Just bought the game last week, and (apparently) I've already logged over forty hours into it. I must say, it's been a pleasantly addictive experience, and I look forward to eventually getting my hands on the final product.
That said, I figured I'd join in on the Suggestion bandwagon. I've played five different character types, and that's given me a few thoughts on things. That said, I'll start with melee (and knives in particular).
I've had a lot of fun messing around with melee, and its interesting to see the 'categories' of melee weaponry. Knives are the quick-attacking low-damage option, and sledgehammers are the slow heavy hitters. Unarmed kind of straddles the line between the two, given the option of leather or metal gloves.
From a character-building standpoint, there are a number of Feats that apply to melee-users that can influence their growth:
Hammers: Bone Breaker, Cheap Shots, Pummel
Knives: Cheap Shots, Crippling Strike, Cut-Throat
Unarmed: Bone Breaker, Cheap Shots, Deflection, Dirty Kick (kind of), Heavy Punch, Lightning Punches
There's some synergy with other Feats, too, like 'Opportunist' (especially in relation to Cheap Shots) and 'Recklessness'. Cut-Throat is incredibly powerful, of course, but it requires an exceptionally high Stealth skill (and appropriate equipment). All told, the current feats for melee weapons are more or less balanced - although Unarmed does get a bit of extra love, not that I'm complaining.
From an equipment standpoint, though, it falls apart a little. Hammers and Unarmed are more exceptional here, especially when custom-building equipment, due to the potential for special attachments. Shock and Piston attachments can significantly increase damage output, at the cost of energy/recharge upkeep, and blades add a nice (but relatively inconsequential) bleeding damage debuff.
Knives don't really match that, though. At the moment, there are three types of knives that come in two different materials - with no options for attachments. Ignoring weapon quality, the average Tungsten Dagger/Knife with about 7-12 damage with an AP cost of 12. That allows for four attacks per round, with an average of 10 damage per hit (discounting crits). At the moment, I believe the best knife is a quest reward, and it comes with a small bonus to defense.
With that in mind, it might be nice to see a few knife mods enter the scene. Maybe some kind of molecular sharpening mod (bonus damage/crit at the cost of durability?), or a custom/weighted grip (bonus to accuracy?). The shock mod for Unarmed/Hammers might be a good fit as well, and some kind of poison or venom mod might also be appropriate (either a low but persistent 'poison' damage modifier, or something that requires periodic reloading).
More Feats are always fun too, of course - although I realize that there are already more on the way. A few potentials spring to mind:
Aim for the Gap / Penetrating Strike: Triggered knife (and possibly unarmed) attack that partially mitigates armor. Provides some extra damage potential against heavily armored targets.
Batter Up / Swing for the Fences: Triggered ability granting bonus damage with a Sledgehammer, at the expense of a boosted AP cost (effectively making it a single attack for the round, given the 25AP attack cost on most hammers). Equivalent to the 'Heavy Punch' Feat for Unarmed. Possibly with a knock-back, knockdown, or stun type effect? Not sure if knock-back or knockdown is something that can be coded in the current engine. Seems redundant to suggest incapacitate or stun, given that those effects are already possible with the Cheap Shots Feat.
Follow Through: Passive ability, granting a small number of bonus Movement Points after a successful melee attack? Allows for maneuvering between strikes, or for a hasty retreat after several successful hits. Synergizes well with Hit and Run.
Go for the Eyes / Eye Gouge: Triggered unarmed attack that does minor (or no) damage, but reduces a living target's combat stats for several turns. Effectively a single-target version of the 'Yell' Feat, but with a focus on Melee instead of Intimidate. Might also apply to knives (although stabbing someone in the eye with a knife would probably do more damage
).
Hamstring: Triggered knife attack that slows a target (possibly with bleeding damage?). Effectively a 'knife' version of the Kneecap Feat. Provides a potential route of retreat for injured melee-fighters, and works well with 'Opportunist'.
Razor's Edge: Passive ability, granting a small bonus to critically hit with knives - or maybe a percentage chance to cause bleeding damage (maybe on a crit?). Grants a persistent buff to knife-type weapons, matching the persistent buffs offered to Hammers and Unarmed (Bone Breaker, Deflection, Lightning Punches).
