Since it looks like 1 handers are the topic of the day.
The play style of 1 hand no shield is currently greatly under represented, only a handful of players use this play style. The reasons are simple to understand:
1.) The weapons are shorter then 2 hand and pole.
2.) Because of the short size of their weapons, 1 handers usually have to give up on heavier armour as they need higher athletics to close to fighting distance.
3.) On average 1 handers deal less damage and they bounce more often.
4.) Also, the stab animation for 1 handers is currently a bit off, which is strange since logically it should be the classes major strength.
All of these reasons make this play style less then optimal, so players choose classes like 2 hand and pole that give them a bigger bang for their buck.
I think this could be changed with a change in the way that 1 hander's no shield guys stand.
The current 1 hand with shield stance is a very square stance with the torso squarely facing the opponent, this makes sense with a shield, but without a shield it really makes no sense to expose the whole trunk of the body to attack. Instead of the square facing stance 1 hand no shielders should have a more "fencing" stance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38sVdx7nzhQ&list=UUSjXHeq8fuL-Je7cashCDqA&index=2&feature=plcpThis would have the following benefits.
1.) Make the reach of the 1 handers longer.
2.) Allow 1 hander no shield to wear heavier armour.
3.) Allow for a faster stab animation, making the stab a major option instead of a poor 4th alternative.
4.) Also would fix the stab animation so that the stab is from the center of the characters stance instead of to the side.
Overall, it would make 1 hand no shield more playable and more interesting, it would also add to the complexity of gameplay and make melee a bit more interesting for everyone.