You could do both and grief will still be better probably (unless you’re saying even runewords on a 2h get like a 15% buff)?
The easiest thing they can do for 2h is add the str bonus to all 2 handers that exists on thunder mauls and increase it. 1.5x ED per point in str on maces, 1.4x on axes 1.2 on swords. I think it would be better to incentivize two handers to be the top tier dps weaps by incentivizing players to put most of their stat points into strength.
It’s not the lengths you go to say something but the attitude behind what is said. I would have left it alone if the comment was less inflammatory and didn’t misrepresent my views on the topic. That’s all.
My PTR Feedback was 1) my feedback, and being my feedback it won’t have everything, and 2) it was also an invitation for others to leave constructive points that hinge on the feedback I raise. I saw you write a comment there that I haven’t addressed yet, but is a valid concern from reading it at a glance.
My intention is obviously not to nerf melee, but a call for devs to approach balance more intelligently. This is also why I referenced my other forum post that has a large list of practical balance changes. I hope you understand.
Both threads here:
PTR Feedback
Balance Change Suggestions
Hustle makes almost every single unique melee weapon useable all the way to hell. There is no way this dev team has the resources to shift that balance to class skill rebalancing.
Hustle is the spirit of melee players. This balance aligns with the design philosophy of 1.10. I don’t like it but I also understand the direction this game has continually gone in since 1.10, especially because I’m a pretty much exclusive melee/barb player and I understand the shaft that has been given to melee for decades while casters keep getting power crept.
Hustle is the rational response to spirit/insight existing. Two runewords that trivialize the early game experience for casters and allows them to ignore the fact that casters were fundamentally balanced around mana resource management. Melee was in a sense but they gutted leeching back in 1.9 or around there and melee attack speeds (which is why ebotd and grief were the 1.10 dev solutions to those nerfs).
Could be
2h buff
Magic: 40%
Rare: 30%
Unique set: 25%
Rw: 15%
Rw has to be considered has it would drive people to create 2handed version of runewords instead of 1h being BIS
You spoke of grief, maybe some builds would benefit from a 15% buffed 2handed version
This could even open up some weird itemization
I don’t mind this too. Strength is under-utilised.
Whoa, the thread kind of got off the rails today!
I agree with both Onadroig AND CharlesJT, and I’m not saying that to be diplomatic.
I actually agree with Onadroig’s premise that D2 is too easy for casters, and that buffing melee to their level will basically trivialize endgame. Rather, the ideal solution should be to bring all classes to the same difficulty level of melee so that the game still retains challenge. I’ve said it before, but the reason I haven’t recommended this approach is because I don’t think there’s tolerance at Blizzard or in the community to nerf casters, and I also don’t think Blizz Albany has the coding resources available for such a massive meta programming shift.
With that in mind, I agree with CharlesJT that the low hanging fruit he mentioned should be tackled. Those coding changes are SUPER simple to execute, and will bring melee to closer parity with casters. There would still need to be more buffs after that, I bet, but that’s why it’s called “low hanging fruit”. 
P.S.: I must have missed something. Who is bowa? I don’t see anyone named bowa in this discussion.
EDIT: Ooooh, Onadroig is the streamer Bowa. Sup dude! That said, I’m not going to comment either way on Hustle in this thread. Want to stick to systems-level changes and discussion.
I think “soft nerfs” could help. Again I don’t think they will address this either. But maybe change Defense stat to my previous point to negate flat damage, then buff monster damage. Not only does this make the defense stat actually matter in an easy to understand way, but it makes builds that don’t want to invest strength for more armor have to contemplate this task more. I really despise this get to 156 strength exactly, dump the rest into vit approach. It takes away a lot of design space.
Changing defense to a modern concept of armor (damage reduction ) would make just too much sense , but this devs are terrified to do any significant changes … they are petrified and just trow this runewords… wich ignore every single melee problem…
*In before this new Omega barb runeword that resets your shouts on hit . Swords only (of course swords , god forbid You want to use a other wep) lolz.
Option b , slain monsters get auto horked 
Seems we keep focusing on new things that maybe the Dev’s could accomplish/implement… maybe not.
In doing so, I would wager we get nothing.
I wish there was more outcry/support to implement what the Dev’s already showed us they can implement…
It’s at least something… which is way better than what I think we are about to receive… aka - nothing.
Hell, I’ll take that too.
That said, with how simple some of the suggestions in the OP are to code (some less than 5 minutes), I don’t think more changes are that pessimistic of a prospect. I think the biggest hoop to jump through is just Blizzard deciding if they want to commit resources – any resources – to fixing the melee disparity in the game. If they decide “yes,” and spend 2 minutes to flip the +50% physical damage switch thay they’ve already coded, I can’t see them not spending a few more minutes to add some of the changes in the OP.
I think it’s a binary “changes or nothing” decision for Blizz. Hopefully they make the right choice. Patch notes aren’t out yet, so we’ll see if this last hurrah before D4 has any fixes soon I bet.
Fingers crossed.
20char
Yeah my take is if there’s no way they’re willing to commit the resources to “do it right” and rescale weapon damage, skill damage/ar, etc. then I’d be happy if we at least got the 50% damage holiday buff, but I’m a little leery of “asking” for that and inadvertently ending up with a less ideal solution. Sort of like a negotiation where you may go in high leaving room to be talked down, I’m shooting for the ideal, but that still leaves room for Blizzard to notice there’s community desire for improvements, and then do the “best” solution for the amount of resources they are willing to devote to it.
I can also appreciate the opposite fear that if we ask for things that are just plainly too far out of scope, they’ll dismiss them and we’ll get nothing.
Didn’t they also do a day of 50% increased hit chance for physical builds/damage?
Pretty sure they did.
I’ll take both please.
I remember 2X HP and the +50% damage buff, I don’t remember hit chance, but I wasn’t religious about following them either so it’s possible!
IMO one of the main issues is the gear sacrifices that melee chars have to make in order to keep acceptable hit rate that casters don’t, so doing something to ease that would definitely be welcome!
id rather improve shrines than have temporary events to buff lackluster mechanics lol
He’s asking for that effect as a permanent buff, not another temporary event…
Guys, I need to be honest with all of you right now. I have had ONE TOO MANY mangoritas, and I’m basically resigned to the fact that melee will never be on par with casters prior to D4, but I’m really happy we all joined together in this thread to fight the good fight.
MAYBE WHAT REALLY MATTERED WASN’T MELEE BALANCE, BUT THE BARBARIAN FRIENDS WE MADE ALONG THE WAY.
EDIT: Blizz, you better not ban me for mentioning being drank off mangoritas when WoW has Dwarves running around drunk off ale!
EDIT 2: Dwarves 4 life.
AM not holding My breath but i’ll wait until patch notes …
I Will keep the fight , D4 being perma online is a complete deal breaker for me , so i can’t run there . It’s d2r or back to vanilla wow .
Melee always sticks together buddy… just watch us in a p8 MF run LOL!
Oh, btw, it’s been Miller-time, for, quite-sometime… :).
Patch notes tomorrow. Hopes are high, expectations are low. 