TBC Anniversary Phase 3 Gems and Enchants: Every Spec, Slot

Quick summary

• Epic gems arrived with Phase 3. You can mine them from Ancient Gem Veins in Mount Hyjal with 375 Mining, or get them as drops from Black Temple trash (Wowhead).
• Indormi inside Mount Hyjal sells 26 epic designs through Scale of the Sands reputation: 13 at Friendly, 9 at Honored, and 4 at Revered. Eight more drop from Hyjal bosses. All need 375 Jewelcrafting.
• Gem for your thresholds first (Hit, tank Defense, your meta requirement), then stack your main stat.
• The enchant set barely changed, but there are new formulas: +4 stats to rings (Honored with Lower City), +20 Agility to a one-hand weapon (Exalted with The Violet Eye), and Major Striking (Honored with The Consortium).
• Ring enchants only work for Enchanters. Jewelcrafter-only gems only work for Jewelcrafters.

Learn what changed in Phase 3

Change	Detail	Source
New gem source	Ancient Gem Veins in Mount Hyjal, plus trash drops in Black Temple	Wowhead
New designs	Indormi (Scale of the Sands), plus 8 Hyjal boss drops	Wowhead
New enchant formulas	Ring +4 stats (Honored Lower City), Weapon +20 Agility one-hand (Exalted Violet Eye), Weapon Major Striking (Honored Consortium)	Wowhead
New flask	Flask of Chromatic Wonder (Honored Violet Eye), for resistance checks like Mother Shahraz and Illidan	Wowhead

Meta gems didn't change.

Get raw epic gems

1. Mine them in Mount Hyjal. Wowhead explains that after you kill Anetheron and talk to Jaina, Ancient Gem Veins spawn between the Alliance and Horde camps. After you kill Azgalor and talk to Thrall, they spawn again between the Horde and Night Elf camps. That's about eight nodes per run. Bring at least one raider with 375 Mining, and agree before the raid who gets the gems. Our Mount Hyjal raid guide covers the waves.
2. Loot them in Black Temple. Wowhead's database shows that any Black Temple trash mob can drop epic gems, so you don't need a miner there.
3. Buy them. Raw and cut gems trade on the Auction House.

Example: your guild has one miner at 375. Before the first pull, post a short rule in raid chat, such as "Hyjal nodes go to the guild bank, and cuts go to Tier 6 pieces first."

Understand colors and socket bonuses

Gem color	Fits these sockets	Counts toward your meta as
Red	Red	1 red
Blue	Blue	1 blue
Yellow	Yellow	1 yellow
Purple (Shadowsong Amethyst)	Red or blue	1 red + 1 blue
Orange (Pyrestone)	Red or yellow	1 red + 1 yellow
Green (Seaspray Emerald)	Yellow or blue	1 yellow + 1 blue

You can put any normal gem in any normal socket, but the socket bonus only activates when the colors match. Match the color only when the bonus plus the hybrid gem beats a pure gem of your best stat.

Pick gems for your spec

These are Warcraft Tavern's Phase 3 picks, without the Jewelcrafter-only gems:

Spec	Meta	Red	Yellow	Blue
Restoration Druid	Bracing Earthstorm	Teardrop Crimson Spinel	Luminous Fire Opal	Purified Shadowsong Amethyst*
Holy / Discipline Priest	Insightful Earthstorm	Teardrop Crimson Spinel	Luminous Fire Opal	Purified Shadowsong Amethyst*
Holy Paladin / Resto Shaman	Insightful Earthstorm	Teardrop Crimson Spinel	Luminous Pyrestone	Royal Shadowsong Amethyst
Feral tank	Relentless Earthstorm	Delicate Crimson Spinel	Glinting Pyrestone	Solid Empyrean Sapphire
Protection Paladin	Powerful Earthstorm	Runed Crimson Spinel	Veiled Pyrestone or Enduring Seaspray Emerald	Solid Empyrean Sapphire
Protection Warrior	Powerful Earthstorm	Solid Empyrean Sapphire, Shifting Shadowsong Amethyst, or Glinting Pyrestone	Glinting Pyrestone or Solid Empyrean Sapphire	Solid Empyrean Sapphire
Feral DPS	Relentless Earthstorm	Delicate Crimson Spinel	Glinting Pyrestone	Shifting Shadowsong Amethyst
Retribution / Enhancement	Relentless Earthstorm	Bold Crimson Spinel	Inscribed Pyrestone	Sovereign Shadowsong Amethyst
Rogue	Relentless Earthstorm	Delicate Crimson Spinel or Glinting Pyrestone	Rigid or Smooth Lionseye	Shifting Shadowsong Amethyst
Arms / Fury Warrior	Relentless Earthstorm	Bold or Bright Crimson Spinel	Inscribed Pyrestone or Smooth Lionseye	Jagged Seaspray Emerald
Hunter	Relentless Earthstorm	Delicate Crimson Spinel	Smooth Lionseye	Shifting Shadowsong Amethyst
Balance Druid	Chaotic Skyfire	Runed Crimson Spinel	Potent Pyrestone	Glowing Shadowsong Amethyst
Shadow Priest	Mystical Skyfire	Runed Crimson Spinel	Potent Pyrestone	Glowing Shadowsong Amethyst
Mage / Warlock	Chaotic Skyfire	Runed Crimson Spinel	Veiled Pyrestone or Great Lionseye	Glowing Shadowsong Amethyst
Elemental Shaman	Chaotic Skyfire	Runed Crimson Spinel	Veiled or Potent Pyrestone	Glowing Shadowsong Amethyst

*Warcraft Tavern lists Purified Shadowsong Amethyst as a Phase 3 healer gem. Until you see the design on Indormi or the Auction House, use Royal Shadowsong Amethyst.

Jewelcrafters can use Warcraft Tavern's Jewelcrafter-only red gems in place of the regular red ones: Crimson Sun (Agility), Don Julio's Heart (spell damage), and Kailee's Rose (healing). Tanks can use Falling Star in blue sockets.

Know where each design comes from

Source	Designs
Indormi, Friendly	Bold, Delicate, Teardrop, Runed, Bright, and Subtle Crimson Spinel. Solid, Sparkling, and Lustrous Empyrean Sapphire. Brilliant, Smooth, Gleaming, and Thick Lionseye
Indormi, Honored	Balanced, Infused, and Glowing Shadowsong Amethyst. Potent, Luminous, and Glinting Pyrestone. Radiant, Dazzling, and Jagged Seaspray Emerald
Indormi, Revered	Rigid Lionseye, Royal Shadowsong Amethyst, Wicked Pyrestone, Enduring Seaspray Emerald
Hyjal boss drops (rare, BoP)	Flashing Crimson Spinel, Stormy Empyrean Sapphire, Mystic Lionseye, Great Lionseye, Sovereign and Shifting Shadowsong Amethyst, Inscribed and Veiled Pyrestone

Our Scale of the Sands guide covers how to reach Revered.

Enchant every slot

Here's the role summary. Warcraft Tavern covers enchants by spec, and noobtoboss covers head and legs.

Slot	Physical DPS	Caster DPS	Healer	Tank
Head	Glyph of Ferocity (Revered, Cenarion Expedition)	Glyph of Power (Revered, The Sha'tar)	Glyph of Renewal (Revered, Honor Hold or Thrallmar)	Glyph of the Defender (Revered, Keepers of Time)
Shoulders	Inscription of Vengeance (Aldor) or the Blade (Scryer)	Discipline (Aldor) or the Orb (Scryer)	Faith (Aldor) or the Oracle (Scryer)	Warding (Aldor) or the Knight (Scryer)
Back	Greater Agility. Rogues and Warriors can use Subtlety	Subtlety	Major Resistance or Greater Shadow Resistance	Greater Agility. Protection Paladin: Steelweave or Dodge
Chest	Exceptional Stats	Exceptional Stats	Major Spirit (Priest, Resto Druid), Exceptional Stats (Holy Paladin), Restore Mana Prime (Resto Shaman)	Exceptional Stats. Protection Paladin: Defense or Exceptional Health
Wrists	Brawn (Strength users) or Assault (Rogue, Hunter)	Spellpower	Superior Healing	Fortitude. Feral: Stats. Protection Paladin: Spellpower for threat
Hands	Major Strength or Superior Agility	Major Spellpower or Spell Strike (hit)	Major Healing	Threat or Superior Agility
Legs	Nethercobra Leg Armor	Runic Spellthread	Runic Spellthread, or Silver Spellthread on a budget	Nethercleft Leg Armor
Feet	Cat's Swiftness or Dexterity	Boar's Speed	Boar's Speed, Vitality, or Spirit	Boar's Speed, Fortitude, or Cat's Swiftness (Feral)
Rings (Enchanters only)	Stats	Spellpower	Healing Power	Stats. Protection Paladin: Spellpower
Weapon	Mongoose. Feral and Hunter two-handers: Major Agility. Fury: Executioner or Potency	Sunfire (Arcane, Fire, Balance, Fire Destruction) or Soulfrost (Frost, Shadow, Affliction, Demonology). Major Spellpower as a start	Major Healing	Mongoose (Prot Warrior), Major Spellpower (Prot Paladin), Major Agility two-hander (Feral)
Shield	—	Intellect (Elemental)	Intellect (Holy Paladin, Resto Shaman)	Major Stamina or Shield Block

Head glyphs, shoulder inscriptions, and leg armor don't require the profession. Head glyphs are reputation rewards, and anyone can apply leg armor and spellthreads (noobtoboss). Ring enchants only work on an Enchanter's own rings (Warcraft Tavern).

New Phase 3 options to check: if you're an Enchanter, compare the new +4 stats ring formula (Honored with Lower City) with your current ring enchant. For a one-hand Agility weapon, compare the new +20 Agility (Exalted with The Violet Eye) with Mongoose. Major Striking (Honored with The Consortium) adds a physical damage option (Wowhead). Warcraft Tavern's lists were written before Phase 3 and don't include these three yet.

Choose your shoulder inscription

Role	Aldor, Exalted	Scryer, Exalted
Caster DPS	Discipline: 18 spell damage and healing, 10 spell crit	Orb: 15 spell crit, 12 spell damage and healing
Healer	Faith: 33 healing, 4 mp5	Oracle: 6 mp5, 22 healing
Physical DPS	Vengeance: 30 attack power, 10 crit	Blade: 15 crit, 20 attack power
Tank	Warding: 15 dodge, 10 defense	Knight: 15 defense, 10 dodge

Values from Warcraft Tavern's Aldor vs Scryer page. The Honored versions are weaker single-stat inscriptions. noobtoboss lists different numbers for some of these, so check the tooltip in game before you switch factions over a few points.

Gem in the right order

1. Hit your thresholds first. Hit rating for DPS, Defense for tanks.
2. Keep your meta gem active. Use only as many purple, orange, or green gems as the meta needs.
3. Gem long-term pieces first. Put epic gems in Tier 6 and phase-long items. Leave rare gems in gear you'll replace soon.
4. Check each socket bonus. Match colors only when it adds more than a pure gem would.
5. Fix survival problems. Tanks may need Stamina or Defense, and healers may need mana, before more throughput is worth anything.
6. Upgrade the rest in the items you'll wear longest.

Example: you're a Fury Warrior, just geared from Badge of Justice vendors and Hyjal, and 15 Hit Rating under your target. Put a Rigid Lionseye or Inscribed Pyrestone in one yellow socket that keeps a useful bonus. Then put Bold Crimson Spinel in every red socket on your Tier 6 pieces. Leave rare Bold Living Rubies in the off-pieces you'll replace. Our Badge of Justice guide lists the vendor gear.

Avoid five common mistakes

1. Giving a design to someone who isn't a Jewelcrafter. The designs are BoP and need 375 Jewelcrafting.
2. Gemming Hit or Defense past your target. The extra rating is wasted.
3. Breaking your meta. The lost meta effect usually costs more than the gem upgrade adds.
4. Putting epic gems in temporary gear. Supply is limited, so save them for Tier 6.
5. Skipping shadow resistance prep. Mother Shahraz and parts of Hyjal check resistance, and the Flask of Chromatic Wonder helps. Our shadow resistance guide covers the gear.

If you're a Jewelcrafter, an Enchanter, returning, or on an alt

• Jewelcrafters: learn the main-stat Friendly cuts first (Bold, Delicate, Runed, Teardrop, Solid). Next come the threshold cuts (Rigid, Great, Veiled, Thick, Enduring), then the hybrids. Only advertise cuts you've actually learned.
• Enchanters: get Honored with Lower City for the new ring formula and Honored with The Consortium for Major Striking. You'll need Exalted with The Violet Eye for the +20 Agility formula (Wowhead).
• Returning for Phase 3? Start with the head and shoulder rows in the enchant table. Both need reputation (Revered for head glyphs, Aldor or Scryer for shoulder inscriptions), and reputation takes longer to fix than buying gems.
• Gearing an alt? Reputation in TBC is per character, so an alt needs its own Revered standing for the head glyph and its own Aldor or Scryer standing for the shoulder inscription; the requirements are in this guide's enchant table, from Wowhead and Warcraft Tavern. Put cheaper gems in pieces you'll replace soon, and save epic cuts for gear you'll keep.
• Choosing a profession? Our Phase 3 professions guide compares them.

Want a hand with this?

If you would rather skip the grind that goes with this, TBC Anniversary services are listed on FullBoosts. Read Blizzard's End User License Agreement before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included — a marketplace listing isn't publisher permission.

FAQ

Where do you get epic gems in TBC Anniversary Phase 3?

Mine Ancient Gem Veins in Mount Hyjal with 375 Mining after the Anetheron and Azgalor events, or loot them from Black Temple trash. You can also buy them on the Auction House.

Where is Indormi?

Inside the Mount Hyjal raid. She sells epic gem designs to 375 Jewelcrafters who are Friendly, Honored, or Revered with The Scale of the Sands.

Are there new enchants in Phase 3?

Yes. There's a ring +4 stats formula (Honored with Lower City), a one-hand weapon +20 Agility formula (Exalted with The Violet Eye), and Enchant Weapon - Major Striking (Honored with The Consortium).

Can anyone use ring enchants?

No. Ring enchants only work on an Enchanter's own rings.

Is Purified Shadowsong Amethyst in Phase 3?

Warcraft Tavern lists it for Phase 3 healers. Use Royal Shadowsong Amethyst until you can see it in game.

Should I replace every rare gem with an epic one?

No. Put epic gems in Tier 6 and other long-term pieces first. Keep rare gems in gear you'll replace soon.