[Canadianpimp]

Gems

I see a lot of locks gemming incorrectly these days, so I'm going to give my thoughts on the best way to gem. When you gem an item, first look at the socket bonus, and how many gems are needed to get to the socket bonus. Next, take note of what stats you need to work on, especially if you are not hit capped through stats on gear only. If you are not hit capped, the best way to gem is by putting pure spell hit gems into sockets in this order of preference.

Yellow - always put pure spell hit gems in UNLESS you are hit capped
Blue - put pure spell hit gems in UNLESS hit capped AND don't need 2 blue gems for meta gem
Red - only put pure spell hit gems if not hit capped AND the socket bonus is worthless

Blue sockets are generally the worst socket for DPS, but we need two of them to activate the Chaotic Skyfire Diamond meta gem. Sometimes blue sockets aren't so bad, such as in the Belt of Blasting where you won't lose a lot of DPS by socketing a purple gem in the blue socket and getting the socket bonus.

If you are hit capped just through stats on your gear, you will want to put either spell haste/damage gems, spell crit/damage gems, or pure spell damage gems in pretty much every one of your sockets for maximum DPS with Destruction raiding. Here are two simple examples:

• Carved Witch Doctor's Stick - If hit capped, use a spell haste/damage orange gem. If not hit capped, use a pure spell hit gem. If you need a blue gem to activate your meta gem, put a purple gem in with spell damage/stamina.

• Fury of the Ursine - If not hit capped, use a pure spell hit gem. If hit capped, use a spell damage/spell haste gem.

Remember that each situation is different though, it depends on your individual situation. Here are the best options for each type of socket color. Note that a gem that I list might have an identical counterpart that can be obtained through PvP, heroic boss drop, quests, etc. I'm only going to list one type and list the most common place to find it.

Red socket

1. Don Julio's Heart (Jewelcrafting BoP, unique) DP: 896
2. Veiled Pyrestone (BT/SWP drop) DP: 884
   
3. Reckless Pyrestone (BT/SWP drop) DP: 774
4. Runed Crimson Spinel (BT/SWP drop) DP: 768
5. Potent Pyrestone (BT/SWP drop) DP: 744
6. Veiled Noble Topaz (Rare gem) DP: 720
7. Reckless Noble Topaz (Rare gem) DP: 632
8. Potent Noble Topaz (Rare gem) DP: 608
9. Runed Living Ruby (Rare gem) DP: 576
10. Veiled Flame Spessarite (Uncommon gem) DP: 556

Yellow socket

1. Great Lionseye (BT/SWP drop) DP: 1000
2. Veiled Pyrestone (BT/SWP drop) DP: 884
3. Blood of Amber (Jewelcrafting BoP, unique) DP: 864
4. Great Dawnstone (Rare gem) DP: 800
5. Quick Lionseye (BT/SWP drop) DP: 780
6. Reckless Pyrestone (BT/SWP drop) DP: 774
7. Potent Pyrestone (BT/SWP drop) DP: 744
8. Veiled Noble Topaz (Rare gem) DP: 720
9. Gleaming Lionseye (BT/SWP drop) DP: 720
10. Reckless Noble Topaz (Rare gem) DP: 632
11. Quick Dawnstone (Rare gem) DP: 620
12. Potent Noble Topaz (Rare gem) DP: 608
13. Great Golden Draenite (Uncommon gem) DP: 600
14. Gleaming Dawnstone (Rare gem) DP: 576
15. Veiled Flame Spessarite (Uncommon gem) DP: 556

Blue socket

1. Vivid Chrysoprase (Quagmirran - Heroic Slave Pens) DP: 500
2. Forceful Seaspray Emerald (BT/SWP drop) DP: 390
3. Glowing Shadowsong Amethyst (BT/SWP drop) DP: 384
4. Glowing Nightseye (Rare gem) DP: 320
5. Glowing Shadow Draenite (Uncommon gem) DP: 256

Meta socket
The meta gem that you should be using is the Chaotic Skyfire Diamond, and I am assuming a DP value of 2900. This gem requires a combination of at least 2 blue/purple/green gems throughout your other sockets to be active.