Don't wanna sound like a ****** but there is only a couple classes that really needs to be stealthed to dps, I know my swash has 1 attack where they need to be stealthed and she parses some very respectable numbers, same with my brig, or he did when I played him.
Fighters are not DPS classes. A scout will always out damage a fighter in equivalent gear and player skill. Plus, half if a tank's abilities are useless when not tanking. You say you want a solid, melee character that can do good DPS without worrying about position. You 're going to have to compromise somewhere, because tanks sacrifice DPS for survivability, while scouts sacrifice toughness for damage. I'd suggest maybe a Beastlord, since you don't recall need to use stealth or positional attacks (though they're more effective if they do).
Was in a fabled group the other day with an SK tank in defensive stance but dps gear (mostly) who was knocking out regularly 1m dps on the mass pulls. Was quite impressive but I as the ranger was easily doubling it without trying too hard to be at my optimum. He was consistently #2 in the parse though. Wonder what he'd be like in reckless....
You can't look at a single number like that and draw any conclusions. My monk can break 3mil. DPS on large encounters if I get lucky with Dragonfire refreshes, especially in large encounters with some linked, no-arrow heroics (yay, Dev Fist for 200,000,000!) if the SK was doing 1mil, a good DPS class could be topping 2mil+ in similar circumstances. Fighters are also aggro ******, since most don't have threat reduction abilities or positional hate drops. So even if they're doing equivalent DPS to a real DPS class, they make it tougher on the tank (most group buffs that reduce hate also don't affect fighters). Then there is the factor of force multiplication. Most DPS classes come equipped with several buffs or debuffs that increase the effectiveness of the rest of the group. Brigand mitigation debuffs make the entire group do up to 50% more damage, assassin HP debuffs effectively multiply the damage the group deals, and they help the tank hold aggro with their hate transfer. In other words, personal DPS is only part of the equation, utility is also very important. An SK or zerker may be able to beat a dirge or illy on the parse, but a huge chunk of the fighter's damage is likely because of said dirge or illy, and a real DPS class would put those buffs to better use.
I did say I was doubling his parse without really trying, but I was impressed at his numbers compared to my tanks
If Reckless Stacnce was changed to that All Positionals where -positions and all Taunts where Detaunts... And a Reckless Tank was considered to be a "Non-Fighter" when Reckless. then a DPS Fighter would be viable if groups. Also making the Pally/Monk/Guard Reckless Stance not drop when a mob looks at us would make it useful also. Edit: maybe leaving 1 or 2 snaps normal would work... like Rescue and Sneering Assault.
I DPS as an sk in smaller zones like The Hive, or Nexus and such that doesn't require a lot to save my butt from pulling aggro from the tank. I also stand next to the tank to not re-position a mob or named if I pull aggro that kills damage from back stabbers who require position based fights to pull off mass amounts of damage. I am still working on hate reducing items to get to the -50% hate gain to see what else I can do in Reckless with 1000% potency, I can do easily 1mill dps and sometimes on longer fights with adds top 2mill. I feel if I went to harder zones as a DPS I would hinder the group instead of helping because of how hard the encounters get and sometimes more DPS is needed. But it is possible you just won't be taken seriously if you are strictly looking to be DPS then you should try a pure DPS class.
If you're grouped with people that have below average gear/skills then you could likely go full DPS (and likely even tank), but you will be limited by the difficulty of the zone you're trying to clear. The greater the challenge the more likely you will have to play your class as it is 'intended'. If you're playing with decent players, you shouldn't equate to DPS as the real DPS classes should be outparsing you by a fair amount. If they are not, they lied and aren't decent players or they are afk.
