I'm very new to the game. I've played off and on over the last 4 years (regularly about a year ago) but I still have a lot of questions. Actually my fiance' bought me the game 4 years ago :-p any way.

I like classes that are good at melee, but can also fight from a distance. Those who can cripple and DoT foes, heal, and buff. That can solo well, but are helpful in groups as well. I have experimented with Druids and Shaman, but want to know if there are others to explore.

Server: Fenninro
Shaman: Kneeko (4)
Druid: Unatre (7)
Cleric: Apola (2)

I have also played with a shadow knight (I think they are fricking cool) and Paladin (weird huh?). So yeah. Thoughts ideas?

You're not going to find a class thats good at everything, that is why their are multiple classes.

I would never recommend a Bard to a new player but you might want to try one.

The Ranger is decent at melee as well as ranged combat, uses magic and has a few very minor heals. You're going to die a lot and NOBODY will let you forget about it.

The Beastlord is like a weak Shaman in regards to spells, melees well and has a pet.

You need to play a class until at least 20 before you make any decisions as thats when they start to get a little more defined.

You may want to try a ranger with the caveat that they can melee, in that they can hit things with a stick or a sword. They are not as well equipped to take a punch as a warrior or knight. They do get good ranged attacks (mainly at later levels with special bow abilities), some light buffs and debuffs/DoTs and can heal a little bit.

Speaking of, if you enjoy meleeing, I can't recommend a bard. Their melee skills are pretty pathetic compared to the rest of the sword-swingers and they lack many of the basic melee skills until later in the game such as double-attack, critical hits, riposte, etc. Even worse, their ability to wear plate armor is a cruel joke intended to get you killed by making you think you can get hit  Armor class (including both damage avoidance and damage mitigation) is dependant not only on what armor you're wearing but also your class. A warrior gains more protection from a bronze breastplate than a knight does and a knight gains significantly more protection from that same breastplate than a cleric or bard.

Another potential class is the beastlord. They don't truely impress me in their meleeing ability (they also lack some skills and wear leather armors) but they do all right and their pet is formidable as well. They don't get much in the ways of ranged attacks except to kite things while their pet chews on it. They do get an array of buffs/debuffs and can heal (although not very effectively).

Both rangers and beastlords are typically welcome in groups since their primary role is DPS and that's a role which stacks well in a group (as opposed to having three main healers).