Originally posted by Malarky:

No, think about it. If they improve on the combat and make it a little more indepth, it would then be too hard for the newbies coming in and it will get nerfed to Valhalla and back just like Mistlands.

I could see there being considerations of that kind, but not for new players. New players don't care if you have a way to swing at your feet or not. In fact I've seen quite a few negative reactions about you NOT being able to do that. Rather veteran players might grumble that it's not something they want. We already see one such example in this thread.
I guess it's true, that if you hit someone with a truncheon from their birth, they would start to adapt and even enjoy it, saying that "thrucheon beating makes you tough" or something and recommending others to try that as well...