spirit monarch=no pts in dex?

[az-0k]

im using s spirit monarch for my cl/fo sorc. i've read a lot of guides here saying that maxing block is better than pure vit. however with 42% of block rate does it really worth to put more than 200 pts into dex instead of having 400 more life?

[Evrae Altana]

If you're using a Spirit monarch, say no to block. If you want block, you'll have to use another shield.

[MageChick]

I agree that max block may be better than max vit - if you're looking at using a similar shield (Visceraut, Stormshield, etc). When you concider that going max block will limit your ability to use some of the games best shields (Spirit), then I think it's really a toss up, and will come down to play style. Maybe this really makes a difference in PvP or HC, but for SC PvM, max blocking just doesn't seem to do that much for me. (I'm also not a huge fan of max damage reduction for that matter.)

Don't get me wrong a good blocking percent will help, but I don't think its as important as skills, fast cast, resists, faster hit recovery, life and mana. You get all these things on Spirit, so for all my ladder builds, I figure in 156 str, and just pump the vit after that. I can't recall the last time I died from a physical attack - even with max resists, I still worry more about the elemental attackts that are out there (big packs of gloams).