Despite this being slightly tangential to VFX, I'll add my two cents to the discussion on melee combat flair.
I would assume this to mostly be a matter of animation variety and sheer quantity, and not VFX (particle effects and the like). I certainly hope you guys aren't asking for over-the-top melee combat particle effects.
It's not unreasonable to believe that more combat animations will be added further down the production pipeline.
While it is a nice idea, I doubt we will see "blocked by armor".
An important factor in game design is clear player feedback. If you show a character hitting, but not inflicting HP reduction, that muddles the player feedback (did I do damage or not? Will have to check enemy health bar). One could argue this being less important in a tactical game, where player reactions are not being challenged, than say a first-person shooter. Still, I doubt this will make the cut.
I do however agree that melee combat lacks that punchiness to it.
Shield blocking, deflection and dodging would be nice though.
