Gem Level Versus Gem Quality Question

I haven't been playing the game for very long but I can't find an answer to the following question: Are there any instances where a level 21 gem with zero quality is better than a level 20 gem with 20% quality? It seems to me that in almost every instance the bonus added to a level 20 gem with 20% quality is always better than a level 21 gem with zero quality. I'm sure there's probably some exceptions to it but from what I can tell a 20/20 gem is better than a 21/0 gem, especially for support gems. Am I missing something?

Thanks for the feedback for a noob.

there are a ton of gems where 1 level matters much more than 20 quality.

they are mostly spells.

Fireball is the poster child:
level 20 - 1095 to 1643
level 21 - 1217 to 1826 (10% MORE damage, equal to half a support gems worth of 'more')

20 quality - 20% increased projectile speed



even for gems that get 'increased' damage per quality, increased damage is not that important (because it adds to all your other increased damage). going from 500% increased damage to 520% increased damage is pitiful, compared to getting MORE damage on the gem.

Ball lightning:
L20 - 22 to 426
L21 - 25 to 468 (10% MORE damage)
20 qual - 20% increased damage


Learning the difference between MORE and Increased will help you evaluate things much better.

Yeah, I see that the spell thing makes sense. I guess each gem can be analyzed on it's own merits but for support gems I don't see any that benefit from being 21/0 as opposed to 20/20. But I haven't examined all of them. :)

Thank you for your response.

Tiny nitpick; if you've sources of added damage then gem levels won't matter as much, as gem levels typically just give more flat damage. AFAIK spellcasters typically don't stack sources of added damage, however.

Rain of arrows quality gives area of effect, spreading out the arrows over a larger area. That is one example where you probably wouldn't want quality.

Most gems are more effective at 21/0 than 20/20. It really depends on what value quality gives. I really wish quality just had a 20% increased gem effect, and the game was balanced around assuming all gems had 20% quality. Enhance would obviously have to be heavily nerfed.