I love close combats - almost always you will see me havind two swords.
Basically, I do one of three (or more of them combined):
- get close to the opponent (with hook for heat-sensitive or with teleport for energy-sensitive players) and deliver pain with either Dismantler (if the opponent has close range weapons, to send it far) or 100 Swords (for those weak in close range)
- minimize damage taken in high range with shield, cooldown or kits, preparing for close range combats)
- do EVERYTHING possible to drain shields and / or energy
The fourth action is to lose as gratiously and honourable as possible when the tactics above fail
Please note that I am a heavy spender (I spend tons on kits): I strongly believe that high-resistance + shield is much more effective than high-hitpoints.
Downsides of this approach - low energy and heat stats