Which Gems should I use for my Wizard?

“Kris, If diamonds are a girl’s best friend, then what gem is the best friend of a demon-slaying, ass-kicking wizard?”

I am so glad you asked that, oddly specific and almost precisely the title of my article, question.  You are in luck because today I will be giving my recommendations on how to bling-out your mage.  The suggestions below are based on the highest tier Wizard builds, Legacy of Dreams/Hydra, and Chantodo’s Vyrs/Archon builds.  Stay awhile and socket things.

Jewelry

The jewelry slot is where you will be equipping Legendary Gems.  These (two) rings and amulet will take gems with attributes that are very build-and-playstyle specific.  Keeping this in mind, my selection of gems is based on the Archon build mentioned above.  The second selection is based on LOD/Hydra.  If you are unfamiliar with Legendary Gems, I wrote a sweet article on the top ten a few days ago.  You can check that out [here]

1.Bane of the Trapped

   Bane of the Stricken

   Gogok of Swiftness

    -Gogok of Swiftness increases attack speed, dodge chance, and reduces cooldowns after level 25.  Controlled enemies (frequent with slow time and black hole) take increased Damage with Bane of the Trapped.  Finally, Bane of the Stricken is used for damage to bosses or rift guardians as it increases damage dealt on a single enemy with every attack you land on that enemy.

    *Cooldown reduction from Gogok of Swiftness is key to entering Archon Form frequently.

    *The Chantodo’s Set buffs Archon Form immensely and also scaled with attack speed.  Therefore the attack speed buff from Gogok is also beneficial.

    *Bane of the Trapped is an all-around damage buff as you will be using Blackhole and Slow time in between Archon Forms

    *Bane of the Stricken is primarily for killing the Rift Guardian quickly.

2.Taeguk

   Enforcer

   Legacy of Dreams

    -This outfit of gems looks utterly different than the set above because LOD/Hydra is a build focusing on channeling attacks and summoning pets. Taeguk provides a damage buff to resource spenders while channeling that stacks up to 10 times.  Enforcer buffs the damage dealt and reduces damage taken by pets by 15%.  Finally, Legacy of Dreams rounds out the outfit by buffing damage dealt per legendary item while no set bonuses are being used.

    *Legacy of Dreams is an alternate gem because it buffs damage when no set bonus is being used.  This is great for newer and more casual players because you don’t need to build a full set to use the effects.  

    *Enforcer enables the LOD/Hydra build to pack a punch.

* Lastly, we use Taeguk because you will be spending a bulk of your resources on channeling skills.

Helm

-Diamonds are the ideal choice for the Helm socket in the Chantodo’s/Vyr’s due to the added cooldown reduction of 12.5% (Flawless Royal Diamond)

    *Cooldown reduction is critical here as we are trying to use Archon Form as much as possible.  

    *Archon form has a Cooldown of 120 seconds and with Chandtodo’s/Vyr’s set bonuses casts a powerful wave of destruction every second during Archon Form. 

-Topaz is the second choice due to reducing resource costs by the same 12.5%.  

*For builds such as LOD/Hydra, you will be channeling, summoning, and casting spells frequently.  

*Reducing the cost of resource spending attacks means you can channel longer and gain a better bonus from Taeguk. 

Other

You have two different options when it comes to picking gems for “other” slots, such as torso and pants.  You can load one gem in every slot to severely buff one stat, or you can use different gems to buff attributes based on your needs.

    -Topaz is the top choice in these slots as it increases intelligence by 280 points (Flawless Royal)

        *Intelligence is an attribute that increases the Wizard’s damage output.

        *Additionally, Intelligence increases Resist to all types of incoming damage.

    -Ruby is the next choice in these slots as it adds strength to you Wizard’s stats.

        *Strength is the amount of armor a character has.

        *The heavy channeling style means you will likely take damage more frequently that a swift ranged style.  More armor means you will be able to deal more damage before having to move and reset Taeguk’s buffs

Weapon

This slot has caused numerous arguments in my living room and will, I am sure, cause many more as long as Diablo is the Lord of Terror.  Again you have multiple choices here, but I will only recommend the two that make the most sense. 

-Emerald is the best gem in the Weapon slot due to the 130% critical hit damage buff.

    *Critical hits are ridiculously underrated and happen more often than you notice.

    *130% more damage to an attack that has an already elevated damage stat just makes sense.

-Amethyst is the next option for this slot because, at the Flawless Royal level, it boasts 28,000 life per hit.

    *You will inevitably take damage, and it is a huge bonus to know that with a few flicks of a wand, you can replace large chunks of health.

    *You already have Bane of the Stricken equipped in theory, so adding Damage to Elites is not as necessary as buffing a healing option.

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