I forced myself to play Tactical Marine and when I pulled kicks off it meant nothing there was no escape, shooting is not efficient and fighting in melee with the knife would only work if the opponent is ridiculously bad at the game...I hate to say it as a JPA main but they need to do something for the ranged tactical bros and xeno equivalents to separate from melee a bit better perhaps.

I am going to force feed myself this crap some more to really confirm the crappiness that is tactical ranged in a melee world before going back to my JPA/Stormboy or Apo/Painboy

Edit: This is not limited to tactical I am sure but a problem of ranged player quality in life due to the weapon lockout on melee hit, melee gap closers and stuns being useless for anyone but melee.

Absolutely true, Teamwork is essential to gameplay in EC. However, were talking about jumpack infantry that excels at frontline combat as well as truly shining as a lone wolf flanker. Ive already outlined how teamates wont help in most situations for fear of TKing you while youre still alive, so being around other people doesnt mean a damn thing unless...drum roll please...your nearby allies are melee and can get between you 2 and force clangs. Keep in mind were also talking about a melee class that if the situation starts to turn he can just fly away and flip you the bird the entire time.

This would mean you're essentially out played any time you try to defend a capture point or encounter a JPA class.

I see your argument, and im sorry if I gave the impression or assumed that you were a new player or fresh to the 40k subject. I may have come off arrogant or high and mighty and I didnt mean to.

But as a counter argument what if we edited all your selected content so that ranged beat melee in those instances.

#1 If you see a melee user within 20-30 meters ranged would basically win guaranteed
#2 Dodge rolls are longer and faster than melee attacks and defensive bash beats melee
#3 Melee attacks do not disrupt gunfire or stun
#4 Wielding more powerful melee weapons would do more damage if you got through defense bashes and melee attacks but dont win outright in combat

Just those points alone would make melee a waste of time and ranged the only viable option. Making melee a last ditch effort that only the desperate would use if they ran out of bullets in their clip. Despite melee being as strong as it is, it still doesnt compare to ranged combats leading 60% of all combat and kills.

I argue that it is a common preconception that Eternal Crusade revolves around ranged combat, with a tiny bit of melee in the background. Melee combat is a HUGE part of the 40k universe. Even making melee 20% of all EC combat isnt enough, it needs to almost be 50-50.

I do main ground assault, but probably not in the way you think. I use a low tier chainsword with a shield and I actually act as a buffer between enemy melee users and my ranged allies, protecting them so that they can do their job. My guild realizes that melee is a great threat to ranged users, so we use our melee classes to protect them and watch each others backs, and it works quite efficiently.

I also play alot of tactical and devastator, so I know what its like to be completely outclassed by a melee opponent. Your literally helpless 1v1, but that doesnt bother me because I know I shouldnt be 1v1 against a ground assault or jumppack with no allies nearby to save me. And I do drop ground assaults at 20-30 meters inside of buildings and out in the open, as both tactical and devastator. I also occasionally defeat ground assaults in melee by playing smart and using gunfire,dodgeroll, defensive bash and power attack. Its hard, but It does happen.

So while I respect your argument and Id love to keep talking about our opinions constructively, I do not fully agree with your current choice of solutions.

Indeed. Hell as tactical I mostly feel as if my jobs more to just take quick shots in melee scuffles and hope no one sees me.

You are. Your in an element where the melee user is close enough to mess up your world. When faced with a situation like this its typically not your own individual skill that saves you from the melee user but your teammates and how you work together.

as a shoota boy I can kill without moving but if I play melee I have to move when I fight and more I move more attention I draw. I think melee-attack distance is too long, now its so chaotic that its almost impossible to shoot from outside, its too easy to swing your weapon and dodge same time.

Its one of those double edged swords that come with being melee. Your mobile and in peoples faces so they panic or cant flee properly. They have to face you. But your also presenting yourself right in center of room and with a giant sign on your back saying "you better shoot me first because if you dont im coming for you next".

You may be right about melee attack distance and travel. It might need to be lowered, but It has to be fast enough that people cant just back peddle or walk away every time a melee person charges them. It takes alot of risk to run head on at a target and engage them in melee which may not get resolved right away.

Also, INVINCIBILITY frames during rolling. That's the most BS thing in a shooter. A melee class can roll twice towards you, that's considerable distance covered, almost from one end of the room to the other WHILE BEING IMMUNE TO DAMAGE.

This game needs to remove FRIENDLY MELEE DAMAGE, or at least friendly melee interference. So there can be some team work where melee classes protect heavy weapon classes. Right now, the advantage in a 1 vs many scenario is actually to the solo guy because friendlies block each other's melee attacks and cause clangs. The solo warrior can confidently charge into a group of enemy and take at least one down before he's killed. That's pure BS, there's no advantage in numbers.

The only thing you can do vs a competent melee user who charges past melee defenses at the heavy gunner is to slice him in the back as the heavy weapon user desperately tries to buy time by defensive bashing and stalling the pursuer. This typically causes panic among the defenders ranks because they have a melee user right in their faces and everyone focuses that one melee user. This is an effective tactic as a melee user. Sometimes as a stormshield ground assault ill go on the offensive and throw myself into a group of enemies heading straight for their Heavy weapon user. only to slice 1-2 times and dodgeroll away holding up my shield and distracting them while my team fires away into their ranks. This buys time and confuses their ranks. I dont typically get any kills, but it works wonders if you can get people to panic.