Great post.
Anyway it is ridicolous how some people still say “git gud”. We are talking about objective defects (like enemies that spawn on your back).
Moreover if I say “I hate that thing because…” and another player says “Because you are bad”, we have the death of every smart discussion.
@Krator “Hey, check it out, I can make blanket statements without any evidence!”
No one with any sense takes you seriously.
This is the crux of the “fun” issue I think.
I think it’s perfectly fine when your team wipe’s and you all agree that it was poor play that cost you the run. Making an obvious mistake like missing a block/dodge or having terrible positioning, etc. Those are mistakes where you can say “I should’ve done X differently and it wouldn’t have happened.” I think this is how it should be and maintains the “fun”.
What ISN’T fun is frustration. Not frustration at bad planning or play - but frustration when the AI director spawns endless amounts of specials on the otherside of hyper dense hordes that you have no way to deal with. Or spawns blightstormers in impossible to see areas when you have no room to move. Or when phantom hits and dodgy dodge mechanics combine with ping issues to cause you to take hits you “should’ve” avoided. Fatshark had fixed most of these - but now we seem to be reliving them all.
Well, you still have same heroes, same voicelines, combat is pretty much the same (you just have to adjust your timing and attack/block/push pattern), rats and northmen still attack in huge hordes, fighting is bloody and brutal, graphics haven’t changed, sound is still the same.
Yes, I’ve made a simple statement because the game has lost 0 of its fun factor, it still has all the things that make it so intense and absorbing.
But it’s a bit more difficult, so the “typical playerbase” is now whining like there is more tomorrow.
Yes, beatmen need some tweaks (ungor spear charge f.e.), banner boi needs a nerf, but that’s it.
All the issues you’ve listed were 100% present in 1.6
I mean, I’m not experiencing phantom swings. Only “phantom swing” is caused by Minotaur hitbox behaving strangely when it’s doing the headbutt/gore animation, and it indeed needs a tweak, but it’s not like you should be standing in front of him attacking while he’s doing this move 
Yes - many of the non-gameplay issues were present in 1.6. But the reviews are a reflection of unmet expectations. We wanted a new difficulty level - not a retooling of the existing ones. We wanted weaves to provide fun new gameplay connected to the existing progression system, not a whole different game imbedded inside this one with seasons and leaderboards. We wanted a fixed crafting system - not a second system. We wanted tweaks to shields and high stagger weapons - not a rewrite of the core combat gameplay. We wanted more cosmetics and got none. Etc etc.
So yes - these issues existed in 1.6 before. But we all assumed that WoM was going to be the thing that addressed those issues, or at least SOME of them. Instead, we got something completely different. It was a step to the side and a step backwards in other ways (reintroduction if bugs, broken talents again, etc).
5 of these are objective facts that are irrelevant, and 2 of them are gross simplifications of a larger problem and technically wrong in the current context of the game.
Many people have expressed their dislike of the pace of combat.
Many people are not happy with the playstyles that they’re forced into now because of talents or difficulty.
The reviews of many seasoned V2 veterans reflect this.
Even the people that did “get gud” or who can clear the content don’t find it enjoyable.
Only a small minority of masochists and fanboys lap up any kind of content Fatshark presents them like it’s the gospel of Jesus.
If you can’t even understand basic context in which these problems reside, don’t comment on them.
Also, that list from @krator is just a checklist of attributes. It ignores the fact that games need to be tuned to feel good. If Super Meat Boy’s jump was completely re-worked, you could say “it still has rockets and sawblades and collectibles and everything” but that would be completely missing the fact that what made the game truly special was the tightly-tuned controls, and if the jump doesn’t feel right, the game is going to suck to play.
The heart of Vermintide 2 was the tight, fast-paced, responsive combat. Now the combat has become much more deliberate. That’s not going to be a bad thing for everyone – I mean, plenty of players enjoy games like Chivalry or For Honor – but it’s certainly not going to be okay for everyone. And it’s not going to be okay for a lot of their core player base, because it’s not what the game used to be. Everyone in the studio should have known these changes would alienate a lot of players.
Well, the thing is - everything is still in.
Actually, the game is way better than pre 1.3, and if you remember right, back then ice skating CWs were the norm.
It’s of course way better than 1.6 too.
The heart of Vermintide 2 was the tight, fast-paced, responsive combat
Luckily, it’s still here!
Now the combat has become much more deliberate.
???
You mean, you have to actually think and plan, instead of mashing LMB?
THE HORROR. 
There is no way to objectively judge if the combat has gotten better or worse. Thing is that the game is simply bursting with bugs right now … so many , its really hard to even get an overview on the bug section of the forums.
So how do you judge combat when there are bugs in :
So the game feels harder and way more punishing because nothing in this game is currently working as it should. Just take 2 mins and scroll through the bug section forums … its ridiculous.
No. Just no. Can’t we get beyond this BS argument? Nobody was just mashing LMB. We’re trying to be civil and you’re just ignoring everyone’s genuine concerns. I’m happy for you that the game is still fun for you, but it’s not for me. If you genuinely want to understand why I feel that way, then stop dismissing everything that I say by intentionally misunderstanding/ignoring it.
Many people simply are horrible at this game, which means that with the increased difficulty, they can’t just be carried in legend.
So these leeches are of course very, very angry at Vermintide 2.
While in fact, they should be angry at themselves.
The reviews of many seasoned V2 veterans reflect this.
Who?
Many people have expressed their dislike of the pace of combat.
It’s as fast, as ever, only more deadly and difficult.
Even the people that did “get gud” or who can clear the content don’t find it enjoyable.
Well, it’s their problem.
Only a small minority of masochists and fanboys lap up any kind of content Fatshark presents them like it’s the gospel of Jesus.
Or people who actually are enjoying that the game became challenging again and actually requires some effort?
BTW soloed a Chaos Patrol today. It was fun. Only Beastmen are a real issue and once they get fixed, the game will be simply great.
Look on Steam, if you must. A lot of the recent negative reviews are from people with hundreds, or even 1000+ hours played.
I was mashing LMB. and dodging left and right. And cleared legend with bots or with players who did 2000 dmg. Actually was considering starting going true solo. And I’m not even good at Vermintide 2. Now I at least have to think about my next move, and killing enemies efficiently is more fun than ever thanks to the added challenge.
Could you please elaborate, what’s your problem with current Vermintide?
Oh whatever, I’ve seen thousands of noob WoT players with 40-45% Win Ratio (that’s really hard work to get it that low) with 10k+ battles. Does that prove anything other than the world is full of people with no idea what they’re doing?
Of course some good players may be disappointed too. But it’s a matter of personal preferences. I like the challenge the game now provides, while failed to deliver much at all before.
This is the most sensible thing you’ve said in the whole thread.
Nope. The most sensible things are:
I’ll also add:
Are you intentionally trying to be obtuse?
Relative to how it was, it isn’t. End of argument. You’re objectively wrong.
You still had to plan how to attack, when to dash, and where you’re positioned. Adding a wall of flesh to this equation does not make for a better combat experience. Again, you’re just wrong.
They still are.
Can you like post a screenshot of your hours played? Because there’s no way an experienced played can be this disingenuous.
No, it’s riddled with bugs and and a sloggy mess that many on the forums have taken issue with.
You don’t get to cherry pick which parts of the game you like when talking about the game as a whole.
No, again, just plain wrong. Even if you do like, there are many more people on the forums who can beat it and don’t like it. There are way better ways to make things challenging than this mess. They have been posted plenty of times. Sorry, wrong again.
Relative to how it was, it still is. That’s a fact. End of argument. Seriously dude, your toxic attitude towards this game is mind-blowing 
Before patch all you had to plan was whether to dodge left or right. It was so easy people were getting distracted out of boredom and died because they were trying to take a bite of a sandwich mid boss fight.
There are no “ice skating CW’s” like in the old times, where only a perfectly timed dodge could save ypu. Now you can avoid them without paying attention, just like pre 1.6, it just requires a bit better timing.
It’s sad that people like you blame the game, instead of their own shortcomings, lack of skill and effort. Am I skilled? No. But I’m improving every game. And that’s way more fun than dodge spamming of old.