If there is a car with a flat tire, you don't buy new car, you fix the tire. God damn apple users, thinking each time everything minor is broken the whole thing need to be exchanged.
I don't have any problems killing melee classes with my shoota boy, except shieldbros. I just don't rush like crazy into the battle like i'm invincible, because i know that my knuckles are nothing against power sword. Be kunnin', keep your distance, do not charge to cap points, flank or wait for your melee and support them with bolter fire. "DO I 'AVE TA TEACH YA SQUISHY 'UMIE 'OW TA FOIGHT PROPAH???!"
Your vote should contain the option; "The melee system works well and I don't think it needs to change." I've seen a lot of these threads recently complaining that this is a melee centric game. Here's my thoughts considering I vary up my play a bit switching between melee and ranged classes pretty regularly. I'd honestly say about 50/50 play of each. If you are somewhat competent in melee, you have no problem as a mobile ranged unit (DA, ShootaBoy, Tactical, Traitor) to counter melee. In fact I almost enjoy it as I see a melee person running towards me. Give them a ton on shots on the approach and they're likely on 1 or 2 hits max before going down. Stun them and hit once, if that doesn't finish them, roll back, stun again and shoot them with your pistol to finish. I really don't find it too difficult at all. If you are playing a heavy ranged class you should and will die in melee to a melee class unless you are very lucky. I think a lot of the problem is poor positioning, poor awareness and poor teamplay. The most common way I'm killed in melee as a shooting class is when the melee character sneaks up on me or catches me unaware. This is as it should be, if I'm allowing myself to get caught they should win. Otherwise you have no excuse, follow their approach, stand somewhere with little opportunity for back-attacks (like up against a wall or corner for example) and blast the enemy to bits. With regards teamplay, allow your melee teammates to go ahead in an attack or when defending, be careful with shots (only shoot when it's very unlikely you hit your teammate), provide staggering cover fire. What I think a lot of people fail to consider is that this is a team game, we aren't really supposed to be fighting 1v1. A ranged class can provide much better support much earlier than a melee class, they are simply more useful (in that they can attack the enemy from multiple ranges, support other classes with cover fire, help heavy classes get kills, etc). This is even more apparent on a defensive map where I'd guess their average DPS over the lifetime of the match will be much higher than an equivalent melee class. When I play a ranged class I feel that I am actively supporting my team and contributing to the win much more than with a melee class, the melee class is my "lone wolf, I wanna feel like a badass class". You can see this from the scoreboard, I get a lot of points as a ranged class with assists, it's that continuous and consistent DPS where they shine. Here's the TLDR version;
I think you can. I played a number of terrible matches as lsm, and and i've seen that most of the people play lsm (except clans) usually charging in stupid front attacks on cap points, like crazy, they choose tacticals and somehow they think that they, if met a banshee, or slugga or khorne berserker, would deal with them with just a knife. That's ridiculously stupid and was not the case even in previous game builds. Many people try to use tacticals like they're supposed to excel in melee, which is laughably stupid. I also played couple of great matches with SoF, VM loyalist clans, and those games ended by victory against orks and eldars. Why? Because these people know what tactics is, they now that rushing with tacticals is fast route to the respawn, they use flanking, they attack in squads where shieldbros charge first and tacticals work as fire support, shooting enemies in the back. That's how it works right now. I'm not the one who judges if it's right or not, i just state that tactical should not be used as a first line attack unit in current build of the game. And this state is true for every race in the game.
For what i've seen, the actual melee system, isn't far from being a brainless button smashing. To be effective (not good, just effective) all you have to do is spam strong attacks if you are an Ork or spam light attack if anyone else. So, in my opinion, there's no question that the melee system needs a tuning. Winning the RPS system, should give the initiative. So if i managed to stun my opponent after a Dbash i should have enough time to: decide to shoot few rounds at pointblank, swing few light attack or a single strong one with my melee weapon or turn around and try to escape. That's why i've voted for a longer stun duration. Also, as a side note, the actual system favor the user of the "smart" pistols. If you utilize the dumb pistols, trying to aim to your opponent's weak point (Head) the system penalize you. Because a) your reaction time is slower, which is ok, and b) hitting the head doesn't have such a great impact in your lethality, which (for me) is not ok.
It should also contain the option "both". D-Bash is currently non-functional for several classes because their recovery animation is as long as, or longer than, the D-Bash stun (or so close to equal as to make the tiniest bit of lag make it so). Lunge distances on several attacks are currently ridiculous. Particularly Eldar ones which are, I have to assume, bugged to shit since they roller-skate a good distance mid-animation. Spamming RMB should not move anyone faster than holding W does, that's a no-brainer. The ability to simply dodge out of the D-Bash stun also needs to go, since it's an undocumented move that simply means that having Stamina available makes you immune to 1/3 of the RPS system (an already weak 1/3 at that). And, whilst I hate to admit that a certain Space Wolf player of a notoriously salty disposition is right about something.... he is right about attack speeds. Sort of. Attack speeds need to be the same for RPS to work. They currently aren't, and provably so. That needs fixing. Does the current melee system 'work'? Yes. But saying that it's 'fine' is just wrong. There are several clear bugs/exploits/terrible design choices that need fixing to make it operate properly.
If you know this it doesn't mean you can't use it to your advantage. I've told you already, put space between you and the enemy and shoot them if this is the case. If you know your class has a tiny stun then don't try and do shit that you know won't work. Perhaps for Eldar, yes. Not that I have a problem taking on Eldar in melee, in fact I'm quite happy to engage them of all the races. Again if you are in a group this difference will become negligible. I don't see why it should be less distance than sprinting either, perhaps just limit the recovery animation so it's slower than flat out sprinting over long distances but over short distances melee users need a way to catch their prey if they decide to leave. This doesn't work all the time. I get it most frequently with LSM I'm afraid to say. Rarely see it with Eldar, CSM or Orks. I believe it's because the stamina recovery rate effects the stun recovery time. I believe it's a bug. Again use this when you fight, roll away, drop a grenade, do anything to get them to use up their stamina bars. I don't think they do need to be the same. Case in point; the Klaw is an extremely slow melee weapon, however if I'm preparing my fast attack (even if the animation is nowhere near completing) it will still clang with another fast attack of any weapon. Hence this doesn't actually effect gameplay, just your perception of it. The attack speeds need to be the same if they violated the RPS system but at the moment, they do not. I don't think there is a strong attack that is faster than a fast attack anywhere. So the RPS system holds. I didn't say "it's fine. I said it doesn't need changing in a drastic way. I don't think the lunge attacks distance should be changed at this point, nor do I think the Dbash stun should be longer. If they ironed out the Dbash roll escape bug I think it'd be near perfect.
