There have been a numerous amount of posts regarding the viability of melee in general; supremacy of ranged over melee, the lack of melee survivability, and dps versus instakills. These, amongst a plethora of other things, have sparked quite a few debacles (and many microwaves for popcorn) - but after Ravenloft's power creep (must be referred to as power-flood), melee dps is back to the pinnacle of the spectrum, and are very viable in reaper - provided that they are sufficiently optimized.
Melee require the most extensive gear and optimization, as you must be able to make DC checks, deal DPS surpassing that of any other role in terms of consistency, and stay alive in the midst of a crowd of mobs. You must hone and focus your gear/enhancements to empower *every aspect* of your character, arguably more so than any other class type - and anything short of sheer perfection results in your becoming of a soul stone; which is why the melee-endgame has been very desolate.
In an attempt to breathe more life into the melee role (and honestly, to improve the overall quality of melees in pugs), I'll periodically post a number of builds here, and every ounce of feedback and criticism is welcome!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fQfGzMspdfFV8pA0n_MWyp9gu1uJbyjcLQsOkq7-...(I may make multiple sub-posts on this thread, depending on how many red bulls I chug tonight)