So String of Ears/Lantern/Stormshield pretty much required for Act 3/4? 40ish % Block chance +18-20% melee dmg reduction sounds like a lot. Can I work around that? I don't want to make the same mistake I did in Act I and buy a ton of sidegrades at best, and just farm until I can afford those items. Is it worth buying one of those Stormshields with 20% base block for like 4 million, or should I just wait for the good ones with like 28-30%?
Strings is nice to have but I don't even use mine all the time. I got a 189STR/89VIT/66RES/205ARMOR belt for 300k that I use most of the time in A3. I'll only really switch to strings if I'm about to tank a group of the axe guys or some other melee mobs. The amount of HP/DPS/ETC I get from my other belt is too good to pass up for most situations.
Lantern/SS/Helm of Command are nice choices if you get ones with good rolls. I would not buy a SS with 20% block chance. For 4 million you could probably buy a decent Sacred Shield with 25+ block and resis.