I played relying on drops all the way to Hell mode, and it was a "nightmare". pretty tough. Forced to visit AH in Hell mode due to difficulty.

then I started new character this time smarter a bit, even early game you can go AH get cheap <1,000 stuff. every once in a while go hunt for something to boost your performance.

even at 50+ you can get really good stuff at <5000 each. It's like every 5,000 gold you find, just go AH and get an upgrade. Life is easier that way.