I Has Sockets!

Yay for sockets! Now what to put in them...

There are three permissible stats to use when gemming: 1) Intellect, 2) Spell Power, 3) Mp5. That's it, in that order. There are no other acceptable answers. Wipe your tears and deal with it.

Gemming goes something like this --

Gem for Int until you have no mana issues. Ignore socket bonuses unless the bonus + gem would give you more intellect than the Intellect gem alone. In that case, go for either Int\SP (for red socket) or Int\Mp5 (for blue socket). If you need certain colors for a meta gem, use the Int\SP or Int\Mp5 gems as needed.

Once you no longer have mana issues, start replacing some of the Int gems with Spell Power.

Never gem for pure Mp5, crit, or haste.


Why so much Intellect?

Intellect gives you additional crit. With talents, 10% of your intellect is converted to spell power. And most importantly, intellect gives you a larger mana pool. Replenishment and Mana Tide Totem return mana to you based on a percentage of your mana pool. So, the larger the mana pool, the more mana you get back. When in doubt, go for intellect.


Meta gem -- Get the Insightful Earthsiege Diamond. Again, it's the only option, learn to live with it.