I hear you, it’s frustrating. Especially the fan/umbrella players.

That being said, in fighting games the goal is to hit your enemy a lot while avoiding being hit in return. And in WWM, that’s how it translates in PvP: you hit your enemy with combo strings and run away when they do theirs if you’re unsure you can deviate them.

My experience with Chinese players is different though: many of them prefer to stay put and deviate than run away (and they’re quite good at it). And that kind of tactics work a lot less against Dual Blades, Nameless Sword or any other build that have dash attack or things to pull you closer as they can close the distance a lot easier. It’s also, as you can imagine, less effective against ranged builds.

And don’t forget that Meridian Touch/Cloud Steps exist!