I'm referencing this thread (
http://hydlaa.com/smf/index.php?topic=19688.0 -- since I cannot seem to post a response; perhaps it is locked)
A lot of good points were made in the thread, and I'd like to add my 2 cents.
I'm new to PlaneShift, and I picked melee/Kran because of the monk option on character creation. A stone monk is a pretty cool idea. And I never expected a walk in the park; no monk character is ever easy to play. Fun, yes. Easy? No.
So here's the thing: While weapon based combat is, obviously, advantageous, the truth of the matter is that melee ranking requires a character to... do comparable training and have comparable experience to that of those who use weapons. In much the same way, light armor versus heavy armor means the same. If a character runs around beating on NPCs who have crusty shells, or who are using weapons (such as rogues, mercenaries, gladiators... whatever else I have not found yet...), then the character should be expected to hold it's own against a character of comparable level which uses weapons.
It's a matter of relativity.
Melee isn't quite there yet. A melee character should progress to levels where maybe there aren't 'death blows', but there could be critical strikes. A 'flurry of blows' is to be expected; melee doesn't have the speed penalty that weapon users get. And no, they shouldn't hit all the time. But trying to hit makes sense.
Melee isn't an easy thing to deal with in game because of the many perspectives on it. Weapon using characters will always find a reason to say melee is a waste. Melee users will always say that melee should do more. The truth is somewhere in between.
Personally, I think melee should have at least 2 times as many levels as weapon based. And the upper levels should be increasingly difficult to attain - unique quests (once done, no one else can do them), that sort of thing.
But then, I have no idea how melee was originally seen to be implemented. I came with my own ideas ingame, and they don't work the same - no surprise. Even so, melee does seem to need some love - but that love has to be balanced. As someone who almost always plays melee or sword in different games, I know melee shouldn't be uberpowerful unless at very high levels. But in the same token, if you're going to let people advance in melee by doing the same things that others do... shouldn't they expect that melee be more comparable to weaponry?
There is reality, there are expectations. But I'm in it for the fun. I want melee to be more fun. I think it could be done, akin to magic.
