Mining is the art of finding rocks...and make boat-loads of money while doing it :)
Jewel crafting depends a lot on mining, so mining will be very hot the next few months, while people stockpile mats for leveling jewel-crafting. I suggest keeping most of your ore in ore-form and also hang on to every gem you mine. And then sell it all in the frenzy of jewel-crafting :)
It's not very hard to level mining, you just have to be patient. As with herbalism, the best way to do it, is to find a nice 10 minute route, run it, log, wait 30 mins and repeat. Mounts help a lot, so I recommend waiting until 60 before you start focusing on leveling it.
This is the skill needed to mine the nodes needed for leveling it:
Copper - 1
Tin - 65
Iron - 125
Mithril - 175
Dark Iron - 230
Small Thorium Veins - 250
Rich Thorium Veins - 275
1-65. Copper, 80s-1G/20 on AH: Run either Durotar or Westfall for this part. In Westfall just skirt the edges of the map and leveling should go quick. In Durotar, the Harpy Canyon outside OG is packed with Copper, so head there.
66-125. Tin, 60-80s/20 on AH: This is where a lot of people choke on mining. This is the hardest part, but go to Wetlands and you will be fine :) In wetlands there is an Alliance quest for something called Incendicite in a cave filled with spiders. Mining this gives you skill-ups in normal mining, as if it were tin. In addition to these spawns in the cave, there is also tin. About 15-20 nodes all in all.
Map: http://www.thottbot.com/?m=12253
126-175. Iron, 1.5G-3G/20 on AH: Head to East Arathi Highlands and move from the bottom to the top of the east side. About 3 caves (2 troll ones and one ogre) filled with nodes plus some out in the open as well.
176-230 (or to 250). Mithril, 2.5G-3.5G/20 on AH: Head to East Badlands where all the small whelps are. Ride through the canyon, log 30 minutes, ride back down, repeat. About 15 nodes here.
(231-275). Dark Iron, 5-10G EACH on AH (depends a lot on how far people are raid wise on your server, since people use a lot of Dark Iron early on in MC, but not really later on). You really need to be able to stealth or FD to do this, otherwise stick with mithril until 250 and Small Thorium veins. Farming Dark Iron requires someone to help reset an instance, and then you follow this guide to Dark Iron Farming in BRD: http://neckface-graffiti.blogspot.com/
250-275. Small Thorium vein, 3-4G/20 on AH: There are a few places to do this: Felwood: http://www.thottbot.com/?m=6356 or Burning Steppes: http://www.thottbot.com/?m=6548 or Un'Goro Crater: http://www.thottbot.com/?m=8721
Burning Steppes would probably be the best choice; head to the ogre mountain in the NE and mine here, log 30 mins, repeat.
276-300. Rich Thorium Vein, 3-4G/20 on AH: This is where it gets interesting. Winterspring is your best bet for this. Either do laps around the Demon Canyon in the south; You can lap all the valleys, except a small one, in 10 minutes flat. It used to not be camped, but word has gotten out. 2-5 spawns can be expected per run depeding on popularity :) Or you can lap the whole of WS, except the Demon Canyon: http://www.dreadlords.net/60miner.shtml
You can get Arcane Crystals from these veins. These are worth 20-30G each. There are also a few other gems you can get, but these only sell for around 3-5G each.
My suggestion is hanging on to all of the gems, since they will be needed for jewel-crafting. It's also better to keep these from an inflationary point of view, since TBC will cause a lot of inflation. 30G now is a decent amount of gold, but it won't be in TBC. Keeping your money in gems, ores and bars minimizes the effect of inflation on you, since they will sell for a lot more in TBC. Just a little crash course in economics :D
Sunday, April 27, 2008
WOW:Profession Guide Mining
WOW: Profession Guide Herbalism
Herbalism is the art of picking flowers. It is also the art of making cash, which is what we want :)
Herbalism is one of the few professions that will net you money with little effort. All other professions require you spending a lot of materials to level them up, thus you need to do a lot of business to even break even.
It's highly recommended that you wait until you have a mount before you start leveling herbalism seriously. Up until then just pick whatever flowers you stumble upon. In fact, forget about professions (except skinning) until you hit 55+, since you can't pick the profitable flowers until then.
The best way to level this profession is by being patient. Get a 5-10 minute route down, ride it, then log for an hour and repeat it.
1-15: Here you will collect Silverleaf and Peacebloom in the newbie zones. Easy.
15-50: Earthroot. Alliance head to Dun Morogh, Horde to Durotar. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?s=earthroot
50-85: Mageroyal. Alliance head to Loch Modan/Westfall, Horde head to Barrens/Silverpine. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?i=658
85-150: Stranglekelp. Here you have two options: Wetlands or STV. Personally I prefer Wetlands. For Wetlands swim up and down the coast a bit out. For STV either swim up the west coast from BB to the Zandalar tribe isle or swim up and down the SE coast. Maps: STV: http://thottbot.com/?m=8889 and Wetlands: http://thottbot.com/?m=9239
150-195: Liferoot. Wetlands is the best option for this part. Ride around the western swamp area; from the coast to the road leading to Dun Modr. Interspersed with the liferoot is also Kingsblood, which sells decently on AH due to it being needed for Thorium rep. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?m=9232
195-235: Wintersbite. The only place for this herb is in Alterac Mountains. When coming from the south (either TM or SS), first ride through the yeti area of the mountains, then ride through the ogre stronghold and finally ride through the ogre part of the mountains. Log and wait 30-60 mins, then repeat in reverse order. This part is pretty quickly done. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?m=19247
235-270: Blindweed. I prefer using Swamp of Sorrows for this part, since you can get a nice pattern going easily. Simply circle the central lake, log 30 mins and repeat. Alternatively ride back and forth through the northern part of the swamp. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?m=21505
270-300: Dreamfoil. This is the reason you level herbalism. Dreamfoil is used extensively in all the top alchemy recipes and sells for a pretty penny. .75-1.5G per flower depending on server. There are three main places for this herb: Azshara, Felwood or Un'goro. Try all three places and find the least camped one. Dreamfoil grows in open spaces, so stay away from rocky areas. However, Mountain Silversage (used in health pots), grows in mountains, so find a few spawn points of this herb and ride past them on your rounds.
Of the three Un'goro seems to be the least camped...but again it varies with server. Personally I use Azshara to pick my Dreamfoil and it works quite well.
Maps:
Azshara: http://thottbot.com/?m=70549
Felwood: http://thottbot.com/?m=47575
Un'goro: http://thottbot.com/?m=36626
Other herbs worth picking:
Icecap: Used in flasks and mana pots. Only grows in Winterspring in open areas. Heavily camped. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?m=28935
Mountain Silversage: Used in Mongoose pots and health pots. Grows in mountaneous regions. Un'goro is the spot for this herb. Alternatively Winterspring if you are after Icecap.Maps: Un'Goro: http://thottbot.com/?m=33245 and WS: http://thottbot.com/?m=28933
Plaguebloom: Used in Mongoose pots and various elixirs. Grows in both plaguelands and Felwood. Maps: EPL: http://thottbot.com/?m=14671 and WPL: http://thottbot.com/?m=26432 and Felwood: http://thottbot.com/?m=1011788
Gromsblood: Used in Flask of the Titans. Grows in Desolace, Felwood and Blasted Lands. Maps: http://thottbot.com/?i=5537
And there you have it. Herbalism is very good money with very little actual work. You only have to ride around :) When you decide to sell your gatherings, check your AH first and undercut a bit. If the bottom drops out of the market, jsut wait a few days and stockpile in the meanwhile, then sell when prices move back up.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
WoW World of Warcraft First Aid
First Aid is a lesser profession but far from a useless one. Physicians can create bandages and can create bandages to heal itself or other players. Even though anyone can benefit from this skill it is more geared towards classes that do not have any healing abilities like Warriors, Hunters, Warlocks, Rogues and Mages.
First Aid does not require a gathering skill; all bandages are made from cloth items that drop from various mobs.
WoW World of Warcraft Fishing
Fishing is a secondary skill (lesser profession) that differs a lot from the other ones. Fishing does not require you to visit dangerous zones or collect hard to find reagents. Instead this trade skill is for the one that wants to relax and be able to chat while practicing it. Skryer has many working Fishing macros available for you to use with full instructions.
To start your fishing career you need a fishing pole and somewhere to fish, usually somewhere near where your character started the game. Once you’ve started fishing you have to wait for the fish to come. Once you see your bobber move, click it and hopefully you will catch a fish or something else interesting.
You will not only get fish, there are many other items too that can be used to trade with other players like different Trade Skill recipes, gems, weapons and armor and locked boxes.
WoW World of Warcraft Cooking
There are many types of recipes practiced by the chefs of Azeroth. There is nothing too obscure or odd to be cooked and eaten with delight. Food is used in game to heal players after battles and training the Cooking skill might help you gather your food. Learn to be an expert cook with great cooking guides found at Skryer.
As you travel the world you will notice that most beasts drop different types of meat and if you have the right recipe you can make delicious food out of it. Instead of buying the food from vendors, make your own!
Cooking does not require a gathering skill but the Fishing skill is a good compliment to the Cooking skill, it will provide you with many different types of fish that you can cook.
WoW World of Warcraft Tailoring
Tailoring is the skill that allows players to cut, sew and shape pieces of cloth into armor, bags, shirts and other cloth items. Tailoring is a good profession for any class but fits better for cloth wearing classes like the Warlock, Mage and Priest. Tailors can make special outfits; they can impress other players or be used at special occasions. All those who wish to get into Tailoring should read the guides and walkthroughs at Skryer.
Tailoring does not require a gathering skill like Blacksmithing and Leatherworking does; instead all material is dropped from mobs or sold at vendors. Some players like to pick up the Skinning profession to get the leather required to make bags.
Bags are the most popular item a Tailor can make because they sell at very high prices at NPC vendors. Tailors can offer them at lower prices and sometimes better bags than Vendors sell.
WoW World of Warcraft Leatherworking
Another of the common production professions is Leatherworking. As the name says this skill is for working with leather and different animal pelts. Leatherworkers can create armor for leather-wearing classes like the Druid, Hunter, Shaman and Rogue. Leatherworkers can also create ammo pouches and special Armor Kits that can be applied to any armor piece to increase the defense bonus. The Leatherworking guides at Skryer are top notch and a great read.
Recommended when becoming a Leatherworker is to get the Skinning profession, it will help you gather the leather and pelts required for almost all the items you can create with Leatherworking.
WoW World of Warcraft Engineering
Engineering is said to be the profession that all classes should use. With it you can create different machines and gadgets that you can use both outside and in combat. Example items are different bombs, mechanical squirrel, land mines, explosive sheep etc. Engineering requires stone and various types of metal so the Mining profession will be needed unless you want to buy all the materials from other players. Read Skryer' forum to get plenty of Engineering guides and more.
The items created by Engineering will not sell well to other players because almost every item requires your character to have a certain level of the Engineering skill itself. However, many of the items you create will help you and others well in combat.
WoW World of Warcraft Enchanting
Enchanting is a skill that uses a disenchant skill to get the magical abilities of magical items and allows the Enchanter to apply these effects on other items. This skill can be very beneficial if you find many items to disenchant that you have no other use of. Fully detailed enchanting guides are available at Skryer.
To be able to Enchant a green (uncommon) item you will have to disenchant another green item. Same goes with blue (rare) and purple (epic) items. Enchanting requires no gathering skill since magical items that you need for disenchanting are dropped by mobs. Enchantments can also be applied to other player’s items.
WoW World of Warcraft Blacksmithing
Blacksmiths takes bars of metal and work them into finely crafted weapons and armor, a skill every Warrior and Paladin should have. There are many unique items that can only be made by Blacksmiths which makes this skill a very useful one. They can also create sharpening stones that increases damage on weapons and ingredients for other profession's recipes, Enchanting for example. Blacksmith guides and strategies are available at Skryer.
The majority of the items you create with Blacksmithing requires different metals therefore it’s a good idea to train the Mining profession as well unless you want to buy all the materials from other players which will be very expensive. As mentioned, Blacksmithing is mainly a skill for Paladins and Warriors since they are the ones that can initially wear mail armor and have the most use of the weapons that you can create.
WoW World of Warcraft Alchemy
An Alchemist can mix herbs and brew it into various potions. The Alchemy profession is good for any class; melee fighters can create health potions and strength buffs and spellcasters can create mana potions and other related buffs. Alchemy is useful in many ways because it benefits both you and your friends. It can also help your economy because some potions sell very well to other players. Read the Alchemy guides over at Skryer to learn more.
A recommended gathering skill for Alchemy is the Herbalism skill. It will help you get all the herbs needed for the potions.
WoW World of Warcraft Skinning
Skinning allows players to gather leather and pelts from beasts and animals. This is the ideal gathering skill for Leatherworking but also good for that extra money your character will need. Leather is not only used in Leatherworking, it’s used in various recipes for Blacksmithing, Engineering and Tailoring. Need skinning guides and information? Just go to Skryer to get them all.
Skinning can be performed on almost any beast and animal, if a mob can be skinned the text “Skinnable” will be displayed in the mob’s tooltip. As your skill increases you can skin higher level mobs, skinning also requires a skinning knife to be in one of your bags.
WoW World of Warcraft Mining
Another of the gathering professions, Mining might be the most useful one. Mining is used to extract ore from metal veins/deposits. Metal is used in the Blacksmithing profession and the Engineering profession. Mining is also the main source of gems and stones.
Learn the ins and outs of mining by reading the guides and strategies at Skryer.
Mining is also a skill that fits every class but is often paired up with Engineering and/or Blacksmithing. Just like with herbs you will encounter mineral veins many times when you quest or travel, therefore it’s a good idea to train the Mining skill to get some extra money, metal sells very well.
Another part of the Mining skill is the Smelting skill. You get it as you train the Mining skill and it is used to smelt ore into metal bars. Smelting requires you to be near a forge, they can be found in every major city.
WoW World of Warcraft Herbalism
Herbalism is a popular gathering skill, it allows you to find and pick herbs throughout the world. Herbalism is a necessary skill for Alchemy and since you will find herbs as you travel, it’s good to take advantage of this skill and train it. Herbalism guides are available at Skryer.
Herbs are found via a special tracking skill named “Find Herbs”. Whenever you get close to a herb it will display the herb as a yellow dot on your minimap which makes it a lot easier to find herbs. Herbalism can also be used to gain money; Alchemists and Enchanters often buy herbs.
Monday, February 11, 2008
wow:"Making the Band"
50 Cent is a warrior, Tori Amos is a paladin, Jimi Hendrix is a mage, Tommy Lee is a priest and J Lo is a warlock. Not only do they make sweet music, but they’d also make a great instance group.
After spending a Saturday night in WoW-land, I went to church the next morning. I really didn’t pay too much attention to what the pastor was saying as I was still fuming over the crappy pickup group I was with the night before. Then the church band started playing and I had a revelation: putting together a good WoW group is a lot like putting together a good rock band. If you think about it, each party member is like an instrument in a rock band. And if all the instruments play well, you have a good band. Bad instruments = crappy band. There are 3 main functions that a person can perform in a group: tanking, DPS and healing. Tanking requires getting and keeping aggro, so I liken that to singing. DPS is about causing damage, so liken that to instruments that damage your ear drums. And healing is like keeping a beat and being the backbone of a party. So here is my metaphor for what instrument each class plays:
Warrior = Lead vocals. The main job of the warrior is to tank. A good tank grabs all of the aggro and keeps the attention of the mobs away from the other party members. The lead singer is the one person in the band who draws the most attention when on stage. Cameras are always on them and the most famous rock stars are usually the lead singers. Not many people come to a concert to watch the drummer or the bassist; they pay their hard-earned money to see the lead singer. Famous warriors: Gwen Stefani, Mariah Carey, 50 Cent.
Paladin = Piano/Vocals. When I think of a paladin, I think of a big hulking mass that grabs the attention of the mobs. When I think of a piano in a rock band, I think of a big hulking mass on stage that grabs the attention of the fans. In the few rock bands that use a piano, the pianist is also the lead singer, just like sometimes the paladin is the main tank of the group. In some songs, pianos are used to keep a beat, just like in some instances, paladins are asked to heal. Famous paladins: Tori Amos, Ben Folds, Elton John.
Priest = Drums. Drummers are the lifeline of the group. They keep the beat and control the pace of the music. Priests are arguably the most important member of the group. Their healing skills (or lack thereof) control the pace of how fast groups can go in an instance. The tank wouldn’t dare pull if the priest was oom. Most rock bands need to have a drummer, just like most groups need a priest. Famous priests: Tommy Lee, Lars Ulrich, Keith Moon.
Mage = Electric Guitar. Much like how a mage spams out DPS and AOE on mobs, the electric guitar wails out guitar riffs on the audience. Like the mage, the electric guitar is the loudest instrument on stage and thus creates a lot of attention. No instrument can cause more damage to your ear drums than the mage/electric guitar. Famous mages: Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Santana.
Rogue = Bass Guitar. Most people don’t even notice the bassist when he’s on stage. But that’s exactly how the rogue works, under the radar. Bassists use stealth; they don’t want to draw attention to themselves but they do make a big difference. Listen to a band play with the bassist. Now take the bassist out and hear how the song sounds different. Group with a rogue. Then take the rogue out and you’ll notice a big difference, especially with the DPS. Famous rogues: Bootsy Collins, Sid Vicious, Les Claypool
Hunter = Acoustic Guitar/Vocals. A mage is to electric guitar as a hunter is to acoustic guitar. In a group setting, the hunter is primarily a DPS. Like the electric and bass guitar the hunter is a stringed instrument. Of course, the acoustic guitar will never be as loud as the electric guitar but the acoustic guitar has one huge benefit over their electric cousin: the ability to solo. The singing ability is like a hunter’s pet. The pet can off-tank or be used for soloing. Famous hunters: Dave Matthews, Jewel, Jack Johnson.
Druid = Keyboards/Synthesizer. The druid is versatile. He can heal, tank, and DPS to a lesser degree. The druid and paladin play similar instruments; they both tank, heal and DPS to a lesser degree. But druids are more healer and less tank, thus the keyboard can create electronic beats similar to a drummer. That’s why many druids are recruited to be the healer for the group. Famous keyboardists: Chemical Brothers, Trent Reznor, Vince Clarke.
Shaman = Turntables. Turntables and DJs are more prevalent in hip-hop music and usually have a more “bad boy” image about them. Shaman are horde “bad boys” that are similar to druids in that they are a jack of all trades and master of none. DJs can create beats (heal), scratch records (DPS), and play records (totems). Famous shaman: Jam Master Jay, DJ Lethal, Mix Master Mike
Warlocks = backup dancers. They don’t tank, they don’t heal and they don’t DPS. Thus, they don’t play an instrument. With the exception of certain instances, the warlock is the least sought after class. Do you need a warlock in your party? No. But they’re pretty cool to have and they’re certainly not worthless. Soulstones, curses and off-tanking pets are just a few of the things a warlock can do in a party situation. Where are a warlock outshines all other classes is their ability to solo. Dancing is an art form all on its own and when they’re on stage at a concert they’re pretty cool to watch. Famous warlocks: J Lo, Paula Abdul, NSync (ok they also sing, but they’re better dancers than they are singers).
So let’s inspect some of the popular music groups out there:
U2: warrior, priest, mage, rogue. Your basic rock band, and a functional WOW group.
Green Day: mage, rogue, priest. They spam out so much DPS, they don’t need no stinkin’ tank!
Limp Bizkit: warrior, rogue, priest, mage, shaman (would make a nice 5-man instance group)
Grateful Dead: 2 hunters, 2 priests, 1 rogue, 4 druids, 1 paladin and 1 warrior (if you count them all)
NSync: 5 warlocks. No wonder why this group sucks.
Cypress Hill: 2 warriors, shaman, priest
The White Stripes: mage, priest. A magical duo.
Chemical Brothers: 2 druids
Ben Folds Five: paladin, rogue, priest. An interesting combo but the tank/DPS/healing trio is there.
The Carpenters: priest, paladin. Karen is better known as a warrior.
P-Funk: let’s just say there’s enough here for an MC raid.
A Non-crafter's Guide to Jewelcrafting
The exciting new profession with the Burning Crusade expansion has a lot of people confused still. What does it do? How does it work?
There are plenty of guides for jewelcrafting...for would-be jewelcrafters. This guide is for anyone who does *NOT* cut gems, so they can understand the ins and outs of the trade to get what they need. This is not a guide for how to be a jewelcrafter.
1. What is jewelcrafting for?
In the expansion - and only in the expansion - are items with "sockets". These sockets can have gems inserted into them that add various bonuses. If you have a socketable item, you can shift-right click it to enter a special screen that lets you add gems you might have.
Jewelcrafting additionally creates select rings, necklaces, and trinkets. This is a secondary aspect to the trade, although the gems for socket items do not start until a skill of 300. Up until then, the jewelry is all jewelcrafting makes.
2. Are there different gems?
Every socket has a color associated with it: red, yellow, blue, or sometimes the special meta socket. The only gems that can be found anywhere in Outland are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and a few rare special gems that are meant to go in specific sockets. You do not have to match the socket colors. More on that later.
Each gem has a few different ways that you can cut it, which give different bonuses.
For example, A Blood Garnet, which is a red gem, can have a strength bonus, extra agility, +healing, +spell damage, or attack power.
A Golden Draenite, which is a yellow gem, can be cut to give defense, crit rating, hit rating, intellect, or spell crit rating.
Each of those bonuses are separate, but any one of them can be created from the same basic gem.
3. If there are only red, yellow and blue sockets, what are the orange, green and purple gems for?
The three secondary colors are combinations of two primary colors. In your sockets, they count as both colors, and they have a bonus identical (but half as strong) as one of the attributes available on their two parent colors. For example, the basic orange gem, Flame Spessarite, can have a combination of one red bonus and one yellow bonus. This could be a combined strength and crit rating bonus, or spell damage and spell crit, or healing and intellect. Most meaningful combinations are available.
The hybrid gems are very helpful for when you actually want to match the socket colors, but you have preference for a difference color's gems. Most non-tanks like red gems, so if you have a blue socket, you might use a purple (blue+red) gem to fill that slot.
4. So where do I get a gem?
If you mine, you can potentially get uncut gems the old-fashioned way. Otherwise, you're going to need to get lucky looting chests or buy them out of the auction house. Obviously, if you have an uncut gem, you're going to need to seek the help of a Jewelcrafter, so if you're going to buy from the AH, you might just as easily get a cut gem rather than the raw version.
There are also some "cut" gems sold at select vendors. You'll find Gem Vendors in a couple places in Outland that have low-quality versions of a few of the gems a Jewelcrafter could make. Also, some of the quartermasters offer gems as a reward for arena points or spirit shards or the like.
If you want to know where jewelcrafters get gems, since they would be in such short supply, JC'ers have a skill called Prospecting that lets them destroy 5 pieces of ore to look through it for gems. They typically get one gem for a prospect, but can sometimes get up to three.
5. Are there different levels of gems?
Yes. In addition to the low-quality gems from the Gem Vendors, there are two levels of gem cuts that jewelcrafters can fashion. Each color has one gem that is green text, and one that is blue. I will refer to these as Tier 1 and Tier 2. Both have the same exact patterns with the same exact bonuses (except there are a few that are Tier 2 only,) with the only difference being how big a bonus they give.
The Tier 1 gems are much easier to come by, and should be fairly inexpensive. Nearly all of the patterns are either vendor-bought or reputation rewards, with only a couple of dropped recipes. The tier 2 gems are much rarer, require a much higher skill (350), and almost every single one of the 30+ patterns is a drop. As a result, if you are not getting a very permanent piece of equipment socketed, it is probably best to stick to the T1 gems. They will be easier to find and much more economical.
T2 gems have about an additional 33% of the bonus that the T1 gems have.
There is also a third level of gems introduced from high-end raiding content. We'll call that Tier 3, but you should not expect to ever see these gems unless you are in a high-end raiding guild.
6. What are the gems called?
The gems, by color, are:
| Color | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
| Red | Blood Garnet | Living Ruby |
| Orange | Flame Spessarite | Noble Topaz |
| Yellow | Golden Draenite | Dawnstone |
| Green | Deep Peridot | Talasite |
| Blue | Azure Moonstone | Star of Elune |
| Purple | Shadow Draenite | Nightseye |
If you want any of these gems at the auction house, you will need to search them by these names. Remember, orange counts as red and yellow, green counts as yellow and blue, and purple is blue and red.
7. But you don't actually have to match the socket colors?
Correct. Only if you want the socket bonus.
What's a socket bonus?
Every socketed item has a "Socket Bonus" that is a reward for filling the sockets in correctly. If you are a warlock that cares about damage over time spells, and the 3 spell crit bonus for filling in a yellow and blue gem isn't important to you, you might just put two red gems in that add pure +spell damage since it means more to you. The only reason you need to match colors is for the socket bonus. The exception to this is meta sockets.
8. What are meta sockets?
Some select items, especially head gear and high-end set gear, have sockets called "Meta Sockets". These are for special gems, and you can NOT put other gems in those. Meta gems are very rare -- in fact, they can't be mined or found in chests, and most have to be transmuted. As a result meta gems can be very expensive. But the bonuses they give are generally stronger than a standard gem. For example, a Bracing Earthstorm Diamond adds +26 healing and -2% threat generation. Compare this to a Teardrop Living Ruby that just adds +18 healing.
There's one slight catch: meta gems have additional requirements, and items with meta sockets have a meta bonus that also has requirements. Most of them are along the lines of "Must have 2 yellow gems and 1 red gem" or "Must have more Blue gems than Red gems." If you see one of these requirements, it means across ALL of your gear and not just that item.
9. OK, enough already. What bonuses can I get from all these gems?
How to read this chart:
All gems consist of the gem name with a prefix. For example, Flashing Living Ruby is a Living Ruby (red gem) that has been cut with the "Flashing" pattern that gives it a parry rating bonus. All stats given are for tier 2 quality gems.
| Purpose | Red | Orange | Yellow | Green | Blue | Purple |
| Tank | Flashing: 8 parry (Tier 2 only) Subtle: 8 dodge rating (Tier 2 only) | - | Thick: 8 defense | Enduring: 4 defense, 6 stamina | Solid: 12 stamina | - |
| Physical Damage | Bold: 8 strength Delicate: 8 agility Bright: 16 attack power | Inscribed: 4 strength, 4 crit rating Glinting: 4 agility, 4 hit rating Wicked: 8 attack power, 4 crit rating | Smooth: 8 crit rating Rigid: 8 hit rating | Jagged: 4 crit rating, 6 stamina | - | Sovereign: 6 stamina, 4 strength Shifting: 6 stamina, 4 agility Balanced: 6 stamina, 8 attack power Infused: 2 MP5, 8 attack power |
| Healer | Teardrop: 18 healing | Luminous: 9 healing, 4 intellect | Brilliant: 8 intellect | Dazzling: 4 intellect, 2 MP5 | Lustrous: 3 MP5 Sparkling: 6 spirit | Royal: 2 MP5, 9 healing |
| Spell Offensive | Runed: 9 spell damage | Potent: 5 spell damage, 4 spell crit Veiled: 5 spell damage, 4 spell hit | Gleaming: 8 spell crit Great: 8 spell hit | Radiant: 4 spell crit, 6 spell penetration | Stormy: 12 spell penetration | Glowing: 6 stamina, 5 spell damage |
Meta gems:
| Gem | Primary Benefit | Secondary Benefit | Requirement |
| Tenacious Earthstorm Diamond | 12 Defense | Chance on hit to restore health | 5 of each color |
| Powerful Earthstorm Diamond | 18 stamina | 5% stun resist | 5 blue |
| Relentless Earthstorm Diamond | 12 agility | +3% crit damage | 2 of each color |
| Brutal Earthstorm Diamond | 3 melee damage | Chance to stun target | 5 of each color |
| Enigmatic Skyfire Diamond | 12 crit | 5% snare and root resist | More red than yellow |
| Swift Skyfire Diamond | 24 attack power | Minor run speed increase | 2 yellow, 1 red |
| Thundering Skyfire Diamond | - | Chance to increase Melee/Ranged attack | 2 of each color |
| Bracing Earthstorm Diamond | 26 healing | 2% reduced threat | Less blue than red or yellow |
| Insightful Earthstorm Diamond | 12 intellect | Chance to restore mana on spellcast | 5 of each color |
| Destructive Skyfire Diamond | 14 spell crit | 1% spell reflect | 5 red |
| Mystical Skyfire Diamond | - | 2% chance after casting for next spell instant | More blue than yellow |
10. What else do I need to know?
