I need help figuring out when to go parry gems

Hi,

Long story short, how do I determine when I should replace my dodge gems with parry gems? I know when the patch released I lost almost 5% avoidance in my max avoidance set. I went from somewhere around 39% dodge to 35.8%. I have 4 dodge gems in this set. I want to know what my avoidance would be if I changed some of those dodge gems to parry gems and I don't know how to figure it out.

I have tried to figure out and test the math and I simply get confused. If the character sheet had some way to include diminishing returns I might not be as confused. I understand how base avoidance isn't affected by diminishing returns but I still have a hard time being confident in my numbers.

I used to not have to worry too much about this because I could use mods like Tankpoints to change values (subtract 10 dodge, add 10 parry, and see where that puts me). I'm not aware of this mod being updated yet.

Any guidance so that I can answer this question myself when it comes up again would be appreciated. Useful mods that help answer this question without a calculator would also be appreciated.
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Don't gem for either. Defense is always better than parry in equal amounts.
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Majiben
If we wanted Ret to be a joke, we would have just left the tree as it was, and maybe kicked it a little for good measure. -GC

Thanks for the replies.

What I would really like to be able to answer, and am really asking for help with, is knowing how to crunch the numbers myself so I understand the trade-offs and can make an informed decision when this comes up again. I have stamina socket bonuses I will lose if I put in defense gems and I don't feel the need for strength gems. I appreciate the general advice for how to gem but I am looking for help with seeing the actual numbers (blindly following a blanket gemming strategy isn't always the wise course of action as we all have different strengths and weaknesses). Surely someone has created some sort of calculator by now?
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Small update...I decided now is the appropriate time to completely re-evaluate all of my gems in preparation for WotlK. I didn't really see the need to change much for just the patch seeing as the game is so easy now
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Is gemming Agility ever an option for a Tankadin?

gives benefits to Dodge, Melee crit, and a small amount of Armor.

yay? nay?

There is a WoWWiki guide on combat ratings. Parry gives less % per rating point than Dodge. It is never worth gemming for parry.
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better to tank in hell than DPS in heaven

I think Satrina made a post about avoidance diminishing returns on tankspot, might want to check there. And if I remember correctly, all avoidance stats have diminishing returns on your total avoidance levels, not individually, so a dodge gem will always give you more avoidance than a parry gem. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.

Edit: I'm actually starting to question myself here, if someone knows for sure, that would be awesome.

Are different sets of items still/where ever needed?

I've never bother with getting a so called "avoidance" or "HP" or "thread" set and never had problems in BC and now since all bosses got nerfed im sure i don't need a 2nd tank equip. I tanked progression, but have to mention we have 2 prot-pala and 4 def-warriors and allways try to chose that class for progression which is siuted best for a fight.

My holy and resi stuff takes enough place in my bags and on my bank

the only 2nd set i got are some different trinkets which can be quite handy sometimes.
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lvl 70 / Samsara / Der Mithrilorden

All avoidance stats do not have dimished returns on your total avoidance levels, they need to be calculated seperately. So if your dodge is 45 percent it gets hit more severely by diminishing returns, but if your parry is only 15 percent it will also get hit but not as much(kinda).

First without getting into a lot of math, geming for parry already runs into some problems two in particular. First it costs more parry to get 1 percent avoidance at level 80 approx 49.18, compared to 39.35 dodge rating. About twenty five percent more. Second diminishing returns effects parry more than it effects dodge, parry has a cap of 47 percent, while dodge has a cap of 88.1 percent.(this cap doesn't include base avoidance or talents).

Using my avoidance numbers(severely rounded), undiminished i'm at 21 percent dodge, and 6.5 percent parry. Diminished i'm at 17.58 and 5.94. If i tried to Add one percent parry/dodge rating, the effective result after diminishing returns is 18.25 and 6.72.
18.25-17.58=.67
6.72-5.94=.78.

I'd gain a total of .11 avoidance, about 16 percent more avoidance than dodge. This doesn't take into account the twenty five percent more it costs to get parry gems. There could possibly be a cut off point where if you have extremely low parry and extremely high dodge, that it will become more valuable to gem for parry. Personally I don't think i'm gonna bother with trying to decide and just go strength/stam in any socket bonus I want to keep, and wait till someone smarter than me simplifies the calculations.
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Paladin/70/Rivendare