Post by TheRazielim
I had written this a while back on our guild forums, just after 3.2 had come out and the epic gems were released.
These numbers are pretty rough, not taking into account talents or buffs (BoK, etc).
All conversions were taken either from RatingsBuster or WoWwiki (who used the conversions given by the author of RatingsBuster, so.. yea). Also assuming epic gems since the bonus provided from them is what makes this possible and you should be using them anyway. Additionally, assuming ignoring socket bonuses and just going with the standard "satisfy metagem reqs then spam
Bold Cardinal Ruby" approach)
This applies to both Death Knights and Warriors. Also, this only applies to melee crit.
Stikeouts are considered negligible either because they're the same bonus on both sides, or they aren't relevant to DPS stats.
Agility to Crit Conversion (ie: #Agility = 1% crit) = 62.5 Agi per 1% crit
Crit rating to crit% = 45.91 rating per 1% crit
First, the old Meta gem.
Chaotic Skyflare Diamond. Usually activated via 2x
Sovereign DreadstoneTotal Stats:
21 Critical Strike Rating &
3% Increased Crit Damage20 Strength (40 Attack Power)
30 Stamina
(Total Crit rating) x (conversion factor) = crit% increase
(21) x (1/45.91) = 0.45741....... etc = 0.46%
Now, the
Relentless Earthsiege Diamond. Easier requirements allow it to be activated with just a single
Nightmare Tear, as well as "freeing" up a slot for another
Bold Cardinal RubyTotal Stats:
31 Agility &
3% Increased Crit Damage30 Strength (60 Attack Power)
10 Intellect
10 Stamina
10 Spirit(Total Agility) x (conversion factor) = crit% increase
(31) x (1/62.5) = 0.496 = 0.5%
So in the end, the comparison is
Chaotic Skyflare Diamond + 2x
Sovereign Dreadstone (Numbers coming from here will be
BOLDED : considered a "loss", assuming we're switching these gems out)
vs.
Relentless Earthsiege Diamond +
Nightmare Tear +
Bold Cardinal Ruby (Numbers coming from here will be
ITALICIZED : considered a "gain", assuming we're putting these gems in)
+0.50% crit-0.46% crit+60 Attack Power-40 Attack PowerNet change:
+0.04% crit+20 Attack PowerIn the end the change is minute, but overall completely positive in nature.
Additional note for Death Knights. We don't gain any spellcrit through Agility, so pretty much all of this is moot. But, the gain in AP makes up for the minor loss in crit, which effectively negates it, but will increase our overall DPS through the increase to our melee crits. Keep in mind, these numbers are just the raw, unmodified numbers. With Blessing of Kings, the Agility bonuses will be increased, thus increasing the margin btwn the 2 gems (ie: >0.04% increase). Additionally, with Talents & Blessing of Kings, most of us have higher than a 1:2 Str:AP ratio (With Death Knights it's like 1:2.2 or something to that effect from just Talents, not taking into account the 10% from Blessing of Kings AND the proc off of Rune of the Fallen Crusader (15% Str). These bonuses combined add up to a significant margin of difference btwn the 2 gem setups, sealing Relentless Earthsiege Diamond as the winner.
I may have been a tiny bit off with my numbers, and I ignored/assumed alot of stuff (using epic gems, no buffs, ignored talent bonuses, etc) but for the most part that's what it is. It works to be pretty much a complete wash in the end, with the RED+NT+BCR combo beating out the CSD+2SD just barely.
