in my opinion Defense and Health. 
+ decline enemy's bonuses

Unless things have changed with more recent updates.

Health >Defense>Offense.This applies to your stats and the oppositions.

ALL is a key word ..it means every type of troop, so these are useful if you change your mind about specializing.

If a specific kind is mentioned then its function is limited to that kind.

12% is obviously better than 10%.

 The standard  gems are more readily available than those only obtained from Ubers.

Which is the best GEM combination for defense.  Using Cavalry troop type as an example :

Cavalry Defense + Cavalry Health + TOTAL HEALTH

OR

Cavalry Defense + Cavalry Health + TOTAL DEFENSE

I think you are asking a similar, if not the same question as was asked in the first post.

As there, the decision is dependant on what other gems you have, and if you have,or have not collected the special gems that the ubers drop.

You have three gem slots so you can use gems for 1Total health, 2 defence and 3 offense.

The basic gems Ruby - Health,Tourmaline - Defense,are the same irrespective of which kind of troops you use.

The basic specific gem for cavalry is Opal - Offense.

If you are saying you have only one spare slot ,because the other two have been used for something else instead, then choose health over defense.which is option 1 in your question.

The special Uber gems are.

As before Taafeite- Offense from Avarin.

Cavalry Specific

Onyx -Defense, from Gepid

Almandine -Health, from Longobord.

As before. 

Where the uber gems give the extra 2% its up to the player  to decide which if any gems to replace, or which to drop if doubling up.

Having had another look at your question, you were not asking specifically about cavalry, so though potentially useful to other players, its probably what you aleady knew.

You had already decided to give up the offense gem, in favour of  extra health or  extra defense.

How wise the decision is,is another matter, as when defending an offense,having some extra offense might be beneficial.

This would vary according to what the attackers set up is.

Better off with Saracen.

1. All troop offense

2. Melee offense

3. A secondary offensive troop gem of your choice.  ex. : killers

4. Split runes 3 and 3 for melee and killer or go all 6 of one or the other; OR pick a third troop.

hero set cards for all offensive including the two troops chosen.  remember, you are going offense, defense is a whole other matter.

ememy reduction cards maxed.

go burn some towns if you are looking to attack only without defense otherwise use lynx (which in my opinion is the best defensive with an offensive).  note : you can set your shaman up for defense of your city.

Health gems aren't worth a spit unless you have infirmaries to salvage your warriors, loads of them.  I don't even bother with the health cards either.  resurrection is costly and healing isn't even being considered, in which I think the healing was de-activated.

Better off with Saracen.

1. All troop offense

2. Melee offense

3. A secondary offensive troop gem of your choice.  ex. : killers

4. Split runes 3 and 3 for melee and killer or go all 6 of one or the other; OR pick a third troop.

hero set cards for all offensive including the two troops chosen.  remember, you are going offense, defense is a whole other matter.

ememy reduction cards maxed.

go burn some towns if you are looking to attack only without defense otherwise use lynx (which in my opinion is the best defensive with an offensive).  note : you can set your shaman up for defense of your city.

Health gems aren't worth a spit unless you have infirmaries to salvage your warriors, loads of them.  I don't even bother with the health cards either.  resurrection is costly and healing isn't even being considered, in which I think the healing was de-activated.

Okay.. I'm sure this has been asked before but I have to know... In all of these comments, gem bonuses are referred to with the specific phrasing "All TROOP Offense/Defense/Health" instead of "TOTAL O/D/H" as it is written in the gem descriptions.. which might be an answer in itself.. but does not the word "TOTAL" include the bearer of the magic gems, aka. the HERO? Granted, since heroes cannot die or be injured (yet), all the defense and health bonuses in the game wouldn't change a thing unless your hero is leading an army but... Hero OFFENSE, a greatly desirable bonus found only (and rarely) as event rewards and Uber Loot outside the bank, would serve great purpose for those one-man Marches... you know what I mean...  making those *Taaffeite* gems truly worth the millions of energy needed to obtain enough for a full legendary set. Otherwise, it's just shameful to mislead players by using that all inclusive word "Total".

BitterSweetPea said:

..... So, what's the verdict? Do I put it in my Guardsman set or add it to the growing list of detail related disappointments?

I am still rather new to the game.

I don't know everything about the game.

However, I believe your question is not so simple.

There is a deep rooted argument which can be made on whether or not you should use Taaffeites on Guardsman set.

The issue is you are confusing the situation.

I will try to unravel the confusion:

First - I will start of by saying: 

I believe the Total Offense Gems (Taaffeites) have nothing to do with your Hero Offense.

Hero Offense is used against Invaders.

Total Offense is used in military application with your troops.

The game breaks your heroes bonuses down into 3 different classifications.

-Economics

-Military

-Invaders

If you go to view your hero bonuses, You will find the following Information:

Total Offense doesn't show up here because it has no correlation between your hero vs. invaders!

Total Offense shows up in your Military section which is your hero + troops vs. other rivals players.

Thus, Total Offense gems will not help your Hero do more damage vs. Invaders.

However, This is where things get tricky!

The question you asked is should you add Total Offense Gems to your Royal Guard (Invader) Set.

Some players do add them, BUT THEY ADD THEM FOR DIFFERENT REASON!

Image - you are attacking Uber Invaders.

You kill the Uber invader. What happens?

The Uber invader makes a lair which you can farm at that point.

Sometimes, other players will send troops to your lair with out realizing it

Keep in mind, We are talking about accidental lair fights.

If a player wanted to kill your troops in a lair on purpose, They would  put a Military set on to fight vs. your Invader set.

The situation I am talking about is usually when both players have an Invader set on + both players are farming tons.

In the heat of the farming they send troops to a lair because its empty.

A Battle can take place if both sides are not in a peace shield or if there is no domain guard.

This is where having a Military gem in your Invader set could be helpful!

Total Offense or Defense or Health.

The situation I am talking about is very specific.

However, It makes sense!

Some players have decided  to add Taaffeites or other Military gems to there invader set.

I have also seen people add other types of gems to there invader set.

I have seen players add things such as

-Hero Energy

-Hero Energy Restoration

-Yielding Speed

-Troop Capacity

-Food Production

-Lumber Production

-Iron Production

-Stone Production

-Silver Production

The Invader set up I enjoy using is the following:

I believe this set up is very good for the Casual Spender & F2P players.

I will say this set up is probably not great for Heavy Spenders.

It all comes down to Energy Refills!

If your the type of person which drops tons of cash on the Energy Packs, Than puts 500k energy on there hero.

This set up isn't for you. lol

When your hero is maxed out in Energy, You will not restore any more energy.

This makes Hero Energy gems + Hero Energy Restoration gems a non-factor.

Ideally, the set up I am showing you is good for players who put only a couple refills at a time.

or Free 2 play players which can't afford buying refills from bank.

I read something yesterday that made me reconsider the topic in question and here you are coincidentally, or not. with your thoughts on it.

First you appear not to have included the set of equipment you use, and was to recommend.

There are two parts to consider.

It doesn't really matter what the hero is wearing, or what gems are used if the hero is not sent out with the troop,whether it be attacking or yielding, as these kind of bonuses only apply then, so it will not affect the outcome,I suppose the reverse must be true and whilst in town the benefits are operating, so the choice of equipment and gems is still relevant.

I would suggest that your observations on what the hero is wearing maybe  not be as significant  as you might imagine.

You can only find out if the hero was there, and what he was wearing, if you win a battle,otherwise you can only tell what the hero currently is wearing at the time you look. 

The gems used, and sometimes the equipment could be the only ones available,and something is better than nothing.

Except it costs tools or gold to 

buy them, to swap gems,though this might not be such as big a consideration as it was, when gold was more scarce.

There are maybe a couple of articles  suggesting that players are wasting their gem slots. 

With respect to attacking specifically ubers or any other invader, and or whether you want to yield the lair afterwards is another consideration.

As is, do you want to gain hero experience or, do you want to save some nefarious amount of energy, whist attacking invaders,as you cant do both at the same time if you have a full set of either. 

Ideally you want the benefits from the attack on the invader, and the benefits from yielding ,and maybe winning tile attacks, but its not the same equipment, which means you have to operate sets or be a quick change artist.

Also accidental battles are generally not a feature  in a peaceful kingdom when there is no inter kingdom event running.

If both are shielded there is no battle, who ever gets there second is automatically rebounded. 

As to what total defense means, is it vague deliberately, or accidentally so?

Some of the newer equipment and bonuses specifically state when it is effective, so Total could mean its effective if you are attacking or defending as well as being applicable to whatever type of troops you are using.

I think the post you specifically answered highlighted the frustration that the player had regarding the game ,and its bonuses. promising so much ,but seemingly giving so little at the time of acquirement.

Edit.
Now I see sword of vengeance, but nothing else.

Here's one of the old topics

 https://plarium.com/forum/en/vikings-war-of-clans/584_fan-guides/106604_gems-in-your-invader-gear/  

It partly illustrates your choice of weapon  and  gems which is now showing on your post.

Though I agree with him to a point,by the same token, swapping as he suggested for a short space of time killing invaders is also not going to make much of a difference either. 

Where it is going to make the most difference is when they are used during times when logged off and not playing, especially if not well advanced and spending money on packs as you suggested. 

xyz said:

I read something yesterday that made me reconsider the topic in question and here you are coincidentally, or not. with your thoughts on it.

First you appear not to have included the set of equipment you use, and was to recommend.

.....

I can't comment on everything you said because you made assumptions in your post which are not relevant to me.

I am from Kingdom #867.

It is a new Kingdom, but not the newest Kingdom #872.

I am a beginner.

I have observed things & read things from other people to improve myself.

I did research on the forum to find out what the Best Invader Gear was which is the below post.

https://plarium.com/forum/en/vikings-war-of-clans/584_fan-guides/103685_proguide-for-most-effective-attack-against-invaders

Thus, I made my hero have the below gear.

The only problem is the player in the other thread didn't say what the Best Gems were for this gear.

What is the Best Gems to put on it?

Lets say you own every Gem in the game!

You can chose any 3 Gems in the game to put on your Invader Gear!

What would those 3 Gems be?

Based on my research, I believe the Best 3 Gems to put on the Invader gear is the following:

- March Speed -------------------> Helps you reach the invader faster!

- Hero Energy --------------------> Increases your Max Energy Limit so you are not full so easy

- Hero Energy Restoration ----> Works in combination with Hero Energy to restore Energy Faster

I have read the below Forum:

https://plarium.com/forum/en/vikings-war-of-clans/584_fan-guides/106604_gems-in-your-invader-gear/

I think the argument he gave isn't good enough.

Here is why!

Ryang says "stop wasting your gem slots with redundancies... Use them to boost your town's resource production or something... March speed perhaps. The energy you'll recoup is a tiny drop and will amount to nothing."

After reading the above statement by Ryang, I asked myself the following question:

"How much Town Resources will I recoup putting Resource Production Gems on an Invader Suit?"

The answer I came up with is a tiny drop!

Think about it!

If I wanted to produce resources in my Town, I would wear my Production Suit!

I have Resource Production gems on my Production Suit.

This is why Ryang's post doesn't make sense!

I am using an Invader Suit to hit Invaders!

If I put Energy gems on my Invader Suit, It will give me a tiny drop of extra energy.

How is that a bad thing?

The whole purpose of why I am wearing the Invader Suit is to hit Invaders.

A tiny drop of extra energy might help me hit another invader!

I have the same 3 gems in my invader gear. the march one is important.

One thing I would recommend anyone just starting regarding Royal Guard gear is not to wait until you can get full legend set. Get the best you can as soon as possible and then upgrade as you get more materials.

Also important to use your hero skills points when you upgrade your hero. Priority I used was:

1. Sustained Attack

2. Energy Depletion

3. Weaken Invaders

4. Hero's Total Offence

5. Hero's Energy Restoration 

And the Invader Tree of Knowledge (obviously)