Do you ever use melee?

[Hoodinski]

I gotta say I never use melee attacks- always rely on guns. Is there any sense in using melee combat?

[Evul]

Only when I don't have fire armes and are inside behind a door.

[userfredle]

If it was more fleshed out hell yes I would use melee besides in scarce no guns situations.

Shields - Decent chance to block bullets get better shields as game progresses so theyre not just suicidal maniacs rushing in to die in almost every situation

Melee skill granting bonus to movement speed or a "charge ability" gaining range every level (Maybe a stun too for the lulz) .

Also WTF TYNAN NO MECHANOID MELEE WEAPONS

Wheres my giant bionic pulse maul

[Wex]

Well, monowire or vibroblades weapon (I am sure you can google those) would make a pretty good and realistic top melee weapons (chainswords aren't)

[userfredle]

Well, monowire or vibroblades weapon (I am sure you can google those) would make a pretty good and realistic top melee weapons (chainswords aren't)

DID SOMEONE SAY VIBROBLADES?

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[Geokinesis]

Also WTF TYNAN NO MECHANOID MELEE WEAPONS

Well you can remove the knives from incap'd scythers and replace a colonist's hands with them.

[skullywag]

When using my tazer yes.

[Merry76]

Because the game uses melee entirely wrong, I dont ever use it.

What do I mean with wrong? In Rimworld, if you have a low melee score, you are not able to hit a human sized enemy reliably. You then get better and better until you hit pretty much every time. However, your melee skill does not help you to avoid being hit.

In short, its exactly the other way around than it is in real life: its damn hard to land a clean hit on a good fighter, even for another good fighter. Fights between novices usually end quicker because they cant protect themselves as well as masters, and hitting a man sized object is rather simple if it doesnt dodge or block properly.

I am not saying that Melee skill shouldnt affect the ability to hit, but it should mainly be an evasive bonus. If the game wants melee to be somewhat realistic, that is. If it doesnt give a damn about it, I might only ever use it in dire situations (ambushing a sniper, for instance).

[Ludov]

I actually had a very nice go of using Brawler-trait melee colonists in my last playthrough.

At the point I'm in, thanks to some lucky purchases, I've had one which, toting a spear and wearing power armor and power helmet, is an utter beast that I now always keep around during large scale tribal raids when numbers manage to break through my lines of ranged attacker(sadly I don't have a power setup that easily handles multiple layers of turrets).

She's even took on a Scyther bot one-on-one and came up on top.

[ITypedThis]

Oh, definitely.

A skilled colonist, especially a brawler, equipped with a good weapon like a spear or a short sword can be more valuable than a skilled shot with a charge rifle, and far more lethal.

[Geokinesis]

I use melee when fighting other humans but not for hunting in the beginning as even with basic weapons animals destroy melee hunters.

[michal3588]

Oh, definitely.
A skilled colonist, especially a brawler, equipped with a good weapon like a spear or a short sword can be more valuable than a skilled shot with a charge rifle, and far more lethal.

In closed area, corridors and waiting behind the corner, yes. But at the open space definitely no. It's good to have 1-2 brawlers in case that raiders reach your shooters. More than that is a nightmare to micromanage because they won't jump between enemies in larger group. They'll just kill the manually ordered enemy and then stay there waiting for death :/

[Mathenaut]

I make a point to pick up at least 1 melee specialist.  In my entrance chokepoint, I have a little alcove that he is hidden behind, and I have him jump out at the back of the zerg, when the pirates are targeting the other colonists/turrets.

It's damn spiffy.  Since people don't shoot in melee, it means that he functionally shreds anyone he's up against in a few hits.  It's especially good when pirates are clustered, as I can draw more than one guy into melee and wack them down.

[ITypedThis]

In closed area, corridors and waiting behind the corner, yes. But at the open space definitely no. It's good to have 1-2 brawlers in case that raiders reach your shooters. More than that is a nightmare to micromanage because they won't jump between enemies in larger group. They'll just kill the manually ordered enemy and then stay there waiting for death :/

No, not out in the open, unfortunately.

I like to have a small elite force of well-equipped and armoured melee fighters for ambushing groups of raiders that have split-up, intercepting fleeing raiders, storming larger groups of enemies from behind closed doors, rescuing incapacitated colonists, guarding immobile colonists (typically in their rooms/the hospital), guarding the prison doors to prevent a jailbreak, capturing raiders, and anything else that I might want on a rainy-day. Sometimes even a direct assault on lone/very small targets.

Micromanaging, on the other hand can get a little annoying to be fair, but I personally don't mind it too much because it like to watch the armageddon that unfolds on the battlefield.

In my opinion, they can do much more than guard the gunners, and it is a waste of good men and women to leave them only to such.

[christhekiller]

I usually give Brawlers melee weapons and they'll wait behind cover (the kind where raiders can't shoot them) and if any melee troops get in close I'll have my Brawlers engage them.