Surviving VHHC

Let me tell you first off that I am no Torchlight expert.  If you die using my advice here, tough fucking shit.  RTFM on the Runic Forums.  They are the best to learn from. This here is just based on my own experience.
  So what is the point of VHHC anyway?  The point of VHHC is the challenge of surviving for as long as possible, to make it to lvl100.
The "oh shit, OH SHIT!"  moments are great.
To survive VHHC you may first want to make a runner.  Search for Finda on on the Runic Games forum.  Typically this is a toon that you will use to mass up gold to gamble on.  2 - 3 mil will get you a full suit of, in my case, Epic Justice's Convocation, which works for my Heavy Ranger Build.
  I haven't made a runner myself but I do have a couple of awesome pieces called JACK and SHIT from my previous dead toons.  Also my toon, Angelus btw, is broke as shit because I've gone gem crazy!  I transmute everything I can in order to get those gems.  I have armor, dex, hp leech.  HP leeching on a fast weapon rocks and you can leech HP even if the mob blocks. on my lvl15 toon, i leech 19hp and regen 10/second.
  For Angelus I've followed the guide, heavy ranger, from runic forums but with some changes that fit my play style.  Or maybe just my lack of skill.  I've invested evenly in magic as I have defense and it has helped me a great deal when spamming stampede in those "oh shit" moments. i also invested more in dash and stampede to help as well.  Seems to greatly enhance my survivability.
What I'd do starting out is I gain some gold and immediately buy the portal to the 1-10 dungeons and run them till im about 10.  Then I run the campaign dungeons for a bit. And re-run them.  You will be way above  the lvl of the mobs and still gaining decent xp.
  Take the time to do a some fishing.  What I do is set my pet to aggressive and that causes mobs to focus on him a little more while i sit back and shoot.  Give you pet summons too as they will also distract the mobs. When your pet is low on health or fleeing, pop a fish on him and he's instantly 100% plus is now a more powerful creature.
  Alway stay at ranged, never be face to face with the mob. Kite. Stampede and Dash away.  Dashing into the mobs doesn't always knock them all back so most of the time you are putting yourself in harms way.   If I am blocked off and there is a zerg coming after me I stampede immediately when they are within max range, walk a bit toward safety, stampede and repeat till im safe.  My stampede will take out most groups in 2 - 3 stampedes.  This is where my investment in magic pays off.
 It may also help to drop a portal every so often as an escape route if things get to hairy.  Dont be afraid to run away EVER, remember the point is survive at all costs.
  So enough of this mindless rambling, it's time to play some more torchlight.
As of this post I am lvl15 =D
Please comment and tell me what you think.