I appreciate everyone recapping their experience with the last time they played vs now. To everyone on this "button mashing" topic, I appreciate you trying to help but as I said, I'm end game gear and food. I understand the stamina system and that the combat is "souls-like" in regard to stamina management and button mashing. This is not the issue or the topic of this thread.

This goes beyond the norms of stamina management and feels like they either messed up and have no idea what they are doing (more likely) or as someone else said they are coping with their garbage AI combat by punishing the player with ridiculous stamina cost, and low stamina regen.

Again, before you keyboard warriors jump to my rescue, I understand food, and potions, I know there are options, I am using those options. It just feels off. I never had to put this much thought into food, it also seems like the max health got a nerf too. I remember cap at around 175-190 fully fed (end game food) now it seems to cap at 160. All the enemies feel considerably weaker now so it doesn't matter, there is a lot more room for error.

Even tho the combat was garbage when this released, the enemies did so much damage it provided enough challenge for me. Deathsquitos would one shot, Orcs 2 shot, and stamina was less of an issue. Now stamina just feels like a slog-fest and the enemy isn't challenging at all.

Anyway thanks for confirming I wasn't misremembering things.