as a bear trying to decide on what weapon/armor to equip...I pick the helm/armor/shield that has the highest armor and the one handed weapon that has the highest dps. i basically want to do as much damage as possible and have as much defense as possible.

my question is this...am i simplifying this too much? could i do 'better' by picking equipment that maybe does not have the highest armor or dps or lieu of something that boosts some of the other stats (hit%, crit, dodge, etc.)?

i made it to lvl55 recently and I'm using a lvl 55 helm/armor/shield (all orange) because the armor is better than my old lvl 50 pink equipment. but for a weapon i'm still using my lvl50 limbchopper of destiny because it gives me the best dps for a one handed weapon.

what are the main things that people take into consideration when they are choosing which weapon/armor to equip? i know this is a pretty open ended question and answers will vary based on character class and player preferences but I'm interested to know how people approach this.

thanks!