hazmick, sorry I should have specified my context for the Nightblade skills is solo stealth archer Lil, who is still leveling and has no interest in PvP. The issue is self-healing in PvE at her level. Also the flashy melee-style class skills are not her thing, just the stealth ones.
That brings up another point, the importance of context. Attribute distribution including gear and other bonuses makes a big difference in how skills work. Also building a solo adventurer is different from building an optimized character with PvP as the goal, not to mention that things are different while leveling. Aand the many updates have made a lot of online information obsolete, so when reading comments make sure theyre still relevant.
When you play has a big impact as well. I often play without seeing another player outside of towns, which means that materials and treasure chests are plentiful but help is non-existent. On the occasions when someone (Lildereth, poor thing) needs help with something Ill play when its more crowded. Then everything seems easy because other players are helping, but there is no point in trying to get anything but your own loot from the environment.
hazmick, I also played for a long time before I realized what those respec shrines are for.

Its very cheap to switch morphs, so dont be afraid to try different ones to see what combinations work best.