Okay, I have tried several types of builds to see what worked, what I liked, etc.

I tried a Ninja character, I liked it but perhaps I didn’t choose the correct skills, powers, etc. It seemed like all the ranged guys flying around had it made. I had chosen swinging. Wont do that again.

I then tried a ranged electrical guy. I choose flying and that was very nice. I liked the look of the powers but the powers seemed “weak” compared to the damage from melee. Again perhaps I choose the wrong skills, powers.

Finally I tried an armored type with powered boots for travel. Really liked the look of the powers and flight. I didn’t like the Wrist Bolter energy producing attack. I didn’t understand how to “activate” it. It seemed awkward to get it going. I did like the Power Gauntlet attack and the eye beam attack.

Okay so here are my questions:

Is melee an effective choice in both PvE and PvP? I ask because it seems the end game is PvP. If it is did I just choose the wrong type (unarmed)?

What is the “best” ranged type and why?

It seems that the “canned selections” of increased stats (eg Strength, Ego, etc) don’t seem to be very good. For example, Powered Armor comes with Strength and Intelligence, why? What I mean is that it seems that endurance and recovery are the most important stats. Am I missing something?

I'm going to go out of the box here and tell you something unusual. Don't worry about what's best for PvP, PvE, etc. Instead, make a character that you feel a connection with. Think hard on what type of superpowers you'd like to have for real, how you'd like to fight, etc, and make a character based on that. It's a game, after all. The goal is to have fun. And hey, it's not like you get anything for winning every fight. Trust me, hordes of gorgouse large breasted blonde women aren't going to fall out of the woodwork begging to date you because you won your 1000th PvP tournament...

Sometimes I think people get so wrapped up with what other peopel are doing, and not being 'outshown' by others, they forget it really doesn't matter what other people are doing. What DOES matter is, when you log out at the end of the day, you had fun.

Totally agreed with Kamui on this. If you break the game down into 'what is best' as opposed to 'what I want' the experience won't be as rich and enjoyable.

Simply go with what feels right to the character you have in your head and don't worry too much about other people doing 2% more damage than you at end game. Your playstyle will naturally adapt to your skills as you become more familiar with them and it'll feel that much more rewarding because you've got what you wanted.

And remember just because you´re melee in your "main" powerset doesn´t mean you cannot use ranged powers. Build it into your character in a good way (might not want wristbolt for a Ninja right) but check the powersets for something that you´ll like.

they are correct..and most powersets have a ranged ability, though not neccesarily the 'best' one, according to what one wants to build
and a big thing new people miss out on is the passive powers..
get a good one..ive tried the martial arts ones(cant for the life of me remember) and just havent ever been satisfied by them, but ive taken invulnerability(because it mainly works out for strength on my melee builds) and ive had good success with it..its imperative u get a DEF passive before lvl 10 in my opinion..makes it a lot easier

Also consider that since it is so soon after launch that the mechanics are in flux so your uberbuild now might not be quite what you enjoy playing.
I tried elec in OB and found that it was too click-happy for me, so I'm just looking for powers I like to use and don't hamper me too much

Thanks for everyones input and I appreciate the perspective. That said, I am not sure I want to spend 5 months on a character I "like" that is horrible at the end game which looks to be PvP. I am not trying to get the FOTM or the uberbuild. I am really just trying to see what people have tried in either melee or ranged and see what worked. Maybe I didnt slecet the best skills and some feedback would not only improve my abilities but improve my enjoyment. That was my goal at least.

So that all said, any feedback on powers or skills that people have found good? What are some to avoid?

All of my characters are melee, and I enjoy them. I just don't have fun playing ranged. The majority of people in PVP seem to play the same griefer builds, I just prefer playing something that actually has character.

I will sound like a noob here but its because i am, where do you get the defense passive abilities, i made a dual blades guy and i just kept buying new attacks when i could and also a jumpto/jump away from the enemy one. Is it at the same time as buying those powers that i can pick up a defensive one>?

As soon as i went over level 10 and i had no defenses other than block i was failing miserably. I have started my frost character now and so far the only new ability i have chosen is flight and a buff to myself ability, should my next one be a defense?