My Thoughts on Melee and Marauder

So I went the route, of full out damage, I know mistake #1.

I could hold my own in Cruel and Normal but Merc is next to impossible to solo and have fun.

So I had huge amount of DPS but still was not enough, get 1, 2 shotted all the time.

I started to pick up HP nodes and backing out some of my damage nodes and found myself, doing a lot better!

It is as damage means nothing, it is almost all about surviving. I know people liked me in groups as I was doing max dps on bosses and mobs just as long and they did not focus on me I was good, but the minute they targeted me I was a dead man.

So the game really does pin me in a hole, that I do not want to be in. I want to be all out damage but the game lets me do that, but i die 100 times and will never level up solo.

I have seen people use really really whacky specs that work, but not a normal run of the mill damage spec!

It's all about the old adage "You do 0 dps when you are dead."

The best thing you can do in this game is stay alive, that's why some of these whacky builds end up really strong. Being able to apply damage safely (bow marauder) is generally much better than doing more damage, even if it's quite a bit more damage.

I'm sure as more and more gear gets out there melee marauders will be fine surviving and dishing out damage, and probably be much better at it than some of the builds you see on here now. Just be glad you aren't a duelist.

You can always try things like using enfeeble or having buddies with you to freeze/lock up enemies while you smash away.

As a 76 marauder running lots of maps, I can tell you your damage end game will be enough as long as your build makes sense, but you can never be too survivable.