The main thing to understand about melee combat is the huge difference in how fatigue works now. Originally your fatigue level would directly scale your damage output - full stamina meant full damage while empty stamina cut your damage in half following a smooth formula. Now things are way more forgiving since fatigue only starts hurting your damage when you're running on fumes around 30% or lower, which makes a big difference in how you approach fights. Watch your positioning since fatigue management isn't as crucial anymore, you can focus more on aggressive attacks without obsessing over the stamina bar.

What's interesting is how this changes the whole combat flow - you don't need to carefully time your power attacks or back off to recover stamina as much, just keep an eye on that 30% threshold. The sweet spot is staying above that critical level while maintaining pressure, and if you do drop below just back off for a quick breather until you recover enough to get back in there. Testing shows consistent damage output all the way down until you hit that threshold, so you've got way more flexibility in how you handle combat situations.