I'm triggered by ME:A Asari Duelist. Please, send help.

I know this will be an unpopular, minority opinion.

But I not only like the addition of melee weapons, I think its actually in keeping with the lore. In fact, given the technologies that get described and used, deployment of melee weapons would be practically mandatory for a military organization.

But my favorite Sci-fi novel as a kid was Dune. Dune makes clear early on that the technology of personal shields had rendered ballistic weapons like firearms an extremely unreliable means of killing someone. A combatant unprepared to fight with a blade was going to die quickly if charged directly. Hand-to-hand combat was less possibility than inevitability.

Frankly, this sounds an AWFUL lot like the Mass Effect trilogy, where various defenses, including personal shields, turn both Shepard and the bad guys into bulletsponges.

Plus, I really want to use Biotic charge + Krogan hammer and feel good about it. So neener, neener to you killjoys!