Would be nice if melee attacks were an option, allowing you to charge in to make that knife or bayonet stab/rifle butt/pistol whip to finish off a wounded opponent, or as a desperate last resort when you’re out of ammo.
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Agree it would be great to have a “last resort” melee attack when one or both arms are injured - soldiers feel definitely too powerless now, when they have no way to use their main weapon.
They should be able to do melee attacks in general, both for ammo conservation/finisher and desperation purposes.
I suppose there could be a bayonet attack as the last chance, if the soldier has run out of ammo, has no injured arms and needs to deal only a tiny amount of damage. But it could require special training and if there’s no kill soldier may have reduced willpower and/or panic after that. You have to be really desperate to attack a mutant this way.
So far we have crabmen, that look beefy enough, and the Queen, that no one in his right mind would want to engage in melee, but the full enemy roster may include smaller/less threatening creatures that could be considered valid melee targets.
I mean, I can also see there being specialized melee weapons as well, and their space-tech melee attachments might be better than the ones we have now; vibro/HF/mono-molecular nano-engineered blades and such.
I think this will be part of the final game. As in, I think it’s already planned. After all, you can pick up the crabman claws and shields but you can’t use them yet because they’re not implemented. So even if you can’t take melee weapons with you, you could always make sure you kill a claw crabman and steal his claw.
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I’m onboard with melee attacks and/or specialized weapons and skills. Maybe even a counterattack ability like the soldier’s return fire. To compensate for the relative rarity of melee attacks, maybe increase the chance to dodge attacks from adjacent squares also.
Yeah, I’m on board with this. Last resort bladed weapons (knives/bayonets) will great for if - no, when I’m out of ammo, with my back to the wall, with the gribblies closing in. It’ll make for some great “last stand” scenarios, whether or not my soldiers live to tell the tale.
Oh, and I just know that some lunatic is going to do a “melee only” run in Phoenix Point, and post it all on the interwebs. So that’ll be fun too.
There are specialization(s) geared toward stealth planned, with melee weapons, so I see this happening 100% 
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I discovered that you can pick up dead Crabbie body parts and use them - but be careful of guns: they tend to blow up in your face! So it is possible to pick up a claw and hit things with it once your gun is down, but it would be good if all creatures could simply do limited punch/club damage once their weapon was down.
I’m not sure, but it’s possible that the Crabbies do this already. I’ve been clubbed by a Crabbie who’s gun I disabled, but at the time I was too busy trying to survive to clock whether he had a Claw on his other arm or not.
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@MichaelIgnotus The issue with picking up enemy weapons is currently a bug and is mentioned in the Game Guide PDF which comes with the Backer Build.
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Thanks UV. I think the point people are trying to make in this thread is that it would be good if there was a default to ‘Punch/Club’ for both sides.
I’ve taken to targeting enemy weapons on the basis that even with the Crabbie Queen, once their weapons are down I don’t have to worry about them any more (unless she destroys a building on top of me).
If they (and we) could still inflict limited Club damage when in melee range, it would a) be more realistic and b) more challenging.
If they (and we) could still inflict limited Club damage when in melee range, it would a) be more realistic and b) more challenging.
While I think that a dedicated meele class will be available, I second the notion of every soldier/mutant being able to meele as a sort of last resort. Right now, once you disable a crabman’s weapon, he stops being a threat. I would like to see them trying to clobber me with their shields if nothing else works, and I’d love to be able, once I’m out of ammo, to at least charge at an enemy and punch them.
But it could require special training and if there’s no kill soldier may have reduced willpower and/or panic after that. You have to be really desperate to attack a mutant this way.
Also, this. WIthout special training (aka, the class/skill), failing to kill should result in a massive loss of willpoints and/or panic. Maybe even the meeleattack should cost a bit of will, to even muster up the courage to charge the mutant.
Still, I’m in favour of a general “all-purpose-hit-them-on-the-head” meele, whatever the details may be.
Also, how could we kill their biggest Bosses and Queens, if not by shouting: “Fix Bayonets!” and charging them in meele?
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So far we have crabmen, that look beefy enough, and the Queen, that no one in his right mind would want to engage in melee
While I agree for the Queen (well vechicle RAMs it now 
) Crabmen can come very close.
Well, I loved that TSOD has developed strong melee weapons - thanks to Lobsterman.
Anyone remembers HEAVY LANCE?
Note: Engeener now has “melee” attack as STUN, but in Xcom style - if he STUNS enemy for research, then its not real MELEE 
In reply to Raiden
I would like to see them trying to clobber me with their shields if nothing else works, and I’d love to be able, once I’m out of ammo, to at least charge at an enemy and punch them.
Agreed, every living being should be able to fight until the bitter end.