I read somewhere that for certain build, when DW, the DPS on Barb's offhand doesn't matter. Only the stats on the offhand matter. Is it true? Under what circumstances can I ignore the DPS on Barb's offhand?

My context: I am thinking of leveling a Barb in HC MP10 Normal/ NM, but I have not been a shield person hence I am thinking of DW, with mainhand socketed with ruby and off-hand socketed with Ame gem. If I can safely ignore the DPS on the offhand, I can use my socketed offhand for a great number of (low) levels.

The reason most people say that offhand dps doesn't matter is because most of the damage you deal when using a whirlwind build is based on your main hands dps and weapon range. For the sake of cheapness, you don't really need a 1000 dps dagger with everything on it, but it certainly doesn't hurt. I think the general rule is to make the cut off around 500 dps. A 500 dps dagger with crit damage, socket, life steal and strength would be awesome.

I don't main a barb or play one that often, so this is pretty all I can say with 100% certainty. I'll leave the more detailed explanations to our other barb players.