Lack of Defense on ZA items?

Hi,

today i looked through the shiny ZA / Badges loots and how they would buff my tank survivability but then i realized that most items have no or less defense than my Kara gear. I would loose 96 Defense Rating if I take every avaiable slot (including 1 Ring + Shield) My guild only have one 10-man raid - so 25-man items aren't avaiable.

So what do you think - did the designer failed or want us to socket Defense Gems into this Gear ?! - I found no way to keep the "hard" line to use only +12 Stam gems

I like the look and hope i will have the full set some day - but how to manage this lack of defense and buff yourself in addition.
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They want you to socket, yes. It's a double edges sword - on one hand, the items have more points spent elsewhere, and since most of us at that gear level were well over 490, that's great! But on the other hand, it forces you to stop and think. I had to throw a +8 defense gem (I hate those) in my ZA shield when it first dropped, but after a couple shifts I was able to put a good ol +12 sta in it. I'm sitting at EXACTLY 490 right now.
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