Current Combat Skills are somehow very Limiting and very Suffocating to be Honest.
And very Grindy on Top.

They Block people from going to actually Learn PvP or Combat in General because its just not worth Participating in a fight unless your practically entirely skilled.
And they also Severely Limit what you can use and how you can use it.



I think this System is not a good choice here. Especially for a Sandbox Game.
So I would Suggest a Full Rework.


1.
Remove the Warrior Classes entirely and instead use Weapon and Armor Classes Seperately.
Instead have 3 Skill Trees that Split up.

1.
Weapon Mastery Tree. (Not a Skill to be leveled)

2.
Armor Mastery Tree. (Not a Skill to be leveled)

3.
Combat Support Tree. (Not a Skill to be leveled)


2.
The Tree should look like this.


Weapon Mastery:

One Handed Style
-- Long and Bastard Swords.
-- Heavy Hammers and Maces
-- Knifes and Daggers

Two Handed Style
-- Spears
-- Lances
-- Two Handed Swords
-- Heavy Axes
-- Halberds

Ranged Style
-- Slings and Throwing Weapons (Knifes/Axes/Grenades)
-- Bows
-- Crossbows

Shield Style.
-- One Handed Swords
-- Maces and Hammers
-- Short Spears
-- Axes

Styles will allow the Use of Basic Weapons of their Class. And will offer some basic common Skills as well as provide a Buff if Leveled beyond 60
The Specializations will then Unlock the Better Weapons for that Class and will offer Unique Skills for that Weapon as well as way Stronger Buffs for that Weapon if going beyond 60



Armor Mastery

Light Armors (Padded and Leather Armor)

Medium Armors (Scale and Chain Armior)

Heavy Armors. (Half Plate and Plate Armor)

Armor Skills will Unlock Novice Armors at 30. Regular Armors at 60. Heavy Armor on 90. And Royal Armor on 100.
Armor Skills will also Offer Buffs that are Importand to these Armors.

Light Armors will offer Running Speed Buffs. Because they are Light and thus allow you to Run Fast.
Medium Armors will offer Weapon Speed Buffs. Because they might be Heavy but still allow alot of Freedom of Movement.
Heavy Armors will offer Equipment Load Buffs

Needless to say Light Armors will have Weaker Protection but will be Lighter.
Medium Armors will offer Solid Protection but also be Heavier of course.
Heavy Armors will offer Really Hardcore Protection. But they will be really Heavy and will Slow you Down.



Combat Support

Just like Before with one Exception.
These are actually fine.
Albeit they could be a bit more Powerful since currently most of em are simply not worth choosing

The one Exception would be Mounted Combat.
Mounted Combat would allow use of War Horses and Improve your Damage when using Weapons from Mount.



This would allow Players to Choose a Weapon and an Armor and Roll with it.

Light Armor would by Default of course be a Good Choice for Ranged Fighters because they would offer you a Higher Speed to Run around.
Heavy Armor would make you really Good Protected. But you would be Slow on Foot being easy to Pick on if you dont got a Horse or other Players for Support.
Medium Armor would be the main Stay due to the Damage Buff. Being the Choice for Infantry as it offers good Protection and a Damage Buff. Even if its somewhat weaker than Heavy Armor.

Heavy Armor would likely always be taken together with Mounted Combat because just like in Real World Knights in Plate Armor needed a Horse to actually be able to Move in a Fight
Only Dismounting when in the Thick of a Melee Battle.


At the same time it would allow Weapon Mixes.
A Knight could be fairly well Spread with Heavy Armor and Mounted Combat as well as having several Weapons to his Skills. But none of them Maxed out.
Meanwhile a Heavy Infantry would have Maxed out Heavy Armor and likely Max out either a One Handed or Two Handed Weapon by not getting Mounted Combat.
Especially Mercenaries which work in smaller Groups would likely work with Medium Armors and some Maintenance Skills


In General I think this System would Offer a Far Superior Feeling to most.
And it would also be somewhat faster to Level and easier to Access for most Players.