There are FOUR things that bother me greatly about Meta Knight. If these moves are toned down to a manageable level, I firmly believe Meta Knight will become a more balanced character that takes some learning to use effectively. Those moves are:
(1.) Up-Air- This move is insane with how hard it is to avoid. Very few moves last long enough to hit someone out of an Air-Dodge, and even fewer can be spammed so easily that it even doesn't matter whether you successfully Air-Dodge or not. I think this move should be identical to his Down-Air in terms of lag and range. Doing so would make his combo game more manageable for the opponent and require better timing to land properly instead of spamming it incessantly .
(2.) Down-Tilt- This move contains the same issue as the first one; it completely destroys the shield and Spot-Dodge mechanic. Even if you successfully Spot-Dodge or shield this attack it can be spammed so fast it doesn't matter. You will either be hit out of a Dodge or continue to have your shield poked. Your only option is Backwards-Roll (a Forward-Roll gives him an easy Down-Smash) which gives Meta Knight an almost guaranteed Grab due to his run speed. I think this move should be slowed down, not so the opponent can get a free hit, but so he can at least jump out or back away to moderate safety.
(3.) Down-Smash- Ahh yes, you were waiting for me to bring this one up, weren't you? Honestly, I don't care that it comes out almost instantly, hits both directions within frames of each other, or has a lot of Shield-Stun. What bothers me is that, just like his Down-Tilt, there's no safe way to deal with this move. As a golden rule I generally believe that Smash-Attacks are high-reward, high-risk moves that should be used with caution, but Meta Knight's Down-Smash has nearly zero risk while getting lots of reward. If you dodge it, he can throw out another one while you're in your dodge recovery frames. If you shield it, you get considerably stun, and if you roll, free grab for Meta Knight. I was willing to give his Down-Tilt the benefit of the doubt, but this is a Smash-Attack. If you block/dodge it, you should AT LEAST be able to grab Meta Knight out of it.
(4.) Glide Attack- This one (surprisingly) bothers me the most of them all. I can accept the fact that his Glide Attack is eye-blinkingly fast. That's cool; he is Meta Knight after-all. What's wrong with this move is he has ZERO lag out of this move when he lands after using it. If you block it Meta Knight gets a near guaranteed grab on you, or an instant Down-Smash the moment he lands. Combined with his Shuttle Loop, lagless Glide Attack and instant Down-Smash upon landing, you're looking at an almost 50% shield loss before you even have time to blink. That is too-safe of a combination of attacks for me to simply ignore. When he uses his Glide-Attack he should fall on his face and skid 2 feet across the ground like he does when he doesn't attack; not the other way around.
Thank you for reading my entire post. I just want to inform you that these are not nerfs I'm demanding you implement immediately, but rather things too look at if you ever decide Meta Knight needs some cooling down. With these changes you do not have to worry about changing damage or other variables, but rather making a character less about spam and more about choosing attacks wisely, like the rest of the 30+ characters. =3
