Ok, I know there are a ton of EHP vs. DPS HC threads.

But do you guys think it's worth trying to max out block chance.

Say getting a high block Stormshield/Hollowed Defender, a Justice Lantern and Helm of Command.
Or can I do better just with a ring and helm with high Vit and AR instead.

One major problem is that the damage reduction doesn't scale with Justice Lantern or Helm of Command. An 11% chance to block 3700-4700 damage averages out to about 460 damage / hit. A Hellfire Ring will bring at least 170 Vitality to the table which is something like 6000 life on its own. 6000 life vs. 460 damage / hit. It doesn't take a math whiz to figure out a large amount of vitality is far more effective at keeping you alive than a large amount of +% block. The math is different for shields, primarily because they add so much armor in addition to their block damage reduction.

Now make Justice Lantern also increase damage blocked +2000-3000 and you might start thinking about it.

The best case scenario for shields is frequent, low-damage attacks averaging around 5000 damage / hit. These are also some of the least dangerous situations in both softcore and hardcore. People die from damage spikes, frozen/jailer/arcance, etc than overwhelming mob damage.

If Blizzard wants my opinion, the block damage needs to scale with difficulty or be switched over to % damage reduced just like the existing damage reduction or ranged reduction affixes. There's just no comparison between EHP and block chance right now.

Like what your saying. (Except... no Hellfire ring in HC for me for a long time yet)

But it did stop me from buying that Helm of Command. Eyeing some Andariel or IK helms now instead.