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I don't like it, mostly because mote regen is the problem, not the solution.

I didn't know where else to post this so I will post it here. Having a weapon listed as a favored weapon for a martial art just gives that weapon the martial tag for that martial art meaning that with that art you can choose to use either your melee or martial art ability when using it with those charm sets and has no bearing on what weapons you can use with your martial arts charms as long as you have melee, right? or is that not the way that it works at all?

Incorrect. A weapon listed with a martial art (I will refer to it as a form weapon) makes attacks with that weapon count as 'unarmed attacks' for the purposes of charms in that martial arts style. This has the incidental effect of letting you use the Martial Arts skill when you use that weapon in general.

OK, so I just want people's opinion on something then. Other than say the Siddie melee tree (especially taken with a daiklave along with VBoS), is there a point in which melee is on par with martial arts? I only ask because I keep hearing about how horrible melee is, and so I have to wonder why do people take it, especially if MA is so much better.

Solar Melee is really good. Sidereal Melee is actually only so-so. Lunar charms are good with any attack form, so that's not applicable. Same with Infernals. Abyssal Melee is also very good. Martial Arts is not strictly better than Melee. In several places it is actually worse (little or no access to perfect effects, generally weaker charms than Solar-tier Exalts on a mote per effect level).

Martial Arts excels in giving you a lot of random tools in your toolbox, many of which have only peripheral relation to actually hitting things. Melee on the other hand concentrates on the use of a weapon above all else. You can't jump or run or soak or stealth with Melee. You can sometimes get those out of Martial Arts.

Hmm after dealing with the system dodge+ma seems better in the long run. I am sure that custom charms can be made to fix some of it.

It just depends on what you are wanting. Melee is the fast track to power, and gives you very direct abilities that are all combat applicable. MA gives you cool stuff, but there is usually a big buy in for it. So it ultimately depends on what your goals are.

As far as dodge vs parry, you generally are going to get higher dodge dv's, esp as you go up in essence, but that is not always the case. There are many things that will up parry dv, and some weapons that give very high defense ratings.