Is this assumption based on the people you're frequently playing with, keeping in mind these players may be at a higher level of skill that is outside the scope of the standard player base, for which SV could be trying to strike a balance for?
Lets hold back the game and the rest of the players because people dont want to attempt to improve?
Its basically killing off the enjoyment and narrowing down playstyles for people who arent playing well.
Sound like the opposite of hardcore.
Even then I never see these parry fest fights even among the majority of the playerbase who might not be extremely skilled. Im not even good at melee and I see no issues before with the quick attacks or reading them.
We dont need more dumbing down and nerfing the skill ceiling. At some point these players end up having nothing to learn or be better at in the game and they quit.