Do Assasins really, really, really need armour that badly?

I seems to me like it's a common sentiment on this board, but I'd like a bit of further clarification on it, since I enjoy trying working with a glass cannon as it is and have never used armour.

Unless you're going for a certain protag and dgaf about the match, armor is really, really, really beneficial

Assassins I can't kill in one shot with the assault charge because they're wearing armor are more bothersome.

If you play sneaky enough, you don't need it, but what are you going to replace it with?

I run either speed and skill regen for, well... getting close and away, and a fire rate bronze.

I notice you have a link to TV Tropes in your signature. I approve of that.

Without gold armor you can't survive charges nor assassin face-grapples. It greatly reduces your life expectancy. And for what? There's no other endorsement that increases your killing power or survival ability to offset what you're losing:

• Gold Crit/ROF/Accuracy/Clip Size are completely unnecessary since an assassination is a 1HKO, completely unnecessary against bots, completely unnecessary against turrets, and trying to slash any class down from full HP without juice is lol
• Skill recovery in gold/silver is mediocre since lunging everywhere is better than dash, cloak emits a hum plus is visible up close, and casting smoke repeatedly isn't a winning strategy
• You pick up more speed boosts than anyone else
• You pick up juice faster than anyone else (and shouldn't plan on dying)
• And if you can't survive the initial onslaught, then heath recovery does nothing

Without armor a single Death Blossom from a Tank will kill you outright.

That's why you don't let the Tank find you.

How else will an Assassin gain juice?

1: badly is an adverb, not an adjective.

2: if the tanks DB/charge wont connect because he cant find you, then a sniper grapple, assault charge, shotgun round, gunner slam or grapple, or another assassin facegrapple will one hit you.

so basically avoid the entire other team...

sit in the spawnroom?

I never play assasin, but I always laugh at the ones that don't wear armour. Brings a smile to my face every time! How cute, someone as fragile as a Ming vase tries to pick a fight with me right in my face. Free kill!

And then if you're an assassin and you face grapple them back they keep trying to face grapple you and get the same results! After the first three times you think they'd learn to stop doing it! :lol:

Often times, an assassin will attempt to shave my beard as a Tank, or chest-bump me as an Assault.
After the grapple ends, I'll usually still live via Armor. I'll lvl3 charge into them, often killing them outright.

Armor is often THE most important endorsement (with the exception of Rate of Fire), as thier main method of killing pros leaves them immobile and invulnerable for a few seconds, not to mention some players are adept at Assassin slaying. Armor keeps you alive that much longer, and will often save your life after a failed assassination attempt, letting you get away with a Smoke Jump.

Vuther seems to be able to play without armor. With enough awareness, knowledge, and prediction you can get away with not using it.

Assassins that want to do their job will use Armor. I switch R0F and Armor around with gold. Its very VERY difficult to push bots on the front lines without any armor. Unless you have a sixth sense we don't know about just stick to wearing armor in either G0ld or silver.

Fun Builds
G0ld/Speed
Silver/R0F
Bronze/Health Rec0very

G0ld/Clip Size
Silver/R0F (Get lvl 3 cloak and make it a purple river)
Bronze/Critical

I played assassin without armor for quite a while, but once I made the switch I quickly realized how valuable it was. It gives you just enough damage-taking ability to get out of bad fights / kill bots and get away even when an enemy pro is around / get face grappled and survive to kill them / maintain streaks and make enough money to gain an advantage.

Precisely.

It makes a big difference against the Supports shotgun. Not really when you're getting blasted in the face or getting too close, but if you are running by or running away the shotgun will do nowhere near as much damage to you from distance. Without armor, a couple shots as you try to run by will stop you cold. With armor, a drive by shooting will take like 3 direct hits (from distance).. and since you got speed and smokebomb jumps, you can get away before that 3rd hit easily. Up-close..it also prevents alot of 1HKs from the shotty, making 2 hits in the face often nessicary.

Basically it widens your margin for error from one mistake to two or three mistakes.

Blackjacks and slimbots can take small but precious pieces of your health unless you have cloak 3 for get them to ignore you immediately and this is during an escape attempt.

I think it depends on your play style. If you are going for kills then gold armour is a must especially if you have good players on the enemy team. If you are helping your team an going for bot kills then maybe bronze or silver just so you dont get lazered to death by a slim.