Sure, barb has way more tools for survival in pvp than hox. More cc's, more cc breaks, more hp, more hp regen.
Even with less survival tools, it's possible to survive as a HoX. Here are some basic survival tips. (Apologies if these are obvious to you)
Prefight
- If you have a healer, always grab a blue heal before going into a fight.
- Keep tabs on your Phoenix Cloak cooldown and activate Phoenix Cloak before engaging a group.
Mid-Fight
- Look out for big combos about to hit you and interrupt them with feated hellfire breath. Hfb and then root is good for creating space.
- Dodging combos: after the enemy lands a white hit on you, try sprinting and strafing to the side of your opponent to throw off the aim of the incoming combo.
- Landing fear can be difficult due to the 1sec casting time. A decent way to improve your odds in landing it is to retreat around a corner, and when the enemy turns that corner to chase you, cast the fear on reaction. (hellfire breath then fear is also good here)
- In a 1v1 situation, after landing a stun, go for an I eat your heart combo to gain HP. The cooldowns are similar, so it can be an easy way to keep tabs on both abilities.
- In group pvp, get a feel for how much you can “get away with” staying in a hot zone. Each match is different. Some matches you'll have time to fire off Btd6. Other times you will get focused by multiple opponents and all you can do is sprint around and land hellfire breaths or flame lashes from a distance.
Post-fight
- Check your cooldowns. Check your PVE objectives