Don't forget though, when it becomes important.... (when you're taking tons of damage or big hits), your stamina is going to be dropping until it gets leached back. Best to overdo stamina if possible, although not always easy to do. Bladed staves with 180 stamina and 20% ssi work nicely though. Double axes just a tad bit slower (3.25 seconds vs 3.0 for the bladed staff.)
You want to see a REAL crazy Legendary? Hehe.
There's really no point in putting HLD on your wep if you're also using a Helmet that gives 30% HLD. In PvM, HLD grants a -25% DCI debuff, and lasts for 8 seconds. With 30% HLD on your helm, and you swinging every 1.25 secs, HLD virtually never falls off the target, it just keeps getting refreshed (especially if you're using Double Strike). Higher HLD on the Wep does not increase the magnitude nor duration of the debuff.
Tell me that when you're soloing Ossy. ;D I prefer the highest HLD in such instances, he is simply too hard to hit, getting that first hit off is a doosy and you still miss afterwards. At an event or something, you would never need it certainly because everyone's HLD works for you also. For something like a champion spawn, you don't need anything...... that is true. Literally all you need at things like Dread Horn, or a champion spawn.... would be 30% hit mana leech. If I had a weapon with 30% hit lower mana leech (no DI or nothing).... I could solo dread horn or any champ except Semidar. That's not the point though..... There are some places where I would use 50% hit lower attack on my weapon rather than hit lower defense, as you say. Every weapon is different and boss specific. For Juo'nar for example.... I take off my slither, wear a conjurer's trinket (undead slayer).... and use a 100% energy dragon slayer bladed staff with hit energy area, mana leech, and life leech. That's for the skeletal dragons he spawns. Just have to be prepared to run / disarm / use invisible potions or whatever you need to when he casts blood oath, and you are killing Juonar in about 2 minutes flat. That's just to cast remove curse and jump back to him.
The raven helmet is super nice, but it doesn't give any sort of stamina reduction or lower mana cost in addition to the 8% on it, as far as I know. Super great for archers, would be terrible for a sampire and would drop me to 54% lower mana cost. My armor ignore's mana cost would go way up, it jumps by 1 from 54% to 55% LMC, which is huge. OP for an archer, that's true. : ) : ) It's incredibly nice, don't get me wrong. But even then, I use a bone helmet on my archer for 55% lower mana cost (he uses gloves of feudal grip.) That is one of the reasons I can't wait to upgrade my sampire's suit honestly though, I really do not need the blackthorn helmet. It's a wasted item this late in the game. I will upgrade to the cameo set so that I do not need slayer weapons at all. The I will wear a crazy bone helmet or something with 8 stamina and such as well, for the 3% lower mana cost extra. My one plate/chain item will be that tunic. My sleeves I have to match is also have 5% DCI, 5% HCI, 8 stamina, and are 9 modded. They are studded sleeves. With 1 plate/chain item (for stamina reduction) you have to have everything else studded/bone to achieve 55% lmc. It's nice for chaining armor ignore, especially on archers. But helps with sampires as well. I may re look at that later though, I haven't touched his suit in about 2 years. It may be better to go 1 step down on lmc and go with whatever the next cut off limit is for armor ignore's mana cost. That would let you add in 2-3 more pieces of chain/plate possibly, raising your stamina reduction (since I am not a vampire anyway.) I'll see about that when I have 1p for a cameo set (which will be never.)