With the likely possibility of certain nerfs, I would like to talk about what the SoS hatred is all about, and why.
First I want to say that this has never about SoS, being too op, it's only about answering the question of whether ko's should be mainstay, or should killing be the mainstay way to play. When I say kill, I am referring to the meta of going for 100% openings with opp knocks to setup a 1 hit ko or kill.
Im my opinion, pvp ahs been the healthiest when ko'ing is mainstay, and this world is proof of that. We have had more pvpers comparative to the population numbers than ever before.
Here's what non pvpers don't understand, noobs who enter pvp already drop like flies, and SoS with shields at least allowed them to fight back, even if they can't get kills. Fighting against SoS made it very hard to setup the standard kito, oppknocks, 100% opening cleave ko, because the aoe effect of SoS made it hard for them to get close enough to do it without being shreded.
When has a noob faction ever had a presence in pvp before W15? It hasn't, and it's because the answer to ko and kill, has so far always been kill. Noobs have low hp, they can't participate in the KILL game, because they are the most likely ones to DIE.
That is why I said this has never been about SoS.
If you want my opinion on what should be done. Do whatever you want with SoS, but change other things that make the meta lean towards Ko's rather than kills.
Opp knocks, should be gone. It's the reason b12s can so easily murder you, and can't be balanced, since the design idea itself means you can easily get 100% opening, allowing you to setup a death blow on a noob without accidentally knocking them out first.
This move is why even if SoS caused 50% opening, b12s would still be used, and why they are always going to be the first weapon of pvp factions.
Hypothetically, if Opp knocks is gone, and SoS is gone, and b12s and cutblades cause only half opening when attacking with both unarmed and melee attacks, what do you think is likely to happen?
For starters, those weapons would obviously be relegated to only group fights, and used to support shield users by being a big threat.
The second, is the fact that, during the b12 meta days, before SOS, the side with more numbers would just rush in because there was no worry about aoe. Without SoS, no other strategy was good. However, after SoS, even a smaller group could hold back a larger one, and that's because the threat of SoS's aoe, prevented them from just rushing you and not respecting the weaker opponant.
This has been amazingly healthy for the game, and I would like to see it more, and thats why I propose that all weapons should cause aoe. We have had 15 years of zerging, so how about we keep combat based around respecting the weaker side like we have had with SoS?
Sos can be nerfed/removed for all I care, opp knocks can go away, and killing can become the rarity, rather than the norm.
I would like to hear why people think this is healthy or unhealthy for pvp.