Although it might look like only meter gain nerfs have occurred, you'll notice that meter gain BUFFS have been included for when the move connects. This promotes more hitting, and less whiffing (running away/time outs).
We won't be releasing the patch until after the finals, as not to create an unfair playing field. The game still shows huge potential in it's current state, you only have to watch Tokido vs Gamerbee to see that.
If we were to overly nerf one particular character whilst leaving the rest untouched, you'd have a reason to be upset. However it's clear to see that everyone received nerfs in some form or another, mostly in the form of specials/boost chains being more punishable on block (less block stun/push back).
These changes affect the entire game, because they are being applied across the entire roster, not just one or two characters. We're encouraging a more offensive play style, where you are rewarded for landing hits, and hit confirming rather than spamming boost combos all day and running down the clock, something I think we can all agree was not very enjoyable to watch or play.
Honestly gems aren't an issue since we nerfed the auto-blocking gems. I'd truly like to see this fear of gems eradicated, the default selection of gems can truly switch up how your character feels quite drastically.
I personally stick all 3 pandora activated gems on one character, and use the pandora extend on the other character. I'll make you fear pandora
Tagging in your character mid-combo or not does force them to lose all their recoverable health unless I'm mistaken. With the reduced speed of health regeneration, this will play a much larger part in players strategies.
Hugo still looks pretty strong to me, he did receive a couple of buffs too!
- EX Meat Squasher - Damage increased from 200 to 260
That's a pretty hefty buff!