Hello,
Short answer is that Melee build SH is getting most of their core abilities and tactics really late into mid-tier and it will feel like playing half a build untill you unlock these, unfortuneatly.
Hopefully this is one build & class that will get looked at when and IF that big ability overhaul arrives sometime where build-defining abilities are getting unlocked at earlier career levels to allow for more progression in different builds.
Right now as it stands:
MSH unlocks Big bounching at level 29
Str+WS tactic at level 33
25%dmg when no pet at level 31
Pierce defence tactic at level 29
Morale 1 pet burst at level 29 and M2 snare at level 32
Leveling a MSH in midtier right now makes you unlock tactic slots before you have useful stuff you can even put into the tactic slots for your current level, and that feels really bad.
untill then you are pretty much forced to play with pets, or in a ranged build.
An other thing that might gatekeep MSH is how your mainstat tactic is not converting in this build, and how Strikethrough on gear is not getting converted either. Making several sets have "dead stats" or set bonuses while you progress through the gears and even on my RR 85 MSH i have 1 item with Strikethrough and a full setbonus that does nothing for my MSH build, but thats still Best in Slot. So thats the MSH situation right now.
I personally leveled mine in pve to get the tools i wanted, or in bow builds, despite I just wanted to play MSH pet-less from level 1
