I’ve not played a Barb (in D2r), Assassin nor Sorc ever.
I have a pure Zealot, lvl99.
I have a Tesladin, lvl99.
I have a Fury Druid, lvl95.
I have played with some amazing Barbs.
Mosiac, ya, we all know.
I have seen videos on Dual Dream Zeal Sorc’s…
Then, I have a Spear-a-Zon… OMG!
What is the best “melee” character in the game?
Melee? Tjaaa, lightning strike Javazon. Wrecks P8 with ease. Smiter wrecks Uber so is strong too.
If throwing counts then Lightning Fury and Throw Barb.
IMHO it is Fury druid.
There is none, all are sh1t except Uber Smit and Mosaic abomination.
Compared to the holy trinity OP-builds of hellish game design (Mosaicsin/Java/Novasorc) all melee suck.
Frenzy/WW barb is reduced to a BO-slave in P8 games. Fury druid/Fanazealot are single attack only. Dream Sorc is always riding on a razors’ edge, in fact, she is just a bad Tesladin. Dragondin/Tesladin rule in P1, but the aura damage loses a lot in higher player counts what leaves you with a high damage, elemental single attack. Spearzon has highest single attack damage, but Frenzy/Fury/Zealot/Auradin are way more tanky.
Don’t try Werebear. Really, don’t try, you will hate it.
I would say Fury druid, Spearzon and Dragondin/Tesla are among the “strongest”.
Paladin. Not a fair fight. Max res with. Item, any utility you could ever want, max block, physical, elemental or crushing blow damage, never miss (never for that one)
and Lightning Strike. Clumped up enemies will be dead after one throw of a LFzon before the Spearzon gets close, but FS is better against spread out enemies.
One of the ironies in the game: You attack from afar, yet you can block with your shield and have an easier time to max your resists thanks to your shield compared to the spearie.
define best. IMHO barbs are the most fun because of their support skills - Taunt, Battle Cry, War Cry, Howl. Also, whirlwind also is the most unique attack in the game.
On the other hand, Zeal, Fend and Fury are basically the same skill… And with how they lock up your character, i find them unfun. I did force myself to playthrough on a melee paladin a few times, and the most fun part is always charge. But if I want a basic “move around and run enemies down with a mace” game, like people commonly play zealots or fury druids, I’d rather go play D1 warrior.
But I do find wearbear fun - with the support skills of shockwave and hunger, and main being maul.
Are we talking about PvM? PvP needs more love and really is one of the most exciting parts of this game being the true “endgame”.
For PvM, it’s very hard to beat the paladin with all the built in utility he has in the tree.
If you consider Javazon melee, then Charged Strike / Lightning Fury is amazing.
However, my favorite melee is Berserk. I love the Barbarian, and my Zerker is my favorite. He can MF anywhere, I use WW as utility for leech and magic immunes. You can item find, max block, very high MF, and you can howl if needed. And just having an extra 76% chance to find double items/runes is really efficient.
I would put throwing outside “melee”, and consider it “ranged”… so Javazon and Throw Barb are out IMO.
I would agree SpearaZon with Charged Strike for all day and Lightening Strike for Bosses is hard to beat.
Ya, he is super solid… have not tried playing my guy with Enigma… hmm. and while I am not a zoom zoom style player, there is something to be said for the ability.
And the winner of answering the question that was not asked goes to you sir.
Congrats.
Fury’s life steal and damage are indeed impressive… but when traveling long distance (aka backtracking) he falls flat. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Fury Druid… I would agree he’s better than Either Zealot you note, but I rank SpearaZon ahead of him. Could be personal preference thing… Either are top notch destroyers in my experience.
Ya… thing is he struggles to achieve all of those in a build that also destroys.
And the only real utilities he presents are Cleansing and Redemption, which can be achieved effectively with Plague Sword and Phoenix Shield.
Outside of survive-ability, you can blend in Fanata, Might or Conviction, with rune words.
Melee Paly has essentially been made obsolete… IMO.
PVM, yes.
I’ve not played a Barb since the early 2000… Friend has a couple Barb’s that are out of control, so cannot argue that side.
I also agree Zon with self wield Infinty in a +skill mat. spear or Mancatcher with and Act1 Faith merc is completely off the rails for “melee”.
She can wear Plague and Redemption on swap and never slow up.
Last point I wish to discuss is, Amazon can go from Javazon to Spearano with a couple quick gear swaps…
Neither Paly, Druuid nor Sorc can replicate that transformation without a respec.
To the best of my limited experience.
it depends how u define “best”… like highest damage overall? highest damage vs a single target… best vs ubers? hardest to kill?
a smiter will obviously be best for ubers and hardest to kill.
fury druid imo would be 2nd best, as it has best dps and probably 2nd hardest to kill.
but fury is interruptible, zeal isn’t
and fury sucks vs uber trist
barb has grim ward to break immunities all by himself… and paladin no matter how u build it has no immunes in melee form… either from your holy auras or sanctuary
it really depends what what u consider “best”
there isnt one that just “best” in every situation… which is how it should be
you can make a paldin with 95% all resist in hell overstacked in mephys aura
with things like upped guled guardian angel, exile, and tgods.
You will basically be completely invincible.
basically no damage from elemental stuff
too much defense for anyone to land a hit on
and life tap form exile
so unless your pvping a smiter ( which is bm with exile, GA, and sorb. so completely banned in pvp anyways) you really can’t die.
you can argue that’s best… but your definitely not going to do a full chaos clear at the same speed a fury druid would
Always nice to see you on the forums, Clean! You know I’m Barb main so I lean that way, but I admire all the versatility Paladins get with the various auras, have fun with my WW Fury druid, and know the Zon can be flat out crazy.
I agree it “depends” what you mean by best. I’ve recently found myself always falling into the trap where when I hear “melee” I automatically think “physical melee”, so things like SpearZon or even the Holy Element Pally auras often don’t quality, but I realize that’s a “me” issue and not the real definition. There is not perfect overlap between the struggles of “melee” though when you consider builds that essentially cast spells to damage as melee, but the share some.
He can’t tele while shifted so I think most WW Fury Druids don’t bother.
Don’t forget Berserk for just plain bypassing Physical Immune.
sealrush chaos takes about 2 minutes if you are skipping norm monsters and kill diablo.
edit: using fury druid 
Something like Assassin or Lightning Strike Amazons are more like half casters and don’t really count as pure melee fighters for me. I don’t think it’s so special when all classes are mixed up like that anyway. It’s against a real distribution of roles with strengths and weaknesses and that’s what makes the game exciting.
Real melee fighters are all classes that deal damage via their physical weapon damage and magic damage is not included at all or only marginally.
And there aren’t many that fit the bill.
Barbarian, druid, pure physical ama, pala, assa only with tiger strike.
It’s hard to say which is the strongest. I always find the Fend Amazon and Impale for bosses the most fun.
The Impale Ama can also do trist with the right gear.
I think you meant the other way right? Lightning strike for groups, Charged Strike for bosses?
Very good character, but I prefer javelin and shield just because I like lightning fury more than lightning strike. But these two characters are like splitting hairs.
Melee literally means hand-to-hand combat, so the ones that are in your face attacks, and doesn’t have to be physical. Vengeance, for example. That used to be one of my favorite off-meta melee characters. Berserk is melee, but magic damage.
I mean, my super off-meta ww barb is all elemental and absolutely crushes chaos sanctuary. I can do 1 ww across a group of monsters and most often they will all pop and die in one single pass. He’s great fun, but way off meta. YouTube the “Self-Righteous Barbarian” if you want to check it out 
There may also be classes that mix melee and spells. It just shouldn’t get as out of hand as in D3 or D4.
For me, the whole point of a class concept goes out the window if all classes trigger screen-filling effects and are no longer special.
I have nothing against hybrids, I quite like them. However, with caution and a sensible class background. just turn a werewolf in D4 into a tornado blaster or a bear into an earthquake Char… In the end, such chars are better casters than the casters themselves… It’s all just so much bad design.
ps
Is that you in the video? 
Yes, thanks for the correction.
Agree, “I” just think ranged-strike builds are a class of their own.
And you as well - thanks for the kind words.
So far I have found that Paly’s biggest shared Aura’s are Redemption and Cleansing… which can be had on any character off hand with Plague and Phoenix… admittedly not budget/easy.
I hear you… I figure if they have to get face to face and “strike”, then they are melee… which is why I left WindyDruid off the list… Nado is physical, and while beneficial to get face to face (especially when running a strong Zoo) it’s not a requirement, and he never “strikes” foe.
Spear-aZon deals primarily lightening, but to trigger it she has to strike… hmmm… fine line I guess.
Tesladin/DragonDin or Auradin Combo is even a finer line… as striking is the faster route… but not necessarily required because… pulse… My opinion anyways.
If you took the time to check out my video on my own build, the “Self-Righteous Barbarian”, I appreciate that, and yes, that is me! Any thoughts? Surprisingly effective and fun, while also being tri-elemental (also some poison) and physical. Nothing can stop you, and you are a Barbarian Admittedly, pretty expensive, but extremely fun and effective off-meta.
I’m stocking up more charms for it on Ladder currently, so when it resets, he will be even better. I really want to maybe even go down the Mavina route again, that armor looks awesome on the barb.
I just re-read the OP, and digested this. You should totally give Barbarian a shot if you like melee and haven’t tried one yet. I don’t know your circumstances though, are you playing single player? Online, but need a more SSF approach? Do you have gear already you would spread around, etc.?
Some updates for D2R, is that Leap Attack turns into a decent mobility skill, since it’s way faster now, so that’s a nice QOL before enigma/end game. Also, double throw is very fun and you end up replenishing your stacks for way less repair in town and you’ll even get to a point where you don’t even have to worry anymore.
I’m super happy to help with some toughts on builds if you want.
Thanks.
Have not played a Barb since way back in the 2000’s… Yikees!
95ish% of the time I am SSF online.
Been considering a Throw Barb (does not meet “my” melee requirements, so, there is that) because I am a sucker for collecting Lacerator’s, Demon’s Arch and Grimershreds… so I have some nice eth ones… along with some lower level throwing spears/axes.
The rest of the gear I do not know what would be required, but, have a pretty decent load-outs on mules… I’m way past overdue on making a 2nd account, I just keep - keeping better versions of the stuff I find…
I have 2 really good friends in game that Barb is thier main, so I’m sure I could loan gear, and another friend who seems to enjoy trading more than playing… so… might be ok, hard to say…
Thanks for any further tips advice you might share.