Survivor on Dervish

I have decided to get myself a survivor char, and since Dervish is the only char that I do not have I am going to give it a go. I realise that a melee char is probably not the smartest way of doing it, but I have never been accused of being the smartest guy!

So my question to the pro's out there is what sort of build should I run in general? I looked at the avatars, and reckon either melandru or grenth would be my best bet.

P.S. I intend to get survivor by playing the game normally and not doing the boxing thing. I would assume dwayna (healing and hex removal) balthazar (+40 armor = half damage + speed boost for sticky situations) or Melandru like you have mentioned (100 health and condition immunity isn't bad) Are the best for survival. grenth does give life stealing but I would rather take Dwayna for survival.

Melandru is a pricey skill though also.

If you are confident that your hero/hench can kill whatever you come across, I would just stick to skills that increase survival.

Earth Prayers is good for this. Conviction, Armor of sanctity, Mystic regeneration are all good options. Sand shards for Damage and a cheap enchant.

Reap impurities is an interesting self heal and scythe attack.

Ermites zeal is nice for energy management.

I honestly don't know how much is too much protection for a survivor character....I don't think there is such a thing. Go with what you feel safe with.

Go D/W and get Defy Pain as an elite. I only have 2 survivor toons and they are both Warriors. The other method is not worrying about that and skill cap the title. If you need Leg. Skill Hunter, work on both at the same time. I almost got my Rit there, but was actually playing the game working on it and died in Heart of Shiverpeaks. Defy Pain is a strength skill.

Dervishes do not have access to the strength attribute.

I'll leave you now to ponder the implications of those two statements with regards to your suggestion that a Dervish should use Defy Pain when going for survivor.

Defy Pain is a strength skill.

Dervishes do not have access to the strength attribute.

I'll leave you now to ponder the implications of those two statements with regards to your suggestion that a Dervish should use Defy Pain when going for survivor. Agreed, your better off with conviction and its +24 armor, 50% block versus defy pain's 90 HP, 20 armor, 0-1 damage reduction at 0 strength.