Release 1.9 came out on February 29th, 2016. This update completely revamped the combat system. The most notable things from this update are shields, attack cooldowns and the difference in weapon damage (e.g, Axes).

Despite it being a decent update, it had killed the game for nearly 4 years, and had sparked a lot of debate in the community about whether it was better or worse than the previous combat system.

Although the debate has died down a lot with less people bringing it up for little to no reason, whenever it's brought up, many people make the argument that 1.9 Combat takes no skill, while 1.8 Combat takes no skill, despite both versions having completely different combat.

No resolution to these arguments are really made as both parties decide not to think about the information the person they're arguing with says, or the flaws they point out about their preferred combat version. It is one of, if not the most controversial update in Minecraft history, besides the Beta 1.8 update, which was disliked due to the game having a main objective rather than being an endless survival game.
Minecraft Forums

TheLite_: Anybody else despise Minecraft 1.9?
JackPM: Personally, I prefer 1.9. Feels more like combat to me.
Masterexploit83: stfu idiot 1.9 is the worst updat ever
JackPM: You got anything to back that claim up?
Masterexplot83: i hope you die loser
Kelp_Shake: Yeah, I also prefer 1.9.

UASDGJAS1093MCa_: yeah me too
PopBob: Hey Guys
by Umbrella Guy May 13, 2022
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The update that ruined combat and completely killed Minecraft for years.
Oh my god, why do I have to wait to get full damage out of my sword? Minecraft release 1.9 sucks!
by It'sTheDKrazy July 7, 2020
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Minecraft Update 1.9 was released on February 29, 2016, and is known as one of the most controversial updates.
This update is most commonly known for revamping the combat system, adding shields, attack cooldowns, tipped arrows, etc.

This update was controversial for the fact that it completely changed the combat system, thus forcing people who decided to keep the game updated to adapt to the new changes.

This update caused a lot of people to keep the game at 1.8 and previous versions to this day.

Despite the update being of decent quality with the revamped combat system being an improvement when looked at unbiased, this update caused the game to die for a couple of years, until it was revived in 2019.
Minecraft Forums
Alexkraft: Anybody else despise Minecraft 1.9? It sucks.
Km_201: I think it's an alright update
PETROCKILOV_: yeah its good
Moonn: it sucks so much wtf are you guys on lmao
Hank Schrader: Hello Guys
Everyone: Omg hank?!??!?!
Hank Schrader: Hello yes I am hank
by Umbrella Guy May 16, 2022
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