Quote Originally Posted by Slashley View Post

Outside of Tower, the thing is, you're either fighting something that CAN kill you (in which case Def is strictly superior, as Atk is suffering a massive case of diminishing returns thanks to your Grid) or you're fighting something trivial (in which case extra Assault doesn't even matter, aside from saving you some seconds per run). So... I don't really see it as a choice. If you're looking to increase damage output, Dbl/Trpl is much better as well (I'd think? Actually haven't run maths on that) since there are no diminishing returns until you hit 100% Combo. Of course... the problem here is that Dbl and especially Trpl are exceedingly rare in Accessories.
I also favor defense over assault on accessories on all of my Himes. Everything Slashley said is correct and I'll add one more thing to the list in favor of defense over assault- Assault/Vigoras triple weapons. After full assault and maxed grid and himes, the only true way to add more damage is through vigoras weapons. Those require you to maintain high levels of hitpoints and sustain for their damage to apply. This makes every bit of damage reduction/heal and defense valuable. (If you go for the assault/pride weapons instead, this isn't a plus for defense over assault.)

Dejnov.