Patch 3.2.2 is out and we have to deal with a revamped raid and two nerfs . Ony’s back and so is her upgraded loot! The bad news is that the Fan of Knives nerf is also live. To be honest, that should be the least of your concerns because the armor penetration (ArP) nerf is a bigger deal.
The general rule for ArP is that when you have enough of it through gear, you should gem for it. How much is enough, you ask? I hate to say it but consult a spreadsheet. Slap your gear in there, check your DPS and then begin weighing the benefits of stacking Agility versus Armor Penetration. If you have enough ArP, you should see it as the runaway victor. If not, try speccing to Mace Specialization and pretend you have a good mace. The Tankard O’Terror is readily available right now because of Brewfest, in case you actually need one. Don’t forget to equip your ArP trinks too.
When you see the results, gem for whichever stat gives you more DPS. Even with the ArP nerf, there’s a good possibility that it will turn out to be the better stat if you’re in item level 226-245 gear. It’s a tricky stat to work with, but it’s well worth the effort.
I found myself in a situation where my ArP wasn’t enough to justify staying in it. Prior to the patch I was fine, but without Grim Toll or Mjolnir Runestone, I was gimping my DPS by gemming ArP. Now, you’d think that going back to Agi gems is the answer. Sadly, it’s not, because the nerf applies to ArP in general, so the effect of Mace Spec is nerfed, the ArP you get from your gear is nerfed, etc. In short, even if I gemmed back to Agility, I’d still feel the nerf because of the ArP in my gear. Also, it was horrifying to see that doing so would only result in a very marginal increase in DPS. Yes, it’s an increase, but was it worth buying 6-8 Cardinal Rubies for? No, it’s not. In order to bring my DPS back to its level pre-3.2.2, I need one of the two trinkets I mentioned above.
I think I found another solution to the problem and I’m looking forward to raiding with it already. I’m not going to post it right now. I want to see the results first. And no, it’s not some goofy experimental thing at all. It’s just something I came up with after spending another two hours playing around with spreadsheets.