I am creating this guide for the purpose of helping others obtain the Survivor title, even Legendary Survivor, because I've noticed a lot of people trying for this title and ending up spending oodles of gold remaking their "survivor" character cause it keeps dying before even reaching rank 1. So here we go.

1. Pick a campaign. Nightfall is the easiest campaign to get this done in (if you start a character in NF, I mean), especially if you have a lot of skills unlocked on your account, because you get heroes right away. HOWEVER, at the time of writing this, I do have a Prophecies ranger with r1 Survivor (she's still not died yet but I don't really plan on trying for r3 since I already have two r3 Legendary Survivor characters), and a r3 assassin (in Factions, obviously) who's still not died yet, so obviously having heroes from the start is not a requirement. It just helps a lot because then you can pick and choose your heroes' skills to better suit your needs.
   
   
2. Pick a profession. Generally, it is best to pick a primary profession with high-ish AL (Max AL: warriors and paragons: 80, rangers, assassins, and dervishes: 70, other classes: 60), but if you have experience using that class already, then a caster isn't so bad. Also, keep in mind that assassins are often well-known for being suicidal, but this is because people try to play them like tanks (i.e., up close and personal), instead of how they were meant to be played (let another player take aggro, pop in, unleash a devastating chain of attack skills, and get the hell out of the fray). The key to obtaining Survivor is being smart.
   
   
3. Pick a secondary profession. Make sure that either your primary or secondary has good self-healing skills that will keep you alive.
   

1. Rule #1: PUG's ARE A BIG FAT NO! What is a PUG? No, I don't mean the breed of dogs. PUG stands for Pick-Up Group, and is basically what you get when you stand around a town going LFP/LFG all the time, i.e., a group of strangers who generally couldn't care less about you and your title attempts. In fact, most of these people, when they hear you are trying to get Survivor, will purposefully try to get you killed. Obviously, this is bad. So get used to H/H'ing (Hero/Henching) your way to r1 and beyond, or get some guildmates or other friends whom you trust to help you out from time to time.
   
   
2. Rule #2: Alt-F4 is your best friend. Sure, there are jokes that often fly back and forth in various PvP matches about how Alt-F4 == instant win, but I'm serious here. Alt-F4, for those who don't know, instantly closes whatever program you're currently using (there are some exceptions, but that's irrelevant to this guide). If you find yourself getting hit very badly while trying to acquire Survivor, or half of your party gets killed, DO NOT HESITATE TO HIT ALT-F4. Even if you're in the middle of, or almost at the end of, a quest/mission/dungeon/whatever. Better to have to restart the quest/mish/whatever than to have to restart your Survivor character. Plus, restarting the quest or whatever gets you more EXP from killing enemies, so it all works out in the end. This is another reason for not PUG'ing, as randomly leaving in the middle of something might piss off a bunch of people.
   
   
3. Rule #3: Max armour FTW! Get max armour as soon as possible. In Nightfall, this is quite easy to do, as all you have to do is finish the Chahbek Village mission and get a ferry from Kamadan to Consulate Docks, which is the first place where you can acquire max armour, providing you have the money and materials to buy it. In Prophecies and Factions, this is a bit more difficult, but don't be stingy with your gold. As soon as you get to a town with higher AL armour than what you've currently got, BUY IT. Also, if you're in Factions and you've reached The Marketplace, you can easily get a run north to Kaineng that SHOULDN'T get you killed, and Kaineng Center does have max armour. More tips on the different campaigns further down the page.
   
   
4. Rule #4: Summons are also your friends. Lots of editions of GuildWars now come with a Fire Imp summon. Just type /bonus in the chat window, and it will appear in your inventory if your account has access to it, and there's enough room in your inventory. Summons of all types turn into an ally of your level that helps you fight. The Fire Imp summon (Igneous Summoning Stone, double-click to use) can only be used by characters under lv 20, but it really does help a lot in leveling. Other summons can be used by lv 20 characters, but you will have to acquire these in other ways (probably by buying them from other players, or from other characters of your own). The only downside to summons is that they like to aggro anything and everything in their aggro bubble, whether it's hostile to you or not, or if you're running on towards some other mob or not, so you'll probably only want to summon these things when you're about to fight a difficult mob or do a difficult quest.
   
   
5. Rule #5: RUNS ARE BAD!! This rule only applies if the runner is someone you don't know, but then again, I did mention the no PUG's rule, right? Some runs are generally very safe, even with PUG's. Most, however, are not. More tips on this further down the page.
   
   
6. Rule #6: Resigning sucks. Generally, typing /resign is a quick and easy way to get back to town after finishing a quest or whatever, or when something goes bad and you're the only human player in the party. HOWEVER, there is a known bug with this command: While it's not supposed to add to your /deaths count, sometimes it actually does. Do not use /resign when working on a Survivor character.
   
   
7. Rule #7: Ping me! Watch your ping carefully. Your ping is that little dot in the bottom-right corner of your screen that is generally green or orange. If it's red, watch it like a hawk, and immediately stop moving. If it stays red for any length of time, you should probably not work on your Survivor character for awhile, as a red ping means your connection is currently slow, which could result in your death. It could also result in you getting d/c'd (disconnected), which could also result in you dying, unless you Alt-F4 quickly upon getting d/c'd. Do not think that you being disconnected means that you can't get killed! You will get a message asking if you would like to attempt to reconnect. During this time, your character is still standing around ingame, even if you can't see it, and therefore CAN get killed, so just Alt-F4 if you're working on a Survivor character and you get d/c'd. Again, it's better to start whatever you were doing over than to lose your chances at Survivor.
   

• Longbows are essential. I don't care if you're not a ranger in any way, shape, or form. Learn the art of pulling, and live it. The best way to do this, of course, is a longbow or a flatbow, as either of these two bows have a very long range. Pulling helps a lot when there are two large mobs very near eachother. If you pull one, then you shouldn't have to deal with the other mob(s) at the same time. Be careful with any non-hero or non-hench NPC's, as they love to follow you and possibly mess up your pulling. Make sure to flag any heroes or hench further back before pulling, then run back to them as soon as you get a shot off. Once the mob is within range of your party, use Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar to call a target (without you attacking), which sends your heroes/hench into the fray and draw the attention of the mob away from you.
  
  
• Get m4d sk1llz. As previously mentioned, make sure you have some sort of self-heal. The general rule in GuildWars is that one leaves the healing to the healers. This rule does not apply to Survivor characters. Ideally, your HP bar should be full or near-full at all times, in case some big bad thing decides to spike you. Another important skill to have is a run skill, like say Storm Chaser (ranger Wilderness Survival skill), or Sprint (warrior Strength skill), amoung many others. Remember: "those who learn to run away live to fight another day." Also, the monk skill Protective Spirit is a VERY good idea. Even if you yourself are not part-monk, if you have a monk hero, GIVE THEM THIS SKILL. I don't care if your hero monk is a healer monk, all you really need is rank 4-6 in Protection Prayers to have a decent Protective Spirit, and this can save your ass on many occasions. You can also make your hero monk cast this on you before you pull using the hero skill panel.
  
  
• High HP is a good thing. The GuildWars enemy AI generally takes into account many different factors when deciding on whom in your party to attack. One of the bigger factors is HP. Investing in vigor runes is a very good idea. Buy a major vigor rune if you can't afford a superior one, although sup vig's are ideal. Survivor insignias are also very helpful. Even if you can't get max armour right away, buy these runes and insignias and put them on your current armour. You can always use an expert salvage kit to take them off later and put them on a newer armour set. Runes of vitae can also help boost your HP a bit if you're strapped for cash for whatever reason. Also try to get weapons/focii/shields with +30 HP on them. DO NOT use major or superior runes linked to an attribute while working on Survivor, as they have an HP penalty attached to them.
  
  
• Gotta cap 'em all! Once you hit lv 20, start capping elite skills. At level 20, each elite you capture also gives you 5,000 EXP, which helps a lot to get to r2 and r3 in the Survivor title. Sometimes GuildWars has "double EXP for elite captures" weekends, at which point the number doubles to 10,000 EXP per elite captured. Take advantage of these EXP boosts!
  
  
• Gogo Item Keeper! "Even if I know it is an important job, it does not mean that I would want it..." There are several items in the game that can help you out by giving you armour bonuses, or HP bonuses, or other random things.
  
  
  • From NF: The Drake Kabob gives +5 armour for 10min, the Bowl of Skalefin Soup gives +1 HP regen for 10min, the Pahnai Salad gives +20 HP for 10min, and the Elixir of Valor gives a +10% morale boost to everyone in your party (morale boosts increase your max HP and energy).
    
    
  • From GW:EN: The Grail of Might gives +100 HP, +10 energy, and +1 to all attributes for 30min, Essence of Celerity gives 20% faster movement and attack speeds and reduces skill activation and recharge times by 20% for 30min, Armour of Salvation gives immunity to 50% of critical hits, +10 armour, +1 HP regen, and -5 damage reduction for 30min, Honeycomb gives +5% morale boost, and Scroll of Resurrection revives all party members within earshot and transports them to your location (useful if most of your party dies but you managed to run away to a safe place instead of doing Alt-F4).
    
    
  • Festival Items: Rainbow Candycanes give you a 5% morale boost, Birthday Cupcakes give +100 HP, +10 energy, and 25% faster movement for 10min, Pumpkin Cookies give 10% morale boost, Candy Apples give +100 HP and +10 energy for 10min, Candy Corn give +1 to all attributes for 10min, Golden Eggs give +1 to all attributes for 5min, and Slices of Pumpkin Pie increase attack speed by 25% and reduce skill activation time by 25% for 10min.
    
    
  • Scrolls: Many different types of scrolls exist that will give you bonus EXP per kill once you activate them. Make sure the scrolls you're using are in fact EXP scrolls (as some are not), and that you only have one active at a time, because if you activate another one while one is already active, it will essentially waste the first one.
    

• Prophecies
  
  
  • Don't do any quests except primary profession-related quests until around lv 5-6. Just go on a mass-murdering spree until then, then start doing quests. This should help you get to around lv 7-8 or so before leaving pre-searing.
    
    
  • If you end up in the mock-PvP battle upon choosing to leave pre-searing, Alt-F4. PvP deaths still count as deaths, even this mock-PvP battle in pre. When you log back in, you will have skipped the mock-PvP battle with no deaths and will now be in the part where you join Rurik on his hunt for Vatlaaw Doomtooth.
    
    
  • Getting run to Yak's Bend by random strangers is relatively safe, but getting run to Lion's Arch is much less so. Once you zone into Iron Horse mine, a patrol may or may not reach your zone point from the left before the runner gets to the other portal. Running to the right is not entirely advised, as there's a mob somewhere on the right. Also, if you have other people in your party, they may accidentally or intentionally lead the patrol from the left side to your position and get you killed. The more dangerous part is when you zone into Anvil Rock, as some minotaurs are hanging around near the spawn point. Also, some centaurs can wander by from the left and also aggro you. From Yak's Bend onwards, it is advisable to either have a friend run you or help you fight to Lion's Arch. If the friend is helping you, have them bring high-level heroes (if they have any) and clear any enemies near your spawn point before he continues the run. Going from Beacon's Perch to Lion's Arch is the worst part, as some very hard-hitting ettin start a patrol towards your spawn point once you zone into the cave. Runners generally do not know this, so it's a lot better to just fight to Lion's from Beacon's.
    
    
  • DO NOT GET A RUN TO DROK'S (Droknar's Forge) FROM BEACON'S PERCH. Monsters will patrol to your spawn point in Lornar's Pass from either the left or the right, ending in your death. The next area is even worse and will surely get you killed, even if Lornar's Pass did not. Don't even attempt this when working on a Survivor.
    
    
  • Once in Lion's Arch, travel to other campaigns if you have them.
    
    
    • If you don't have any friends that can do Sunspears in Kryta for you, you really ought not to try this quest (which gets you to NF). If you chance a random person doing it for you, once you zone into Lion's Arch with all of the enemies, back up until your back is to the wall behind you and this should allow you to survive unless the world just hates you. Sunspears in Kryta is SO MUCH EASIER than Sunspears in Cantha (the quest to get to NF from Factions), so don't try the one in Factions if you have it. Elonian Tip #1: Make sure to take both quests once you zone in Elona, and then have about eight free spaces in your inventory before you leave Kamadan for the Plains of Jarin. Once you approach Kormir out here, you will acquire four heroes with really crappy weapons, but if you have free space in your inventory, Kormir will give you upgraded weapons for them. Elonian Tip #2: You can also get a ferry from Kamadan to Consulate Docks and buy max armour there if you don't already have it, and also acquire the quests to obtain Olias and Zenmai (Zenmai only if you also have Factions linked to your account) as heroes.
      
      
    • The quest to get to Factions is very very easy. You don't even need a party for this, but it's best to play it safe with at least taking Alesia and maybe Little Thom, if you've not got heroes. Little Thom will be good cannon fodder, and Alesia can heal you. Once you zone after talking to Jiaju Tai, go up the stairs and approach Mhenlo's group. There will be some stairs going up on your left once you reach his group. Approach these stairs, but DO NOT GO UP THEM. Approach very very slowly while watching your compass, and when you see two red dots appear, immediately hit X (turns you 180 degrees so you're facing in the opposite direction) and run back behind Mhenlo's group. They are able to defeat these two enemies by themselves, but again, Alesia and Little Thom are here just to be on the safe side. Mhenlo and Jamei are healers so you should be OK no matter what, but better safe than sorry. If you want some EXP from these two enemies, be sure to land at least one hit on eaxh of them, even if it's using that longbow I mentioned earlier that you should always have with you. Once you reach Kaineng Center (it's after those stairs I mentioned), there are a bunch of quests that give around 3k EXP each. Kaineng also has max armour. There are also a bunch more quests in Wajjun Bazaar (go south from Kaineng Center to The Marketplace (town), and Wajjun is the explorable area to the south of that). It is very easy to get to lv 20 without dying by doing these quests, even if you are lv 13 when you get here. Quests to avoid: The Xunlai Agent, Feed the Hungry, Captured, Street Justice. Canthan Tip #1: Acquire the quest The Search for a Cure, complete it, take the next quest (Seek Out Brother Tosai), but DO NOT complete the Brother Tosai quest. This will make all of the Am Fah in Wajjun Bazaar friendly towards you (ONLY the ones in Wajjun, not ones in other areas. Also, completing the Brother Tosai quest will make them unfriendly again. Also, if you took the Captured quest, the Am Fah from that quest are also hostile regardless of whether you completed Brother Tosai or not), which makes acquiring and completing the quests in Wajjun Bazaar much easier. Be aware that the quest Assassination Attempt spawns one hostile Am Fah, but he's rather easy to kill even with only four party members. Canthan Tip #2: These quests also help level your heroes up at the same time, if you have any. Canthan Tip #3: I don't recommend going into The Undercity unless you've been there before and know your way around there like you know the back of your own hand. If you attempt to do the Assist the Guards quest, keep in mind that once you approach Waeng, he may seem to be alone, but more hostile Am Fah pop up once you get close enough to him. Canthan Tip #4: If you have the quest Chasing Zenmai, be aware that hostile Am Fah pop up once you approach her. They will probably kill a nearby NPC when they do so (Bryan, who has a quest for you), and possibly you as well if you're not prepared. Canthan Tip #5: When you leave Kaineng Center for the first time as a non-native Factions character, Mhenlo and co. will be out there waiting for you. If you take them with you, they will be very helpful in completing several quests out here (including The Xunlai Agent and Feed the Hungry, which earlier I said to avoid), and in killing lots of enemies for EXP. Just be sure to pick up Emi and Chiyo (go left and follow your green arrow for Welcome to Cantha to find them) before killing things to get the most out of these guys. Once Emi and Chiyo finish babbling on, you may or may not have gotten a quest updated message in the chat log for The Afflicted Guard. If not, most of his mob will probably be dead by now, so go ahead and finish them off (a group of Canthan guards start fighting them once you reach Emi and Chiyo). If you don't finish Welcome to Cantha, you can always pick up Mhenlo and co. later on for more rampant killing.
      
      
    • Going to Eye of the North is easier from Kamadan as the enemies are easier, but they're not too much harder if you do it from Lion's. It only gets a bit hairy after the cutscene, as mobs upon waves upon hordes of lv 28 or so things spawn out of nowhere. But never fear! Your humble guide has a sure-fire tip to get you through this. One thing to note first is that all characters under lv 20 gain a non-removable buff called Journey to the North that gives them the HP of a lv 20 character and sets all of your primary attributes to 9, starting from the time you start the quest to get to GW:EN, until you reach lv 20, but only when you are either going to GW:EN or in GW:EN territory (i.e., this buff goes away if you travel to any of the campaigns). Anyway. Once the cutscene where you meet Ogden and Vekk ends, immediately press X (it turns you around 180 degrees so you end up facing in the opposite direction), hold down your left Alt key (brings up nearby NPC names), and click on Kodan. There's another Dwarf near him, but make sure you click on Kodan. See, where most Dwarves are very brave people, Kodan is a big chicken. I have done the quest to GW:EN about 10,000 times, and I have NEVER seen him die. Ever. I've seen every other NPC die, even some of my heroes in my party, but never Kodan. So click on him and just keep spamming Spacebar to autofollow him. Don't use any run skills unless you know by heart where to go, just follow Kodan. Please note that once he goes through the portal at the end, you will stop dead in your tracks no matter how many times you press the Spacebar, as Kodan is no longer a valid target, so at that point you'll have to run on your own, but this generally happens about ten feet from the portal, so you won't get lost (cept this portal is purple and black instead of like the other portals you're used to). I'm just noting this so you don't start watching TV or something while spamming Spacebar and then end up dead cause Kodan disappeared. Once you reach Boreal Station, you acquire two heroes. Boreal Station also has max armour available for every profession, albeit only one set for each profession, in case you don't already have max armour. Make sure you speak to Jora when you leave Boreal to go north to the Eye. Once you reach the Eye, you will get taken to the Hall of Monuments and acquire Gwen as a hero. Speak to Gwen again, and Vekk and Ogden, otherwise the portals to any other area other than the one outside of the Eye will be sealed shut, preventing you from going anywhere else cept back to Boreal. GW:EN Tip #1: Just to the north of the Eye is Gunnar's Hold. This town is very very popular with people attempting to acquire the Survivor title, as an old, crazy face has taken up residence in Gunnar's home. If you did anything in Sorrow's Furnace in Prophecies, you'll probably remember Kilroy Stonekin, albeit more for his suicidal aggroing than anything else. Well, he's got an old score to finish settling with the Irontoe family, but first he wants to test you a bit. Once you pass his test, you get to the part most Survivors are after: Kilroy Stonekin's Punch-Out Extravaganza! This is technically a dungeon, but only insofar as it qualifies as a page in the Master Dungeon Guide. It's a solo dungeon, and if you die, you get booted out of the dungeon instead of res'ing. BUT if you get KO'd (i.e., lose all HP), you have a chance of not dying as long as you spam the STAND UP! skill. This is skill 8 in your skill bar, as the dungeon replaces all of your regular skills with Dwarven Brawling skills. The best way to do this is to not only button-mash your 8 key, but button-mash your mouse button on skill 8 at the same time, if you're coordinated enough to do so. The best thing to do is to mod the brass knuckles you must use in this dungeon with a 20/20 sundering dagger tang, a +7 vs physical damage dagger handle, and a Brawn Over Brains dmg +15% energy -5 inscription (as when you're KO'd you need to spam STAND UP! until your energy bar refills completely before the timer runs out, so having less energy is helpful here). PLEASE NOTE: If you have an unreliable connection (as I do), it is NOT advisable to use Kilroy's Punch-Out Extravaganza to get your Survivor title, as it is a solo dungeon and getting d/c'd or even lagging a bit can get you killed. And yes, dying here (i.e., failing to stand back up) counts as a death and will eliminate your Survivor expectations for that character. This dungeon is repeatable, however, which is why many many people use this for getting r3 Survivor (although personally my r3 Survivors didn't even touch this dungeon with a 10-foot rusty halberd).