Melee means close quarter combat. Examples include spear, sword, mace, dagger or fist combat. It's the opposite of ranged attacks, and generally mean that the character or monster that is within melee range can be attacked by others in melee range. Melee range is about 1-3 yards, normally. The word melee will also apply when a combatant use a spell or spell-like ability to damage her opponent while being in such a close vicinity to it that it could hurt her back in turn. Some melee attacks use an Area of Effect instead of a single individual as target.
Melee Classes
In Diablo 3, the following classes are considered "caster" classes:
- Barbarian - Pure melee class. Almost no non-melee oriented skills.
- Other classes - Many players are expecting some sort of melee/caster hybrid as a class to be announced by Blizzard.
Melee Monsters
The majority of monsters in Diablo III are melee-oriented, with a few exceptions. Here are a few examples of melee monsters, with different mechanics:
- Goatman - Straight forward cannonfodder. They run up, hit fast but not very hard and then the player kills them. Dangerous in great numbers.
- Skeletal Shieldman - A soldier that can absorb a huge amound of damage with shields, shielding themselves as well as ranged monsters behind them. Attach from behind, or stun them for easy kills.
- Skeletal Executioner - Slow but powerful attacks. A player can move out of the way, and kill the monster after his power-swing.
- Activated Vessel - Generally high life and damage monster. Like chopping down a big tree, with dangers of being hit by a falling branch.
- Grotesque - Durable with average attacks, and a special ability to release Lamprey when he dies.
- Wraith - Incorporeal monster with ability to drain life. Often resistant or immune to physical damage.