It was better back then, people werent as good at dueling, but they made it up in their ability to play a position like no ones business. Darklord for example was a *dancing* nuts chaser (spotting, BBs, Awareness, general knowledge of the game) and his dueling was great, but people like muk today could rip him in half. It was the little things you couldnt measure directly that made it more fun. awareness, clutch players, peoples ability to create with so little (Kryst was known for challenging people in pick ups with various strats, like Burst LO, no LO, just cappers timing routes, a capper escort position played on defense. all sorts of stuff)
Its the biggest thing I miss with the game. Too many people duel, or do just chase/cap, that legit tactics for LO and LD and others (remember sweeper anyone?) are not as prominant(spelling?). hell with the EMP nade HoFing is almost useless now, so my main position has been gimped quite hard. The game lost its fun tactics and strategy feel when it died under IAs control. Dont get me wrong, the game has changed A LOT since it was brought back, but I still had a lot of fun in those early days.