well im new to it and my friend told me to make a melee char in the beginning before making a magican so my questions are

whats class should i use

and what masterys do i max?

for beginners i would suggest either rogue or barb.

upside for barb is high life and a pretty easy climb.

upside of rogues is cheap weapons. staves are very cheap right now and rogues can use them.

for stats i would pick either dex or strength and put all your stats into one of them. if you are rogue put your first 10 stats in vitality, for barb you can skip that and just pump dex or str.

if you go str, i suggest getting dex gear to balance things out, if you go dex then try str gear.

look for high enhanced effect on weapons, stats (dex or str) on charms and armors. for barb the best kind of armor is plate mail, for rogue its scale mail.

to get a feeling for the characters and the game, i would additionally recommend you take
a brief look through the guide collection:

http://forums.d2jsp.org/index.php?showtopic=18560908&f=272

you can find several information on item mechanics, item modifications, characters and their stats and characteristics there.
character guides can help you to get a feeling for the chars and lead you through the game.

you should start with the green beginners guides that give you the first basic information and direct you to the next steps:

http://forums.d2jsp.org/index.php?showtopic=23010118&f=272