Hand to Hand skill can be useful, but not for the reason you mention. The damage from Hand to Hand fighting is simply too low for serious combat. However, training Hand to Hand will raise your base Parry skill. A mage that can Parry is better than a mage that can only Dodge, all other things being equal. That said, raising Hand to Hand to mastery is not for the faint of heart. I would not consider it an essential skill.
More to the point of your post, Ryzom is different from most MMOGs since it is a "sandbox" instead of "class based" skill system. If you have sufficient time, you can master every skill in the game on a single character. Most high level players here will have more than one Mastery. Flexibility is often key in team combat situations. I personally consider Melee mastery, Elemental mastery and Healing mastery ALL essential skills.
More to the point of your post, Ryzom is different from most MMOGs since it is a "sandbox" instead of "class based" skill system. If you have sufficient time, you can master every skill in the game on a single character. Most high level players here will have more than one Mastery. Flexibility is often key in team combat situations. I personally consider Melee mastery, Elemental mastery and Healing mastery ALL essential skills.
Jola the Juggernaut