I only started up the melee tree a month ago ... I am a humble digger and maker of things.
I have found the follow:
Accuracy is king. If you can't hit it there isn't any point fighting it.
HPs next as you need them to survive.
HP reg - if you are solo (reduces down time)
Stam is important to use higher ql weapons.
Stam reg - if you are solo (reduces down time)
Taunt - if you want to be a tank taunt is a must.
Inc damage - nice as it reduces the length of the fight.
Attack after dodge/parry based on you preference in defencive stance. (I used parry against melee targets and dodge against magical creatures)
Attack after Fient - useful if you are a heavy hitter. (becuase of the credit)
My golden rule is I dont hunt without a healer.
With a healer the downtime is reduced to a very short break to top up the healer every few pulls. 2 healers means zero downtime.
When I fight with a healer, I watch their HP and SAP not mine, thats their job
Their HP/Sap lvls dictate the speed of the hunt.
I use (when not dualing) max HP credit and Stam credit to top up the difference. This means even if the mob is a 2 hit wonder they always get one heal in per fight and qualify for the XP. Young healers may only have HP heal and they like fighters who are not heavily dependant on Stam.
Ignore armour is useful if you want to use then 'wrong' weapon on a mob ... I tend to fight with the right weapon for the mob, so don't use this at the moment. Things change and I may find it useful later on.
Circle attack is great for clearing low lvl mobs in groups or dealing with add in a larger team with good healers.
I haven't used bleed, but any extra damage is always a good thing .... it does however limit you to slashing weapons to get the benefit.
Auras they are great but expensive ... I plan to get these as I level my sub branches.
I don't find hunting boring at all. This is purely down to the way I hunt.
I hunt in a team... minimum (1xtank+1xhealer) ... I have regularly hunted in teams of 9 but balance is often an issue ....team balancing is much to complex an issue for this post.
Why don't I get bored as main tank in a hunting team....
1. I select mobs to fight that will drop in 3 rounds max (from the damage team) and give between 2.5-3k a kill. (exception double pulls if in a good team 2 mobs can be handled 1.5-2k is an acceptable XP amount at this point) or We pull the next mob prior to the first one being killed. We aim for 5-20 secs a kill.
With monitoring the healers, pulling mobs, controlling the add with taunt, etc. I rarely have chance to chat as main tank, and I my healer can chat, I am going to slow and up the pace or change mobs.
Aim @ part - under used skill, very useful for high dodge mobs - kinchers are weaker in the legs than any other body part!
I never have spare SP as a fighter, unlike magic when I often store around 50-100 skill points waiting for the next upgrade.
How this helps...