In your opinion

So this is the first melee char I've made, I'm basically a noob. I have nothing to gear him with in the future. But skill wise should i go cleave / sweep or heavy strike / ground smash

any input is greatly appreciated. Currently using heavy strike / ground smash but im lvling up cleave while I'm at it just in case.

Well, if you want to level quickly I always find that Leap_Slam is a quick way to level to 50 you just need to get a Geofri's_Baptism. Now that you know how to level fast, you need to know how to spend your points, I recommend following a guide in this forum.

Also, you can check this link to see when to move to next area.

Happy leveling.