Opinions on Melee dps?

[Kolsykol]

Ninja has 4 positionals.

Aeolian Edge - Back
Trick Attack - Back
Armor Crush - Side
Sneak Attack - Front

I stand corrected ^^.
I only looked at the abilities on my Ninja, haven't unlocked Armor Crush yet :<.

[Subucnimorning]

Ninja has 4 positionals.

Aeolian Edge - Back
Trick Attack - Back
Armor Crush - Side
Sneak Attack - Front

Sneak Attack/Trick Attack should really only count as 1 since you are only regularly using one (Trick Attack unless you can literally never hit the back and won't die going to the front). Semantics, I know!

[NovaLevossida]

Ninja positionals only matter once every 30 seconds or so. You should be standing behind the mob anyways. Move to flank for armor crush and immediately move back. It's not as tough as people are making it out to be, and you're always going to want to use Trick Attack over Sneak Attack in group combat.

[SerDakota]

I just got my pld to 60 and currently lvling mch since i cant decide between drg and nin either lol both are 50 and fun but only taking 1 all the way but which.....

[VorpalSpork]

Having same problem deciding between drg and nin. Used to play bard, but just hate the way it was changed - I liked the mobility. Melee seems like the way to go, but dislike the positionals. Nin has fewer, but the really bad AoE and TP problems make me think drg is a better choice. Sooo hard to decide.

[MsCroc]

I'm going to offer a different opinion.

Melee DPS is my favorite role in MMOs and I would describe Monk as being 'too much'. For me. At first glance, it's rather simple. Opo-opo form, Coeurl Form, Raptor Form. Simple. When I was low level I was worried the class would be too boring. I didn't realize positionals were a thing until someone pointed them out to me, so I learned about them late. At first I was apprehensive but grew to enjoy them well enough.

Monk also has a number of cooldowns, some DOTs, and off-GCDs to consider. But mostly it's the Greased Lightning stacks that are my problem. It's personally hard for me to mind positionals, dodge enemy attacks, weave in extra skills, remember cooldowns, and mind GL stacks.

I was sadly under the impression that "flanking" meant "being behind the enemy", never once noticing the distinction in wording on the skills until I learned....in Hatali hard that was not the case. Yes, very newb and embarrassing but in any case I learned late. And while that was ages ago, positionals still don't come naturally to me. I do have to think about moving. Less so if it's tank and spank, but more so if the fight is mechanic heavy and stressful.

My point is what may have been a simple class became increasingly more complex. It would be a good amount of complexity if there were no GL stacks. GL stacks, I feel, are ultimately what makes me unhappy with monk. I find it stressful in a "not-fun" way to maintain them. I don't want to have to babysit a buff to be competitive DPS.

Thus, I find monk is too complex for me and not suited for my personal taste. Which is why I have chosen not to level it as my main for HW. It is definitely fast-paced and exciting. I admit my inability to enjoy the class comes from my own personal limitations. I'll probably go back and level it just in case the new skill additions really do make GL less of a pain but it's not a priority at that point.

Anyway, just wanted to share my side in case anyone else feels the same way.

[Cidolfas86]

My love affair with DRG is beginning to end. I really don't like maintaining a persistent buff ala Blood of the Dragon/Greased Lightning. You combine that with the RNG of Wheeling Thurst/Fang and Claw and its part of the reason why I've drifted toward being a DRK main. I think the only melee dps I still enjoy oddly enough is NIN, and thats because its the easiest of the 3 to maintain its persistent buffs with no nonsense during phase transitions.

plus there's the added joy of having the top dps get mad at you cause you nerfed his hate and put him further down the hate list

[Atreides]

plus there's the added joy of having the top dps get mad at you cause you nerfed his hate and put him further down the hate list

Why would anyone care about that?
I'd be grateful that I'm not the first target if the MT happens to die.