New to game, couple quick questions.

Any drawbacks to ascending other than just starting your equipment\gold\dungeon level over?

What stats do you find most important? Currently weapon I try for dmg. Armor I try for % armor per hit and armor bonus. Cape info for armor and armor when using skill. I had a legendary armor last run, which had damage to enemies when hit, it seemed good but not getting the armor when hit seemed like a so-so trade off.

Thanks