Hi I'm a longtime player that's returning from like Issue 7 era obviously interspersed with a bunch of other games played like Champions, Pathfinder, Overwatch, Lancer, etc, other things you could fit in 1.5 decades.
One thing I've noted is that there's a specific niche I believe CoH doesn't really address, and that's the Melee Support role - all support roles currently, with Defender, Controller, Corruptor, and Mastermind, are chiefly made to operate with ranged powersets for their attacks. Here's something that aims to try and get this role satisfied by an Archetype that fills that niche:
The Warden
Primary: Warding
Secondary: Melee
Inherent: Vindication
The Warden is a versatile close-quarters combatant that leads the fight, capable of bolstering its allies while simultaneously dishing it out. While particularly competent both on their own and in groups, owing to their Warding powers providing buffs for both themselves and nearby allies, they are limited necessarily by distance - for their allies to get benefits, it needs to place itself centrally, and with that deal with all the dangers that poses!
Stat Abstract:
Survivability
7
Melee Damage
7
Ranged Damage
2
Crowd Control
4
Support
7
Pets
2
About Vindication:
Wardens' capabilities are kept in check by their natural recognition of battle-wide morale and opportunity. When pushed to their limits, on the brink of destruction, their Vindication drive drops, improving their defensive and supportive potential - once aid is rendered, openings are created, and spirits are high, Vindication surges, and the strength and accuracy of a warden's attacks sharply rises, ready to deliver the decisive counterattack!
Vindication works with an extra status bar, similar to Brute Fury - when outside of battle, this bar will stabilize around 50%, and the current level of Vindication can alter how certain abilities operate, signaled by the color it adapts:
0-33%: Merciful - Warding abilities offer defensive and restorative benefits, and the Warden's Mez resistance improves.
33-66%: Balanced - Ready for combat: the Warden and their nearby allies gain slight passive boosts to their damage output, defenses, accuracy, and movement speed.
66-100%: Vindictive - The opening is shown, as opponents lose their energy, fall victim to control statuses, or lose health - seize the opportunity! Sharp boosts are given to the Warden's damage output and accuracy, and Warding abilities now emphasize boosting offensive capabilities via recovery, accuracy, damage, etc.
About Warding Powersets:
The specialized Warding powerset choices offer a combined suite of personal defenses and specialized PBAoE support options - with powersets like a Force Field/Energy Aura combination, or an Empathy/Regeneration combo probably offering the most natural conversions. In general, they follow a framework that would look like this for each power granted per level:
PBAoE burst (healing aura, tweaked repulsion field with some Vindication mechanics, etc)
PBAoE aura toggle (Dispersion Bubble, Regeneration Aura) - a core defensive and support mechanic.
etc - Personal defense toggle i.e. defensive sets
etc
Flexible PBAoE Support Burst - temporary buff
PBAoE Panic Button option - Decrease Vindication on command.
etc
Targeted entry AoE - get to the center of combat as fast as possible (i.e. leap attack)
Personal Defense Panic Button option (elude, moment of glory, etc.)
As can be seen the Warding Powerset designation's necessary since it's really quite its own beast - a combined Support/Defense powerset. The core things to keep in mind on its design is that they're
A - not designed with targeting allies in mind. You're going to see lots of that PBAoE delimiter tossed around in implementation of these sets - the core conceit is for the Warden to be able to provide this defense/support to things nearby itself, rather than having to target specific things. For reference think of the playstyle of a character such as Lucio (Overwatch) or Gunner (Deep Rock Galactic) - the class doesn't need time to choose what target to help, just that they're there, passively helping, and are an active combatant at the same time.
B - context sensitive. Because it's very much its own beast (i.e. yes something that hasn't been done before ever in CoH) this gives it some opportunity to tie more closely into how the archetype's core mechanics operate. This is perhaps the main thing that might save the implementation of the powerset - most implementations will probably be stretched really thin because they're trying to shove two powersets into one, so then by necessity, the effects of some of the powers will be highly dependent on what level of Vindication is being used.
Example Warding Powerset Drafts:
Powerset/Abstract
Regrowth - Emphasis on regeneration, recovery, healing, etc.
Barriers - High defense, deflection, knockback of opponents
Flame - it's element. That's kinda hot.
Sensory - "Super Reflexes" as support, combined with lots of sight, accuracy, etc.
Fervor - The "Warlord" angle; directly bolstering morale, leading the charge, etc.
Faith - The "Paladin" angle; versatile "Willpower" support.
Music - The "Bard" angle.
Tier 1 (burst)
Regenerative Burst (click heal/energy)
Forcefield Burst (click knockdown/defense burst)
Flame Wave (click damage/backdraft)
Acuity (click stealth removal/defense debuff)
Command (click fear/damage boost)
Rally (click heal/resistance)
Chorus (click regenerate/speed)
Tier 2 (toggle aura)
Regrowth Aura
Area Forcefield
Warmth Aura
Spotter
Leadership Stance
Congregation
Backing Tune
Tier 3 (personal defense)
Improved Regeneration
Personal Forcefield
Fiery Skin
Heightened Senses
Bolstered Armoring
Shield of Faith
Fancy Footwork
Tier 4
Absorb Pain (wide area heavy heal, deal self damage)
Hardened Energy (toggle self-slow for added resistance?)
Blazing Aura
Panopticon (area toggle that grants mez resist/stealth sight)
Reprovision (Boosted damage output, redistribution of energy/health of teammates?)
Blessing (pre-fight general buff, pbaoe)
Encore (revive?)
Tier 5 (temp context sensitive
buff, reduce Vindication)
Adaptive Health (several ticks of healing or energy, improved resistance)
Power Drain (drain enemy power, grant allies either the energy, or improved attacks.)
Consume (applied to multiple allies)
Callout (targeted debuff that severely weakens the target's damage or defense - pointing out incoming attack or weakness)
Bolster (restore own energy with nearby allies, or offer accuracy)
Miracle (restore health, or reduce enemy resistances)
Bridge (boost movement speed or regeneration)
Tier 6
Undying (aoe revival)
Enclave (self-immobilizing massive resistance boost)
Smokeout (Creates massive cloud of smoke, blinding/choking enemies, reduce accuracy)
Halflight (Massive defense boost for self and nearby allies.)
Recoup (radiate an area of protection, mez resistance.)
Untarnished (burst heal and mez removal)
Crescendo (mez area)
Tier 7
Speedy Recovery Aura
Passive Bulwark
Heat Aura
Lucky Aura
Inspiring Aura
Sanctuary Aura
Groovy Aura
Tier 8 (targeted entry AoE)
Vitality Rush
Barrier Roll
Firewalker
Adrenaline Rush
Lead the Charge
Godspeed
Power Slide (if the powerset actually uses a guitar, this'd be fun.)
Tier 9 (personal panic button)
Moment of Glory
Overload
Phoenix Rising
Elude
Battle Cry
Strength of Will
Finale
About Melee Damage Powerset tweaks:
Wardens, like Brutes and Tankers, get Taunt.
Any abilities similar to Build Up will also be integrated into Vindication mechanics, manually Increasing Vindication for the Warden when activated.