This is labeled a rant about 1.9 pvp, so that is what you'll get!
1.9 PvP is a BIG BIG BIG change to Minecraft pvp, I think we can all agree on that... But is it for better or for worse? Well the facts are that 1.9 brings in wings, swing delays, durability changes, armor nerfs, damage changes, different arrows, and removes block hitting, combos, spam/jitter clicking. Most of the things it removes have been in Minecraft or popular since about 1.4-1.7; so why remove them? If the game got popular around these times, why remove them at all? These things that keep the game alive today are what they are removing. Look up all the servers in Minecraft. I'm willing to bet that on average, 1/3 of all of them accessible to the public are pvp based/launched off of pvp. It is a big reason why the game is so popular, because it is unique. There are so many games with hit delays, but those hit delays were in said game when they started. You don't see the Diablo creators removing the cooldowns because they thought it would make it "more realistic", it just doesn't happen often, and the reason is because many times it ends up badly for the creators. Backlashes in the community, a lot of people leaving the community, etc etc. And for the people who have been playing Minecraft for a long time, this changes most everything they know about Minecraft pvp.
Now, I do think the new pvp is interesting, but it isn't "Minecraft". Minecraft ISN'T realistic. Lets face it. Floating islands of stone and sand, blocky everything, floating trees and leaves, you can destroy ANYTHING by punching it... it isn't realistic. Rather than ruining one of the main aspects of Minecraft, how about fixing the things people WANT. It took them from 1.6.2 until 1.7 to fix the sprint glitch. There are still glitches in 1.8, so why don't they fix 1.8 before making a 1.9 ...
1.9 adds a lot of cool features, I just wish we got 1.9 without the pvp changes...