Whats the point of melee?

[TheBlob]

I have medium skill in melee and it takes 10 or more hits to down a puppet with a melee weapon; while on the other hand it takes at most 3 arrows with no kill in archery to accomplish the same thing. Also, blocking doesn't really seem to do much of anything as I seem to get hit 99% of the time while blocking anyway. I just don't see the point in choosing melee over a simple bow at all. Am I missing something or is melee just completely useless?

[thomas_1611]

I think melee combat is due for a re-work once the character and npc models are in place.

As to point allocation, the only reason to put points in melee is that it's the hardest to level up. Never put points in archery.. it levels super fast on any server with lots of puppets.

I'm not a big PvP player, so I normally take Med. Rifles, Med. Pistols.

[Jolie Rouge]

Uhm...Katana? Tang Dao? Traynor's Axe? Handaxe? Bushman? Bayonet on a rifle? Wushu Spear? 5 hits at max.
Bayonet does insta kill.
Of course depending on STR.

[TheBlob]

Originally posted by Jolie Rouge:

Uhm...Katana? Tang Dao? Traynor's Axe? Handaxe? Bushman? Bayonet on a rifle? Wushu Spear? 5 hits at max.
Bayonet does insta kill.
Of course depending on STR.

But 3 hits is still better than 5, even better at 1 hit with a head shot outside of the armored puppets which isn't hard to do at all. And you can craft a bow 2 minutes after dropping on the island. The risk to reward is just not there. Bow is no risk all reward.

I recently tried ditching the bow for a melee to free up space, which seems to be the only benefit to melee. Big mistake; took a hit or two, while blocking, got an infection and had to run half the map to the trader just for antibiotics. If blocking worked properly I would say maybe worth it, but it just doesn't.

[Deathwhisper]

Originally posted by TheBlob:

Originally posted by Jolie Rouge:

Uhm...Katana? Tang Dao? Traynor's Axe? Handaxe? Bushman? Bayonet on a rifle? Wushu Spear? 5 hits at max.
Bayonet does insta kill.
Of course depending on STR.

But 3 hits is still better than 5, even better at 1 hit with a head shot outside of the armored puppets which isn't hard to do at all. And you can craft a bow 2 minutes after dropping on the island. The risk to reward is just not there. Bow is no risk all reward.

I recently tried ditching the bow for a melee to free up space, which seems to be the only benefit to melee. Big mistake; took a hit or two, while blocking, got an infection and had to run half the map to the trader just for antibiotics. If blocking worked properly I would say maybe worth it, but it just doesn't.

Melee blocking has one very important aspect right now if you dare to go to melee. You will not be stunlocked when you block means, you can instantly strike back and turn tides by stunlock your opponent. However, if you fight against multiple targets at once, melee should not be the choise anyway.

Depending on the Weapon you can bring down puppets pretty fast. For example, i always use weapons with bajonetts, almost all puppets are down with one hit and i have always a knive on the go aswell.

[TheBlob]

Originally posted by Deathwhisper:

Originally posted by TheBlob:

But 3 hits is still better than 5, even better at 1 hit with a head shot outside of the armored puppets which isn't hard to do at all. And you can craft a bow 2 minutes after dropping on the island. The risk to reward is just not there. Bow is no risk all reward.

I recently tried ditching the bow for a melee to free up space, which seems to be the only benefit to melee. Big mistake; took a hit or two, while blocking, got an infection and had to run half the map to the trader just for antibiotics. If blocking worked properly I would say maybe worth it, but it just doesn't.

Melee blocking has one very important aspect right now if you dare to go to melee. You will not be stunlocked when you block means, you can instantly strike back and turn tides by stunlock your opponent. However, if you fight against multiple targets at once, melee should not be the choise anyway.

Depending on the Weapon you can bring down puppets pretty fast. For example, i always use weapons with bajonetts, almost all puppets are down with one hit and i have always a knive on the go aswell.

My two cents, but blocking should just prevent damage from puppets altogether. Of course blocking shouldn't stop damage from melee weapons like axes and swords, but maybe it should just prevent damage from puppet slaps to make it more viable. I just don't like how necessary it feels to bring a bow along all the time.

I play on official, where drop rates are pretty bad to being with. After 100 hrs of playing on official I think I've come along maybe one or two bayonets and almost none of the melee weapons Jolie mentioned above aside from the axe and bushman.

[marktkm]

It's a style preference.

I max melee on creation and make myself a crafted stone axe on landing. Bow is good if you have time to get it ready, never mind the wait between shots to reload, but an axe in hand is ready to go immediately should you round a corner on a puppet (or one sneaks up behind you) and fast enough that you don't have to worry about a miss like with a standard large axe that swings slower.

Originally posted by TheBlob:

After 100 hrs of playing on official I think I've come along ...almost none of the melee weapons Jolie mentioned above aside from the axe and bushman.

You can make a small or large axe, as well as several spears on landing, just like the bow, until you find the others.

As thomas_1611 mentioned, melee is set to be worked on so things will probably change a bit.

[Jolie Rouge]

Originally posted by TheBlob:

Originally posted by Deathwhisper:

Melee blocking has one very important aspect right now if you dare to go to melee. You will not be stunlocked when you block means, you can instantly strike back and turn tides by stunlock your opponent. However, if you fight against multiple targets at once, melee should not be the choise anyway.

Depending on the Weapon you can bring down puppets pretty fast. For example, i always use weapons with bajonetts, almost all puppets are down with one hit and i have always a knive on the go aswell.

My two cents, but blocking should just prevent damage from puppets altogether. Of course blocking shouldn't stop damage from melee weapons like axes and swords, but maybe it should just prevent damage from puppet slaps to make it more viable. I just don't like how necessary it feels to bring a bow along all the time.

I play on official, where drop rates are pretty bad to being with. After 100 hrs of playing on official I think I've come along maybe one or two bayonets and almost none of the melee weapons Jolie mentioned above aside from the axe and bushman.

If you have to go into melee, choose your ground and *keep moving*, that's the most important part.
A katana at advanced is two hits and it's damn fast, they don't have time to recover.
I mentioned 5 hits max for when you start with the skill at none or basic; don't know your skill.
And here is a question: you said ten hits, what did you use and what's your skill?

[CrankyOldMan]

Uhm...Katana? Tang Dao? 1-2 hits Bayonet -1 hit

[Gavener]

I use a Melee in slot 1 and bow in Slot 2, I don't bother with rifles they are like Milkshakes and bring all the boys to yard, the bow is awesome not OP at all but the melee is pretty rough, and most do not own the Katana and other op melee weapons, most that have good gear and know where to look don't even come on the forums, most on the forums got a shovel and that is why they are asking wtf, like when I land first thing I make is a Stone spear, then a metal asap they take like 13 hits wood 11 hits stone and 7-8 metal it seems, only good for windows and keeping a muppet at bay if you get more than 1 you better run for a window. 20 pound bow is the best move possible. Medium Skill btw

[insettoinfetto]

Bayonet is OP
Bow is nearly OP. Too easy to craft and wood arrows do too much damage and don't break (you should loose one every 2-3 hits)
Bushman is the best tool for melee, deadly and don't take too much space.
Crossbow is another deadly tool, combined with a scope/sight
Katana/Dao/Sword are very good, but bukly.

I do not like spears as they are not effective (metal head ones should do the same damage of a Bayonet)

Melee need a rework. Not so many moves but strategic ones like pushback or make them fall to the ground, blunt that stun, blades that cut legs ligaments to run, etc.
I think that every melee should have some advantages and disadvantages.
Now we only have speed of the weapon and its damage. We need more aspects to differentiate them.

[serilium]

10 hits with a med skill in melee, even at no skill i can down the strongest puppets with 6 or 7 hits tops using a stone axe, what are hitting puppets with a feather maybe it should not take that many hits, but melee is a joke and has always been bad and don`t expect a rework anytime soon either, once they reach 1.0 they will have other things they will alter first, 2 years from now melee will still be bad or even worse than it is now.

[TheBlob]

Originally posted by marktkm:

It's a style preference.

I max melee on creation and make myself a crafted stone axe on landing. Bow is good if you have time to get it ready, never mind the wait between shots to reload, but an axe in hand is ready to go immediately should you round a corner on a puppet (or one sneaks up behind you) and fast enough that you don't have to worry about a miss like with a standard large axe that swings slower.

Originally posted by TheBlob:

After 100 hrs of playing on official I think I've come along ...almost none of the melee weapons Jolie mentioned above aside from the axe and bushman.

You can make a small or large axe, as well as several spears on landing, just like the bow, until you find the others.

As thomas_1611 mentioned, melee is set to be worked on so things will probably change a bit.

Drawing and firing doesn't take too long, even with low archery skill. I don't have an issue taking out multiple puppets at once with well placed shots.

Originally posted by Jolie Rouge:

Originally posted by TheBlob:

My two cents, but blocking should just prevent damage from puppets altogether. Of course blocking shouldn't stop damage from melee weapons like axes and swords, but maybe it should just prevent damage from puppet slaps to make it more viable. I just don't like how necessary it feels to bring a bow along all the time.

I play on official, where drop rates are pretty bad to being with. After 100 hrs of playing on official I think I've come along maybe one or two bayonets and almost none of the melee weapons Jolie mentioned above aside from the axe and bushman.

If you have to go into melee, choose your ground and *keep moving*, that's the most important part.
A katana at advanced is two hits and it's damn fast, they don't have time to recover.
I mentioned 5 hits max for when you start with the skill at none or basic; don't know your skill.
And here is a question: you said ten hits, what did you use and what's your skill?

I have medium melee and was using the bushman.

I might be comparing apples to oranges, but I just don't see the point of going melee 99% of the time unless it's a last resort. Which begs the question, why invest points into it if having no skill in archery is literally more effective?

[E=d.u²]

Originally posted by TheBlob:

I have medium skill in melee and it takes 10 or more hits to down a puppet with a melee weapon; while on the other hand it takes at most 3 arrows with no kill in archery to accomplish the same thing. Also, blocking doesn't really seem to do much of anything as I seem to get hit 99% of the time while blocking anyway. I just don't see the point in choosing melee over a simple bow at all. Am I missing something or is melee just completely useless?

WTH? Ten hits?

I've found a baseball bat and added nails to it, I kill the weaker puppet with 2 hits and the fat one with 5 at max. I have medium melee skill and sometimes my character swing the bat 2 times in a single click, idk if it's related with the skill or not (I thought it was, I still think until proven wrong).

[Draft Lottery 72]

3 - Strength, 5 - Dexterity, Melee medium+ skill, 100% Katana.
I kill thin puppets in 1 swing. I kill fat puppets with or without armor in 2 swings.
1,400 plus hours of playing SP Scum. Also, I'm not what you would call a Mouse & Keyboard ninja either.

[marktkm]

Originally posted by TheBlob:

Which begs the question, why invest points into it if having no skill in archery is literally more effective?

If that's what works for you why even ask the question? Your preference isn't wrong. Someone with a different play style will come up with a different answer. After dozens of builds I find having the melee available early on to be more effective and useful, especially given how fast everything else (save maybe brawling) rises, but that's me. We just approach the game differently.