Meta Gems...

[Laeelin]

I'm getting close to 70 now, and sooner or later will start on heroics.

What is the best meta gem for 5 mans/heroics?

I suspect it's:
Powerful Earthstorm Diamond ( http://www.wowhead.com/?item=25896 )

Note: I don't plan on any raiding on this character.

[baleogthefierce]

That's the one I've used since I first hit 70 all the way up through Sunwell.

[Inukshuk]

Why is there little to no love for the 12 defense and chance to proc a heal gem ( http://www.wowhead.com/?item=25898 )? 18 stam = 180 health * 1.6 (talents) * 1.1 (kings) = 316.8 HP. Don't get me wrong, an additional 316 HP to your max is certainly meaningful. But the 5% stun is more or less useless in PVE as I understand it given that you're going to see "incapacitates" and the like instead of true stuns in most encounters. The 12 defense is always going to be useful (especialy post wotlk with the anticipation change) since you can gem/enchant for stamina instead of defense in several slots if you prefer, and a proc of 120-180 HP (from what I'm reading) would only need to proc 3 times in a fight to make up for the 317 additional HP from the other gem, and any additional procs would be upside.

Am I looking at this wrong? Is there something I'm not accounting for?

[baleogthefierce]

Personal preference. I already run defense heavy with my gearing and I'd rather have the guarantee of 300 extra HP than an unreliable chance to restore 1/3 of that health.

Same reason I see redoubt as a sub-par talent compared to shield spec.

[Lab Monkey]

Does anyone have any proc rate data for this gem? I imagine it could easily outperform the stam/stun meta in AoE situations.

[Flipthebird]

for 5-mans and heroics i would use the one the OP mentioned. The garaunteed stamina increase is more useful/reliable than the small amount of chance heals you would be getting. And, your healer would love you just a little bit more.

***Edit: I missed Baleog's post...which is pretty much what I said only he said it first.....jerk.

[baleogthefierce]

This gem has since been changed to be +12 defense and chance to restore health on hit, so it's basically a crappy version of JoL. Comments on wowhead indicate that there is a hidden internal cooldown also, and that the heals are in the 40-60 range when it activates (I have not tested this yet so I can't confirm or deny).

If you need the defense, I'd recommend going with the defense/block gem instead. Come to think of it, for 5-mans the 10% extra block value would serve you better than a chance to restore 50 health every ~1.7 seconds on your weapon swing. You will be getting an extra 80% of your block value in total damage reduction if all your HS charges are used (which they usually are when AOE-tanking in 5-mans). My block is somewhere in the neighborhood of 500, so it's either 400 damage blocked every 8 seconds or ~235 damage healed (assuming a proc on every swing). That's better EH than even the 18 stamina/5% stun gem provides.

tl;dr: 12 defense/block value for 5-mans please.

[Lab Monkey]

D'oh! I read that as "each time you are hit". That makes it much worse. I should have gone with the Eternal (+12 def/+10% BV) instead.

[Grehn|Skipjack]

Eternal Earthstorm. The end. =P

[Selinaria]

Eternal or Powerful Earthstorm imo.

The stamina from powerful is indeed strong but the defense and block value from the Eternal can serve quite well too (especially for 5 mans and heroics).

[kandros]

u say dont go in raids with this char so i think u farm lot of heroics .. i think +12 defense rating and +10% block value is the best meta gem for you