How does combat work and Is magic worth it?

[Monad]

I put a lot of time into melee in my first character. But that was long back into when the game was still heavily EA.
So i started a new character with intent on focusing on ranged. I find arrow making more fun then swapping 1h/2h weapons dont @ me.
But due to the combat triangle, isnt ranged the worst one? Most mobs are melee. Cant find any guides on how combat works that isnt adventure mode. Should i level up melee for other reasons?
As for magic... The worst part has to be the bank space. So, so many runes, i dont mind that part, cuz like arrows, it makes combat feel more involved for me when i craft them. I would probably main it in combat if bank space wasn't such a wall in early game.
Why can't runes be stored elseware? Since they don't, is it actually worth it?
I don't intend to min/max, but for purposes of fun, i would like to know if im objectively playing 'wrong' or not

[BlueCat]

You're going to need all three of them for the later dungeons.

[The Winter Bud]

WIKI - on combat[wiki.melvoridle.com]
WIKI - on combat triangle[wiki.melvoridle.com]