safest/fastest class for end game

I'm curious as to which class would both be able to survive pretty easily while also dishing out the dps and aoe to progress quickly through later difficulties. I found the templar with lightning strike build and that has been great in normal but I've been told it falls off really hard after normal so I don't want to invest a lot of time into a class which won't be self sufficient after normal. I don't really have any good gear stashed and I mostly play solo so I'm not sure if it's just an issue of gear or if there are classes/builds which have a good mix of clear and survival without intensive gear requirements.

My playstyle is very aggressive, I hate kiting, I would be happiest playing something like a Marauder with Sweep to just blow everything up, but I do have concerns about monster mechanics later on possibly invalidating whichever damage type I happen to be using.

Any suggestions?

Well anything ranged seems to be easier, so I would say a ranged build.

edit: oh nvm u hate kiting lol

Yeah I have a level 34 ranger and by the time I got to merc (i believe that's the difficulty after normal) I was just SO sick of constantly kiting. Are melee classes viable or is the game currently at a state where you pretty much have to be ranged?

That was sort of how diablo 3 was at first. Playing melee classes, you'd easily get one shotted after release because the gear melee classes required hadn't yet been found in large enough quantities for it to be attainable. Ranged classes were one shotted as well but because they didn't have to be in melee range (thus increasing the chance to be one shotted) they could actually progress through the game at a much faster pace.

I would be happy playing a sword and board marauder/templar but if they're pretty useless in merciless without epic gear than idk. :(

*cruel, and try bow marauder, just shoot them up then tank them. and i think building pure hp regen and hp 2h marauder is pre good.

im actually playing my marauder now and so far my only difficulty game in the chamber of sins, but that's always the case. not sure how far i'll be able to get but i'm taking it slow and grinding a ton (got resolute technique and a few levels till blood magic) so hopefully my patience will pay off.

I've got a ground slam marauder at act 3 merciless atm, it's quite easy. He's got lots of lifesteal and uses warlord's mark for more life/mana steal. I find ground slam to be pretty good because it has some AoE and stuns. My only issue right now is frost mages, but that's because everytime I find an item with resist it's got lightning and not cold :/
I still kite though, even as a marauder, but it's not that bad. If you don't want to kite, sweep is probably the skill you'd want to use, because you'll often get surrounded by enemies, and ground slam deals damage in a cone.

The only class I have been able to use without much kiting near end game was my witch summoner build (Minion Instability and Necromantic Aegis so my minions can tank and if/when they die they dont go to waste. Plus going for the hex master and whispers of doom next). All I do is summon my spell totem that summons 11 skeletons up front to tank. While my zombies guard me and my 2 specters stay back to shoot or summon there own friends. However she had to work up to that point and the work isnt easy. Your best bet is to play multiplayer and that way you can tank while your ranged party members deal with the ranged monsters.

Fastest while being 100% unkillable no matter what would be a melee with aegis aurora, though you'll need either a soul taker(expensive) or a facebreaker(can't use MF gear).

Dual totems also do great but that's so boring you'd have to be an autist to play it.

Summoner Witch by far.

crit discharger build.
The whole thing costs like what 6 exalts
Faceroll PoE.