You guys dont know how to use beams right ;/
Trust me, beams are not dead. It just takes to highly skilled players to show you what I mean. Lemme give you an example from today...
I was on our clan server today ( -:{GODZ}:- ), and I was going head to toe with this person in melee. I mean, he blocked all my movesm I blocked all this, we would then do simple melle, but we would each block each others melee hits. Throw was useless as we would always block each others throws and such. So that's where the beams come in...
Generic Beams (and Balls) are your best friends. Just spam them to death with them. Yes, they can easily avoid them, but you know you can detonate them right? Then after you shoot with a beam, go in at melee (or Vice Versa).
Remember, whenever they are on the ground, just shoot them with generics. If your opponent has his back turned, I suggest a stronger beam, and remember, detonate it. It's not gonna be doing as much as a direct hit, but it's better then nothing.
Once both players start doing all these crazy moves all together, it actually seems to become a fight like Z. Today we both did this to each other and we actually had power struggles.
The trick is...you have to mix it up. That way it makes you a better player, and makes the game more interesting.