Personally I prefer 1.8 PVP since it feels like it requires more skill with w taps, aim and block hits, while 1.9 is just slow and annoying to watch, especially with golden apples and diamond prot 4, it's just whoever's armor break first loses. I don't feel like it is very exciting to watch nor play.
I get your point but I think the developers were not liking how you could spam your sword on mobs, such as creepers, making mob hunting too easy even on hard.
Survival and PVP are very different no doubt about that but as this is PVP related we will go off that and break down means of attacking/defending.
Now I don't play, watch or know everything about Minecraft PVP for PVP experiences for Hunger Games/Survival Games I think Ultra Hardcore counts and PVP on Multiplayer servers so I'm just going off of weapons/means of damage/defence to the player and comparing 1.8 and 1.9 combat differences.
If we go off of attack methods over 1.9 strategy I'll put it this way.
Attack Methods in 1.8 (not counting damage output/speed or anything else just things you can attack/defend with that came to mind):
-Sword
-Axe
-Pick
-Hoe
-Shovel
-Bow
-Flint n Steel
-TNT
-Fire Charge
-Splash Potion (any)
-Mobs harming other players (yes I'm going to count End Crystals in the End here as it's not player created or player applied damage like the others)
-Cactus blocks being placed (I'm meaning this not in like controlled minigame like PVP way just say PVP in survival)
-Armour (whatever tier/pieces are accessible)
That's what came to mind, I might have missed some.
Now with 1.9 combat you have for attacking and defensive methods:
With some of these, while it's not 'oh it's a dagger, a crossbow, a spear, a pistol/shotgun/rocket launcher/sniper, the comparisons of how you use them regardless of if it's a new weapon or not when the mechanic is more important. Timing is important yes but in comparison to 'spamming' you have slow and fast means for a reason, you have a DPS, a Tank and a Healer in an RPG party for a reason and weak and strong weapons for a reason.
Different-Sword (can defeat 2+ enemies if they are close enough, so it's a crowd control strategy option).
Different-Axe (charged attacks, think when you have cooldown of a super attack in other games, or charging up powerful blast/reloaded a weapon before using instead of say using the projectile weapon in melee as you didn't get a chance to reload your weapon yet).
-Shovel (not a great but still an option)
-Hoe (also not a great but still an option)
Different, best defense with or without armour-Shield (used to block which works 100% better than Sword blocking to pull off and can be used for projectiles, explosions and more.
-TNT (maybe work the same)
-Flint n Steel
Different and opens so many possibilities-Bow (more arrow options to be used with potion effects, meaning so many more options and you can shoot a potion instead of throw only a splash potion so far which is limited)
-Splash Potions, sure you could use them but using Tipped Arrows are much better
-Mobs harming players
-Cactus placement
-Armour (whatever tier/piece is accessible, I assume Elytra might be cheating/unavailable in PVP or useless so I'm not counting it)
Again if I'm missing any fill the rest in.
1.8 might be good and I do enjoy the old combat, but sometimes the other works for me even more if it's a small change but add more options and strategy for attack and defense. I don't care if I can't spam if I have weapons with differences, not just oh the axe has 1 less damage than a sword so I'll use that and spam over. I have an Axe with more damage than a sword, if I use it for Critical Hits on one, a Sword for much quick or crowd control and obviously Tipped Arrows are less limited then Splash Potions.
There is benefits to both but yes the 1.9 combat has grown on me but I also see benefit like with the RPG party thing, using say guns and comparing a reason to use a Shotgun (good short range and is tough) to a Pistol, Sniper, Rocket Launcher, Sub Machine Gun or Assault Rifle. When you compare them that way it makes sense, when you don't yes the sword and spamming can be seen as the fastest option but speed isn't always the best option either if the skill and strategy can come from the tools in the right situation, not the same tool and same/different (depends on the match/location) strategy in a situation.
Even in 1.8 you can only deal damage to a single mob twice a second thanks to damage immunity, which has been in the game possibly forever, and prior to 1.7 every time you hit a mob, even if damage-immune, your sword loses durability (I have intentionally not fixed this "bug" since I think it helps discourage spam-clicking and keeps them consistent with bows, which lose durability regardless of whether the arrow hits something).
That said, my own system combines the best of both worlds - you can attack at full strength as often as you like as long as your attacks are accurate (not striking a damage-immune mob or missing entirely), and the penalty takes the form of a gradual decrease in damage dealt as opposed to immediately being applied to the next attack; when combined with weapons dealing more damage (14.25 for a Sharpness V diamond-equivalent sword vs 10 for the same sword in 1.9) and the "cooldown counter" starting from a negative value (it must be positive to have an effect) the occasional bad hit isn't noticeable (you can continuously attack and miss up to once per second without triggering the penalty as the counter is decremented once per tick; for hitting damage-immune mobs the penalty is activated by a single hit but has a minimal reduction on damage. Also, the maximum damage reduction is 75% and lasts for up to 5 seconds with a 5 second wear-off period, or a total of 10 seconds to fully recover).
While playing survival (or minigames similiar to that) it's better to have 1.9 pvp, while playing some minigames like skywars, thebridge, etc., then I think, 1.8 pvp is better.
What I don't like:
1.8 - CPS is what matter, just have double/triple click or autoclicker and you can beat almost anyone.
1.9+ - It's slow, when you have very good armor + golden apples.
My solution - more damage when weapon is fully charged, so it will be faster to fight.
(I wanted to be short, not like some replyes above :D)
Personally I prefer 1.8 PVP since it feels like it requires more skill with w taps, aim and block hits, while 1.9 is just slow and annoying to watch, especially with golden apples and diamond prot 4, it's just whoever's armor break first loses. I don't feel like it is very exciting to watch nor play.
I get your point but I think the developers were not liking how you could spam your sword on mobs, such as creepers, making mob hunting too easy even on hard.
Survival and PVP are very different no doubt about that but as this is PVP related we will go off that and break down means of attacking/defending.
Now I don't play, watch or know everything about Minecraft PVP for PVP experiences for Hunger Games/Survival Games I think Ultra Hardcore counts and PVP on Multiplayer servers so I'm just going off of weapons/means of damage/defence to the player and comparing 1.8 and 1.9 combat differences.
If we go off of attack methods over 1.9 strategy I'll put it this way.
Attack Methods in 1.8 (not counting damage output/speed or anything else just things you can attack/defend with that came to mind):
-Sword
-Axe
-Pick
-Hoe
-Shovel
-Bow
-Flint n Steel
-TNT
-Fire Charge
-Splash Potion (any)
-Mobs harming other players (yes I'm going to count End Crystals in the End here as it's not player created or player applied damage like the others)
-Cactus blocks being placed (I'm meaning this not in like controlled minigame like PVP way just say PVP in survival)
-Armour (whatever tier/pieces are accessible)
That's what came to mind, I might have missed some.
Now with 1.9 combat you have for attacking and defensive methods:
With some of these, while it's not 'oh it's a dagger, a crossbow, a spear, a pistol/shotgun/rocket launcher/sniper, the comparisons of how you use them regardless of if it's a new weapon or not when the mechanic is more important. Timing is important yes but in comparison to 'spamming' you have slow and fast means for a reason, you have a DPS, a Tank and a Healer in an RPG party for a reason and weak and strong weapons for a reason.
Different-Sword (can defeat 2+ enemies if they are close enough, so it's a crowd control strategy option).
Different-Axe (charged attacks, think when you have cooldown of a super attack in other games, or charging up powerful blast/reloaded a weapon before using instead of say using the projectile weapon in melee as you didn't get a chance to reload your weapon yet).
-Shovel (not a great but still an option)
-Hoe (also not a great but still an option)
Different, best defense with or without armour-Shield (used to block which works 100% better than Sword blocking to pull off and can be used for projectiles, explosions and more.
-TNT (maybe work the same)
-Flint n Steel
Different and opens so many possibilities-Bow (more arrow options to be used with potion effects, meaning so many more options and you can shoot a potion instead of throw only a splash potion so far which is limited)
-Splash Potions, sure you could use them but using Tipped Arrows are much better
-Mobs harming players
-Cactus placement
-Armour (whatever tier/piece is accessible, I assume Elytra might be cheating/unavailable in PVP or useless so I'm not counting it)
Again if I'm missing any fill the rest in.
1.8 might be good and I do enjoy the old combat, but sometimes the other works for me even more if it's a small change but add more options and strategy for attack and defense. I don't care if I can't spam if I have weapons with differences, not just oh the axe has 1 less damage than a sword so I'll use that and spam over. I have an Axe with more damage than a sword, if I use it for Critical Hits on one, a Sword for much quick or crowd control and obviously Tipped Arrows are less limited then Splash Potions.
There is benefits to both but yes the 1.9 combat has grown on me but I also see benefit like with the RPG party thing, using say guns and comparing a reason to use a Shotgun (good short range and is tough) to a Pistol, Sniper, Rocket Launcher, Sub Machine Gun or Assault Rifle. When you compare them that way it makes sense, when you don't yes the sword and spamming can be seen as the fastest option but speed isn't always the best option either if the skill and strategy can come from the tools in the right situation, not the same tool and same/different (depends on the match/location) strategy in a situation.
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Even in 1.8 you can only deal damage to a single mob twice a second thanks to damage immunity, which has been in the game possibly forever, and prior to 1.7 every time you hit a mob, even if damage-immune, your sword loses durability (I have intentionally not fixed this "bug" since I think it helps discourage spam-clicking and keeps them consistent with bows, which lose durability regardless of whether the arrow hits something).
That said, my own system combines the best of both worlds - you can attack at full strength as often as you like as long as your attacks are accurate (not striking a damage-immune mob or missing entirely), and the penalty takes the form of a gradual decrease in damage dealt as opposed to immediately being applied to the next attack; when combined with weapons dealing more damage (14.25 for a Sharpness V diamond-equivalent sword vs 10 for the same sword in 1.9) and the "cooldown counter" starting from a negative value (it must be positive to have an effect) the occasional bad hit isn't noticeable (you can continuously attack and miss up to once per second without triggering the penalty as the counter is decremented once per tick; for hitting damage-immune mobs the penalty is activated by a single hit but has a minimal reduction on damage. Also, the maximum damage reduction is 75% and lasts for up to 5 seconds with a 5 second wear-off period, or a total of 10 seconds to fully recover).
TheMasterCaver's First World - possibly the most caved-out world in Minecraft history - includes world download.
TheMasterCaver's World - my own version of Minecraft largely based on my views of how the game should have evolved since 1.6.4.
Why do I still play in 1.6.4?
While playing survival (or minigames similiar to that) it's better to have 1.9 pvp, while playing some minigames like skywars, thebridge, etc., then I think, 1.8 pvp is better.
What I don't like:
1.8 - CPS is what matter, just have double/triple click or autoclicker and you can beat almost anyone.
1.9+ - It's slow, when you have very good armor + golden apples.
My solution - more damage when weapon is fully charged, so it will be faster to fight.
(I wanted to be short, not like some replyes above :D)