Firstly, i want to express my appreciation for the work done by the team in order to improve the gameplay.
I play metin2 for like 9 years or so and this is easily the best server i ever played on.
Secondly, i want to share my opinion regarding these new updates once again.
I noticed that team considered all the feedback regarding the previous removal of stun lock, which made 50% of the server to go crazy, and this is a pleasant surprise for me because i did not really expect things to change again after such a strong and steep position which Shadow took at first sight.
Right after seeing the new update post on forum i was very excited and logged ingame to test how it feels but i didn't really expected the new dynamics. Sadly, i think this new "stun lock" is 90% as it was when it was completely remove, so i don't see too much change and i will try to point things out further.
I say that because when you do the first hits of the combo it works exactly like when stun lock was completely removed, there is no effect, no push back, the opponent stays in the same coordinates.
The change is that, the last hit of the combo pushes back the opponent but in a way in which doesn't feel natural at all.
There is also something strange sometimes, when you do the last hit at a certain angle, the push back is somehow out of control, something like playing pinball with your opponent.
Let me give an example :
When you do a normal combo with body warrior, the first 3 hits have absolutely no effect, the opponent stay the same whilst doing the 4th and last hit of the combo, it strongly pushes the opponent which i find it funny (e.g. Shadow mentioning about how funny it was when 2 body warriors fell back on their ass like there is some force between them) since the absurdity is even more unnatural than those duels governed by the "force".
Same goes for the complete combo.
Now, in addition, there is also some weird effect as i mentioned before : when you do the last hit at a certain angle, the opponent is pushed back twice and with a higher intensity.
I believe there is almost no difference since the last update regarding dynamics and effects, because the actual push back is still unnatural and sometimes out of control.
Regarding 1v1, the problem remains because long range classes will still not be controled in any way so they are free to just run around and destroy any melee class with ease.
I hold my belief that stun lock is a necessary evil for the game balance in pvp because this is the only way melee classes would stand a chance against long range classes.
Now, i want to emphasize why it is necessary to have stun lock in duels :
-when long range classes run around, even if you would make any dmg with skills, even if you do the perfect play with perfect items, there is no chance to win since you miss a lot of skills and hits and the primary weapon of a melee is completely nerfed ;
-the duel becomes dull when 2 close combat characters fight, since they will just press space like crazy and it is not needed to have any skill as a player since you only press they keys like crazy ( before, you needed good timing of the skills and hits in order to repel the stun lock - who is crying that they can't move or make skills in duel clearly don't know how to duel );
-there is no sense in losing so much time running to catch your opponent, it's completely pointless.
These are only a few arguments which come to my mind in this moment, there are probably more things which can be analyzed in order to make a preliminary conclusion.
I believe the game would be just perfectly balanced if you guys would just leave the old stun lock system and just shape all the other features of pvp.
My point is that, since you already nerfed attack power from bio and you will soon nerf pierce hits also, melee already lose a huge amount of power and it makes no sense to destroy the dynamics just to completely nerf them and make new advantages for long range classes. The balance is around that point where you know when to stop (i.e. the point where you nerf a lot the dmg of hits, but not go in reverse and overpower long range classes).
If the other classes could fight against stun lock before, why change it ? This is, in my opinion a trade mark for metin2, that flying thing which gives you the thrill to overcome it ( players will know what i mean ). Making things too easy will just not be as fun as before.
After i shared my point of view, i want to make a few suggestions as well, since critics without providing solutions is senseless.
So, since you guys are so determined to destroy the effect of stun lock, at least you could do it in a way which doesn't change the dynamics too much.
I mean you could leave those effects and just work on the other side of the problem : the feedback of the opponent ( i.e. the ability to make the skill even if you are flying around ). You could make the skills stronger than the stun lock, some kind of counter-stun lock which to overcome the effect of being stunned and not being able to make the skill.
More precisely, if combo from hits can stun you, why not make the skill somehow stronger that this and counter-stun you ?
For example, i am sure that certain skills had already before a very small amount of this concept. Let's take for instance 2 skills of body warrior : charge and whirlwind.
In "flying around" state, it was obviously easier to outcome this with charge, rather than whirlwind.
What i am saying is that you could start from this point and develop a practical model which could improve a lot the gameplay in my opinion, since timing, order and nature of the skill will play a crucial role in duel.
You will still get the balance you seek in pvp, whilst keeping the old roots and just shaping around until the desired results are reached.
I am not sorry for the long post ; these are a few thoughts and ideas which i had to share with you.
I still wonder who will have the patience to read all this 