jewelcrafter can cut your gem, often times for a fee. You can also buy cut gems at the Auction House, but cut gems might tack on an additional cost. (Not always, though!) Buying the cut gem is faster if it happens to be available. ========= The Hit Cap ========= Finding the answer to the all important question "what should my Spell Hit be" is more difficult than you'd think, so I've compiled a list of all the various caps for PvE and PvP here to save you the time of looking at numerous websites. There are three racials which provide resistance to Shadow magic, which used to be implemented as -hit modifiers. Since Cataclysm, they act as additional spell resistance, but since they don't stack with Spell Resistance buffs like Shadow Protection and Paladin Auras, they can be ignored. ╔══════════════╗ ║░░░░░░░░░░░░░░║ ║░ Tier ░░ Hit ░ % ░░ ║ ║░Heroic░ 615 ░ 6 ░░ ║ ║░ Raid ░ 1742░ 17 ░ ║ ║░ PvP ░░ 410 ░ 4 ░░║ ║░░░░░░░░░░░░░░║ ╚══════════════╝ ============== Meta Gem Socket ============== There is only one place you'll find a Meta Gem Socket; on your helmet. Often times it will be on an epic-quality item, but some rare-quality helmets will have a Meta Gem Socket as well. ==PvP & PvE==  Burning Shadowspirit Diamond -=- +54 Intellect and 3% Critical Strike Damage==PvP (Defensive Play)== Powerful Shadowspirit Diamond -=- +81 Stamina and Stun Duration Reduced by 10%Forlorn Shadowspirit Diamond -=- +54 Intellect and Silence Duration Reduced by 10%======================= Deciding Your Sockets' Worth ======================= Most socket bonuses in Cataclysm are either 10, 20, or 30 of a given stat. The following is a simple way to decide whether or not you should grab a socket bonus. We'll be using a points system; Intellect is worth 2 points while any other stat (hit, crit, haste, and mastery) is worth 1 point. For the sake of simplicity, Jewelcrafter's gems aren't included in the calculations. Important: The only way to know your best gemming practices is to know your stat weights. If you don't want to run Simcraft, this is a decent rough guide to follow.  Brilliant Inferno Ruby = 80 points Reckless Ember Topaz or  Veiled Demonseye = 60 pointsSo, lets say we want to gem our Tier helmet. (  Shadowflame Hood)Veiled Demonseye = 60 points+30 Crit = 30 points Total = 90 points Hmm, that nets me 90 points. Lets look at what happens if we ignore the socket bonus: Brilliant Inferno Ruby = 80 pointsLooks like a red gem is a poor choice here. What about our Tier gloves?  Shadowflame HandwrapsReckless Ember Topaz = 60 points+10 Haste = 10 points Total = 70 points 70 points is good, let's check the red gem now. Brilliant Inferno Ruby = 80 PointsLooks like the Red gem wins out in this case. Lastly, let's look at the  Shadowblaze Robes - this has a nice Intellect bonus!Reckless Ember Topaz = 60 pointsVeiled Demonseye = 60 points+20 Intellect = 40 points Total = 160 points Now, let's check out the red gems: Brilliant Inferno Rubyx2 = 160 pointsTotal = 160 points We have a choice to make here; do we want more haste/hit/mastery/crit, or should we stack on more Intellect? Since Intellect tends to scale slightly higher than double any secondary stat (excluding Hit), Intellect gems are preferred when the score is equal. |
|
Edited by Acrimony on 8/24/11 3:52 PM (PDT)
==============
Cogwheel Socket ============== This is an Engineering-only socket found on the Engineer's crafted helmets. It allows you to choose your own stats on your helmet, instead of being at the mercy of loot drops or poorly itemized vendor gear. Remember: Knowing your stat weights will allow you to make the best choice. Sticking with Hit or Haste are your best bets if you aren't sure.  Quick Cogwheel (+208 Haste)Rigid Cogwheel (+208 Hit) Fractured Cogwheel (+208 Mastery)Smooth Cogwheel (+208 Crit)============= Prismatic Socket ============= Prismatic Sockets aren't found on most gear; they are usually added by the Blacksmithing profession. If you aren't a Blacksmith, you can get one of these by adding an  Ebonsteel Belt Buckle to your belt.Prismatic Sockets accept any type of gem except Meta Gems, and they don't affect the socket bonus. ===PvE & PvP (Offensive Play)===  Brilliant Chimera's Eye (+67 Intellect, JC only)Brilliant Inferno Ruby (+40 Intellect)===PvP (Defensive Play)===  Mystic Chimera's Eye (+67 Resilience, JC only) Mystic Amberjewel (+40 Resilience)============= Red Gem Socket ============= Again, this is a fairly easy choice. As a DPS, we always want to fill this socket with a Brilliant Gem, unless we haven't met our Meta requirement. However, in PvP we might want to grab some more resilience. ===PvE & PvP (Offensive Play)=== Brilliant Chimera's Eye (+67 Intellect, JC only)Brilliant Inferno Ruby (+40 Intellect)===PvP (Defensive Play)=== Willful Ember Topaz (+20 Intellect, +20 Resilience)=============== Yellow Gem Socket =============== Warlocks scale very well with Intellect, so the choice for this gem slot is split between two gem types. Make sure the socket bonus is worth gemming before you match this socket color! Please note that Demonology Warlocks (as of the most recent Simcraft) benefit more from Int/Mastery rather than Int/Haste. ===PvE & PvP (Offensive Play)=== Reckless Ember Topaz (+20 Intellect, +20 Haste)Artful Ember Topaz (+20 Intellect, +20 Mastery) [Demonology]or Brilliant Chimera's Eye (+67 Intellect, JC only)Brilliant Inferno Ruby (+40 Intellect)===PvP (Defensive Play)===  Steady Dream Emerald (+20 Resilience, +30 Stamina)Willful Ember Topaz (+20 Intellect, +20 Resilience)Mystic Chimera's Eye (+67 Resilience, JC only)Mystic Amberjewel (+40 Resilience)============== Blue Gem Socket ============== Remember that you can reforge any excess hit, so don't gem spirit or stamina; it's not going to help much! Stamina is an option in PvP, but chances are it'll help less than Resilience. If you aren't going to match the socket, the usual red gem can be placed here. ===PvE & PvP (Offensive Play)=== Veiled Demonseye (+20 Intellect, +20 Hit)Timeless Demonseye (+20 Intellect, +30 Stamina)or Brilliant Inferno Ruby (+40 Intellect)Brilliant Chimera's Eye (+67 Intellect, JC only)===PvP (Defensive Play)=== Steady Dream Emerald (+20 Resilience, +30 Stamina)
|
|
Edited by Acrimony on 4/4/11 7:34 PM (PDT)
=======
Enchants ======= Enchants are another small stat bonus that really adds up. The slots you can enchant are limited, but the stat bonuses on each enchant are generally larger than the stat bonuses on gems. Below I'll list all the best enchants for each slot, and where to obtain them. I've also included some cheaper (but less effective) enchants if you can't afford the most expensive one. ======= Weapon ======= ==PvE & PvP==  Enchant Weapon - Power TorrentBonus: +500 Intellect for 12 Seconds (~120 Intellect) Source: Enchanter Materials: 14x Hypnotic Dust, 8x Heavenly Shard, 4x Maelstrom Crystal 45 second ICD Enchant Weapon - HurricaneBonus: +450 Haste for 12 Seconds (~108 Haste) Source: Enchanter Materials: 6x Heavenly Shard, 6x Volatile Air 45 second ICD ====== Helmet ====== ==PvE & PvP==  Arcanum of HyjalBonus: +60 Intellect, +35 Critical Strike Rating Source: Provisioner Whitecloud <Guardians of Hyjal Quartermaster> Price: 150g Requires Revered with Guardians of Hyjal ==PvP==  Arcanum of Vicious IntellectBonus: +60 Intellect, +35 Resilience Rating Source: Knight-Lieutenant T'Maire Sydes (Alliance) or Blood Guard Zar'shi (Horde) Price: 1,000 Honor Source 2: Quartermaster Brazie (Alliance) or Pogg (Horde) Price: 40 Tol Barad Commendation ======== Shoulders ======== ==PvE & PvP== Inscription Only: Felfire Inscription Bonus: +130 Intellect, +25 Haste Rating Source: Inscription Trainer Materials: 4x Blackfallow Ink  Greater Inscription of Charged LodestoneBonus: +50 Intellect, +25 Haste Rating Source: D'lom the Collector Price: 75g Requires Exalted with Therazane ==== Cape ==== ==PvE== Tailors Only: Lightweave Embroidery (Rank 2) Bonus: +580 Intellect for 15 seconds (~115 Intellect) Source: Tailoring Trainer Materials: 3x Eternium Thread, 3x Volatile Life Note: 60 second ICD, 35% proc rate ==PvE & PvP== Enchant Cloak - Greater IntellectBonus: +50 Intellect Source: Enchanter Materials: 9x Hypnotic Dust, 4x Greater Celestial Essence ==PvP== Enchant Cloak - Greater Spell PiercingBonus: +70 Spell Penetration Source: Enchanter Materials: 3x Hypnotic Dust ===== Chest ===== ==PvE & PvP== Enchant Chest - Peerless StatsBonus: +20 Intellect & Stamina Source: Enchanter Materials: 3x Heavenly Shard, 4x Maelstrom Crystal Enchant Chest - Mighty StatsBonus: +15 Intellect & Stamina Source: Enchanter Materials: 2x Lesser Celestial Essence ==PvP== Enchant Chest - Mighty ResilienceBonus: +40 Resilience Source: Enchanter Materials: 9x Hypnotic Dust ====== Bracers ====== ==PvE & PvP== Leatherworkers Only: Draconic Embossment - Intellect Bonus: +130 Intellect Source: Leatherworking Trainer Materials: 2x Volatile Water  Enchant Bracer - Mighty IntellectBonus: +50 Intellect Source: Enchanter Materials: 4x Hypnotic Dust, 4x Greater Celestial Essence, 2x Maelstrom Crystal, 15x Volatile Water Enchant Bracer - Greater SpeedBonus: +65 Haste Source: Enchanter Materials: 12x Hypnotic Dust, 4x Greater Celestial Essence, 2x Heavenly Shard, Maelstrom Crystal Enchant Bracer - SpeedBonus: +50 Haste Source: Enchanter Materials: 2x Hypnotic Dust, Lesser Celestial Essence ====== Gloves ====== ==PvE & PvP== Engineering Only: Synapse Springs Bonus: +480 Intellect for 12 seconds (~96 Intellect) Source: Engineering Trainer Materials: 2x Volatile Water, Electrified Ether 1 Minute CD; can be stacked with other enchants. Enchant Gloves - Greater MasteryBonus: +65 Mastery Source: Enchanter Materials: 10x Hypnotic Dust, 5x Greater Celestial Essence, 2x Maelstrom Crystal Enchant Gloves - HasteBonus: +50 Haste Source: Enchanter Materials: 4x Hypnotic Dust, Lesser Celestial Essence |
|
Edited by Acrimony on 3/4/11 2:50 AM (PST)
====
Legs ==== ==PvE & PvP== Tailoring Only: Master's Spellthread (Rank 2) Bonus: +95 Intellect, +80 Stamina Source: Tailoring Trainer Materials: 3x Eternium Thread Note: This offers no additional bonuses over Powerful Enchanted Spellthread, it's only cheaper.  Powerful Enchanted SpellthreadBonus: +95 Intellect, +80 Stamina Source: Tailor Materials: Dreamcloth ===== Boots ===== ==PvE & PvP== Enchant Boots - LavawalkerBonus: +35 Mastery, Increased Run Speed Source: Enchanter Materials: 10x Greater Celestial Essence, 2x Heavenly Shard, Maelstrom Crystal Enchant Boots - HasteBonus: +50 Haste Source: Enchanter Materials: 2x Hypnotic Dust, Greater Celestial Essence Enchant Boots - Precision (Only if you're below the hit cap!)Bonus: +50 Hit Source: Enchanter Materials: 2x Hypnotic Dust, 2x Greater Celestial Essence, Elixir of Impossible Accuracy ===== Rings ===== ==PvE & PvP== Enchanting Only: Enchant Ring - Intellect Bonus: +40 Intellect Source: Enchanting Trainer Materials: Heavenly Shard ======= Off-Hand ======= ==PvE & PvP== Enchant Off-Hand - Superior IntellectBonus: +40 Intellect Source: Enchanter Materials: 6x Hypnotic Dust, 4x Greater Celestial Essence |
|
Edited by Acrimony on 11/20/11 3:20 PM (PST)
========
Reforging ======== Reforging is a new addition which allows a player to better balance their gear. Some stats will continue to be bad (such as Spirit). But even if you have a terrible stat on your gear, you can still make a portion of that stat into something more useful. ================ Reforging Locations ================ There is an Arcane Reforger in Dalaran, Ironforge, Orgrimmar, Stormwind, and Undercity. For location purposes, they are located near the Enchanting Trainer in each city. Feel free to ask a guard for the location of the Arcane Reforger if you still can't find one. Oh, and speaking of locations; http://www.wowreforge.com/ can help you optimize your reforging. Using this website, you can optimize your stat distribution, and get within 0.1% of the hit cap at the same time. No more guessing when you want to reforge your gear! ================ Reforging a Bad Stat ================ All you need to do is select the stat you want reforged, and the Arcanist will reforge the item for you. You should always reforge a worse stat to whichever one you need most; Hit, Haste, Crit, or Mastery. But remember: if there's already one of those stats on the gear, you can't select it. In this case, you should reforge into the next best stat instead. ================ Balancing Your Gear ================ You just got a new piece of gear; it's much better than before, but unfortunately this one has 150 hit rating; and you're over the hit cap. Reforging was meant for exactly this scenario. Select hit and switch it to your best scaling stat. Maybe you're still in Heroic gear, and you don't have enough hit rating to fight a raid boss. Select the worst scaling stat on your gear, and switch it out for hit! ============= Choosing a Stat ============= All specs will want to get rid of Spirit. This stat is useless for a Warlock, so if you have any Spirit on an item, try replacing it with a different item! If that's not possible, then you should definitely reforge it. All specs will also want to meet the hit cap. If you don't have enough hit rating to meet the caps stated in the table in the first post, make sure you reforge your gear for more hit rating! Affliction: Affliction spec scales well with Haste, so swapping Crit and Mastery for Haste is a good bet. If an item already has Haste, you can reforge Mastery to Crit instead. Reforging Order: 1) Mastery,Crit,Haste → Hit -=- If you're under the Hit cap, reaching it is preferable to all other stats. 2) Hit → Haste -=- But if you are above the Hit cap, Haste is preferable to Hit. 3) Mastery → Haste -=- Mastery scales the worst for Affliction, so reforge it to Haste. 4) Crit → Haste -=- Crit scales better than Mastery, but Haste is still preferable. 5) Mastery → Crit -=- If your gear has Haste/Mastery, reforging the Mastery to Crit is best. Demonology: Demonology now scales best with Mastery at higher gear levels. However, the point where Mastery beats haste is subject to the individual, so whether you reforge Mastery to Haste or vice versa depends on your gear. Additionally, movement impacts Haste's scaling versus Crit and Mastery enough to put Haste on top at times. Remember these two factors when reforging Haste to Mastery or vice versa. Reforge Priority: 1) Crit,Mastery,Haste → Hit -=- If you're under the Hit cap, reaching it is preferable to all other stats. 2) Hit → Mastery,Haste -=- But if you are above the Hit cap, Mastery and Haste are preferable to Hit. 3) Crit → Haste -=- Crit/Mastery items should have the Crit reforged to Haste. 3) Crit → Mastery -=- But, Crit/Haste items should have the Crit reforged to Mastery instead. Destruction: Reforge Priority: 1) Crit,Mastery,Haste → Hit -=- If you're under the Hit cap, reaching it is preferable to all other stats. 2) Hit → Haste -=- But if you are above the Hit cap, Haste is preferable to Hit. 3) Mastery → Haste -=- Mastery scales the worst for Destruction, so reforge it to Haste. 4) Crit → Haste -=- Crit scales better than Mastery, but Haste is still preferable. 5) Mastery → Crit -=- If your gear has Haste/Mastery, reforging the Mastery to Crit is best. ============ Haste & DoT's ============ Now that Damage over Time spells can scale with haste, it has become a little more difficult to calculate the effect of Haste on your spells. If you ever wonder "how much haste until my next Corruption Tick?" then give Acrimony's DoTHaste a try. It's every bit as accurate as a spreadsheet, and is even easier to use. http://gamezinger.com/?programs (Current Version: 1.1c) |
|
Edited by Vaydra on 11/14/10 6:29 PM (PST)
Some questions.
You have the fleet meta gem as intellect but according to wowheads its 54mastery: http://cata.wowhead.com/item=52289 Based on this wouldn't a bracing shadowspirit diamond be superiour? 54intellect+35mastery from boots versus 54mastery+50mastery from boots. For destro according to the sim thread the stat weight of intel is 2.5213, and mastery is 0.8071 mean 1mastery~=.32intellect Meaning the 104 mastery is only worth 33intellect. Which is vastly less than 54intellect+35mastery. This is assuming fleet is mastery as wowheads is showing. Also, if you do use the fleet shouldnt enchant boots-mastery be under feet as the run speeds dont stack? On gloves you have mastery for Both demon and destro. Dont both these specs have haste plateaus where haste increases in value to exceed intellect so wouldnt a better advise be for all specs save DrainAff to take the haste chant and then reforge excess haste into mastery? Excellent guide. Im gonna update my own in a few to add the things i missed and mention that the meta needs more blues than reds. Thanks! Liking all your posts!!! |
|
|
Edited by Vaydra on 11/14/10 5:10 PM (PST)
Sorry double post ftl
|
|
Edited by Acrimony on 11/16/10 3:48 AM (PST)
Also, if you do use the fleet shouldnt enchant boots-mastery be under feet as the run speeds dont stack? Eh, that's where I screwed up. Thanks. Based on this wouldn't a bracing shadowspirit diamond be superiour? No, unless you have serious threat problems; the better one would be Ember Shadowspirit. +2% mana is nearly worthless for a Warlock, but it does have some intrinsic DPS value, whereas -2% threat is worthless unless you actually need to stop DPS for the tank, or blow Soulshatter. I'll list both because I know not all tanks are amazing (and threat is getting a nerf in Cata) but Ember slightly ekes out Bracing in a raw DPS scenario. Dont both these specs have haste plateaus where haste increases in value to exceed intellect so wouldnt a better advise be for all specs save DrainAff to take the haste chant and then reforge excess haste into mastery? I wouldn't know about stat plateaus and such, I haven't really tested it much. I've been trying to compile Simcraft, but Qt is being a little bugger so I might have to run it as a command line app, which is much more complicated. This basically means that I've had to work out the stats on paper, which is really freakin' annoying, but less complex than running Simcraft as command line... However, the answer to your question is no. Why? Because 65 Mastery is technically also = to 65 Haste with reforging, and the only other glove enchant is 50 Haste. Why sacrifice 15 stat points? |
|
|
Alright thanks. =)
|
|
Great post, totally deserves a sticky
|
|
Thanks, I appreciate the compliment.
As you all know, I made the DemoPact addon, and soon I'll be making a new Warlock-related app (not an addon). It will calculate the DPS gained by reaching certain haste thresholds, allowing you to better judge where you want to stop stacking haste. Note that this won't be a simulation like SimCraft, but rather a straight calculator. |
|
|
Edited by Vaydra on 11/20/10 1:46 PM (PST)
Gotta keep the guides on the front page till they are stickied!!!
BUMP! |
|
Edited by Acrimony on 11/21/10 8:40 PM (PST)
Hey, just wanted to let everyone know that I finished work on the first version of DoTHaste; this calculator will show you some neat data, such as how much haste you need to gain extra DoT ticks, and the amount of damage your spell will do for a given amount of haste (ignoring damage bonuses and critical strikes).
Important notes:
Here's the download link for v0.92: http://www.mediafire.com/?xq2mfkvh94y3h2r |
|
|
Would it be possible for you to maybe copy over your level 80 info from your old sticky and put it on page two or something?
We still have a few weeks left before cata and a few people (like me) wont be getting the expansion right when its released (damn family wants to give it to me for x-mas). Also, and most importantly, it would give you something to bump with guide with till it gets stickied >.> |
|
Yeah, I put a link to it in my first post. Also, the DoTHaste calculator was meant to be my excuse for bumping the thread. All those new features like (omg) TRANSPARENCY or some useless @@%% is always good to make a new program version out of.
|
|
|
Bump
|
