Hey. I'm a strong pvper, and figured it'd be best for me to share my views on the whole thing.
I personally love the 1.9 changes, and love the fact you're keeping that stamina. From playing on a few 1.9 servers, it's absolutely amazing. It takes actual skill now in timing your attacks, instead of just *CLICK* *STRAFE* *ROD* *BOWSPAM* etc... And with enough skill, you're able to take out lots of people at once, but with one miss timed attack, you can be slain. This means anyone really can go up with the best, and it's no longer about who can click the fastest, but who can combine timed attacks with the use of movement. I'm extremely excited to work on adjusting my play style to suit this. I also love the fact they're giving each weapon a different trait, because before, (obviously not on Lord Of The Craft) axes just took 1 more diamond and did 1 less damage. And shields! I can't wait for those! Gone are the days where one can bowspam, now you just simply raise your shield and your worries are forgotten. Being a skilled Lumberjack/Woodworker, I hope I'll be able to start pumping out those.
Anyway, this is turning into quite the ramble, so I'm going to stop. I just really hope you don't get rid of the attack cool down like most servers have, and am extremely hyped at what the future has to hold. I'd love to join in with the beta testing once It begins, and feel I could be of use.
Thanks.