Disclaimer: As always, this is my experience. Your mileage may vary.

I've fought the assassin vs. warrior one on one from both sides more times than I can count. I've lost it from the assassin side a few times. Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, every bash will be a good one and the assassin will simply never get a single command off. I'm still waiting to lose it from the warrior side for the first time. As you point out, the assassin's tactic is typically to erode the warrior's ability to fight slowly. If, as a warrior, you have come to realize that you are going to eventually lose, it's time to get out of there.

> You mentioned that nobody would "let" an assassin do those things? I got the idea that this was basicly a deul between two chacters and I know of no way to stop someone from kot, kan, throw/gc, etc. Except for lag the hell out of em, but that wont stop it all.

Well, a couple points here. First, sometimes the lag the hell out of them tactic does stop them all. Kot/kan: it's possible to ensure your strength and dex will not drop at all from them. This may not win the fight, but it should keep you from ever dying. Throw/GC: Some warriors can't be thrown, and some warriors can reach a state via magic where they can't be thrown. Again, if the fight gets to a point where it actually looks like a good idea for the assassin to be throwing, the warrior should already be running far away.

A well-honed player skill of chasing would preserve the assassin's advantage, but for the purposes of the example we're assuming the assassin character has better skills but that the warrior's player is better, right? Well, he's going to get away from you at least nine times out of ten.

> WHen those skills are perfected there is very little I cannot take out...and yes this includes mace/axe specs. A good portion of the mace/axe users arent smart enough to load up on +20 str, and once you get those weapons away from em and take their dex to -54487567...buh bye.

Y'know, I think you're actually kinda making my point here. You're saying. .. I'm playing this assassin and I'm fighting these mace/axe warriors a pretty smart way. . .and they're fighting me a pretty stupid way. . . so I beat them.

Even an axe warrior whose gear isn't engineered to fight an assassin and can't see hidden should be in pretty good shape against an assassin with fairly simple tactics. You can't initiate with kotegaeshi or kansetsuwaza, meaning, even when you get the surprise attack he can always throw the pincer before you can get that skill off. If you have even half of your hit points by the time the kotegaeshi or kansetsuwaza goes through, something is seriously wrong.

Rambling on a tangent a bit:

It's probably worth mentioning that player skill, in my opinion, encompasses a lot of things, only a fraction of which come into play in the actual rounds of combat and moves chosen. Preparation in terms of affects is a small part, but one that I think gets more attention than its due. Preparation in terms of equipment choice is another small part. The ability to find your opponent when he doesn't want to be found, to keep on him when he's trying to escape, and to be able to lose him completely when things turn against you all factor in.

Timing, and the choice of circumstances for a fight are a big one that I tend to see neglected. It's easy to think (or say) that your opponent sure got lucky that you didn't have spell X up . . . or that the fight took place in such and such type of terrain . . . or that you were starving out in the middle of nowhere . .. or under whatever conditions, and that surely you'll turn them into a fine red paste next time. Circumstances may be by design rather than accident. This is where I go to the "think outside the box" well. If you know you can't tank someone, then don't. Set up a fight in which they're stuck fighting something else for at least a little while. If you know you can't win the fight in some certain room, don't walk into that room, and so on.