I play in 1.9+ usually but 1.8.9- is so much better
The cps rate has little effect on the fight, obviously it's better, however i have 8cps and still manage to win more fights, it's more about being able to rod, strafe and block hit etc, however with 1.9 pvp I feel like I can't hit anyone because for some reason they can hit me further which makes no sense to me. Also you have to aim and do timing correct so you have to hit them while aiming over them, where on 1.8 since you hit fast if you miss one shot it doesn't matter because you can just hit them again the next click which is like 0.125 of a second later. Basically 1.8 feels like there is more margin for error, whereas 1.9 you mess up once, you might as well have lost.mojang admitted 1.9 pvp was made to level out the playing field.; you can get good at 1.9 a lot quicker than you can at 1.8. The people saying 1.8 is all about spam clicking are new to the game and dont bother to understand the more niche tactics. In any case, im glad you enjoy 1.8 more, youll enjoy it a lot more if you can compete