Build Suggestions...

*limps in half dead with 40% death penalty*
ok...i'm tired of my assassin not being able to survive in a fight...at all. i'm an a/r, and its not workin out for me...does anyone have any good builds to help me simply stay alive in a fight? and win, of course.

If your an assassin ranger and want to survive go critical barrage.

Thats not an assassin..

Look at this skill: Dark Escape, it's great for egtting out of combat.

Aura of Displacement and recall, possibly return too are good for escaping from your doom.

"to survive a fight".

Either, you don't kill them before they kill you ( 1on1 ). This proves lack of damage or good combo.

OR. You don't take enough healing ( RA battle ) ( note: I take no healing in RA, because I'm pro )

Maybe you use teleport to get ahead of your team, so you'll get all aggro ( yes, aggro in pvp=> RA )

Please clarify what situation you are in.

or...i've you're in PvE, you're charging way ahead of your warrior, thus getting focused on by the mob.

for an a/r, you can always bring a pet and cast whirling defenses or dryder's defenses before going in.

spura posted a great a/r build that kills and let's you evade damage long anough for you to spike a target dead or run back to your monks. it's here somewhere.

A wise man once said: "If you've stuck around long enough for your armor bonuses to matter, you've stuck around too long".

If you're losing in PvE it's because you're trying to be a tank and Leeroy-ing in front of your warrior, or because you're not bringing teleports. I'm going to hope that it's the latter.

You could cast Recall on your monk (so long as they don't carry CoP, that could get ugly) and cancel it when you take any aggro, teleporting you away to healing.

For PvP-

Unless you're making use of Beast Mastery, don't go A/R. If you make use of BM I would suggest taking Ferocious Strike {e}, Charm Animal, and Comfort Animal with 8-10 in BM. This means probably sacrificing points in Critical Strikes (10+1+1 Dagger, 8+2 crit, 8 shadow, 8-10 BM).

I usually bring Return for pve.

Don't run in first.

Sounds simple? Knowing when and what to attack is the most effective survival skill.

^^^qft. That's why the yassassin doesn't need healing. The player just needs skill to play it.

lol i agree yanman. Lots of my guildies making sins ask me how i survive and i say "thou shall not leave your damager undamaged"..... ok thats not what i say but it means the same thing.

I shall quote The Superweapons General from C&C:Zero Hour - "my greatest weapon is my mind". That is how you must survive. You must determine how much damage you can take before you must flee. My guideline is if I take 10-20% damage of my max health, its time to leave.

I have recall cast on a range caster or attacker (monk or ranger or ele or necro or rit). At the start of each mission/quest.

Do your combo (if not attacked, stay in until you take 1 damage, then you must start to flee - the 1 damage can be from anything, hex, AoE spells, whatever).

Everyone else has good points. I also have an A/R, and I'm usually on point in PvE to catch aggro with my bow. After that, I usually run like heck or make use of recall to stick by either the tank or the monk.

The skills I make use of help me to balance both attack and defense. Basically, I help the tank double team whatever and recall out of the fray when I take too much damage. I'd say ALWAYS take either recall or return with you, but never both.

The only thing i ever have a problem with are DOT effects. Poison or bleeding. Nasty. But when it comes to melee or ranged, I got it covered.

Assassins are not about defence. Recall is good, wait for the tank, get in, then recall out BEFORE you catch agro, not when your taking too much damage for your monk to handle.

I kill the enemy before he kills me. Problem solved.