As someone who loves PvP, I really don't think the combat changes were the right combat changes. (Removing the double gun instakill was right all the way though)
At the moment, I'm really confused as to how to approach fighting. It could be that it's new and I'm just not used to it, and it is partially due to that, but nothing feels right anymore.
I believe that close combat (any time you're on an enemy ship) really doesn't allow for good use of guns anymore, which is really not good for the blunderbuss as it is a close combat weapon. The blunderbuss was normally a weapon that you had to chase someone down for to land a good shot, but after sprinting now you have to wait for the animation to finish before you can shoot the blunderbuss allowing for the person you're trying to kill to sprint away. You can still put some damage in them, but not enough for the blunderbuss to be chosen over the other guns. It is good for defense, especially for protecting your ladders and such, but awful for offense as closing the gap on someone and then pulling out your gun fast enough to land an effective shot is not reliable.
For the sniper, what I understand moving the damage down from a small bit was to remove the ability to do the sniper sword combo, which was arguably the second most powerful weapon combination right under double gunning. However, effective use of the sniper sword combo heavily relied on the Eye of Reach's hipfire. You would have shoot and if you hit them immediately switch to the sword and throw out one slash and they'd die. Now the sword requires two slashes after landing the shot, which you now have to look down the scope and aim for. This is good change but it's not perfect. The Eye of Reach has no place in close combat anymore (as snipers generally are), but there really aren't that many uses for the sniper in PvP anymore. Most combat is face to face.
I can't quite put a finger on how I feel about the pistol yet. I believe it feels under-powered but at the same time the best choice for a gun.
The sword is overpowered now. Fighting with a sword now involves nothing but following someone at full walk speed and just swinging your sword. There is no penalty for missing a sword swing and if you get hit once your going to get overwhelmed. The only counter play I can think of is to maybe use a blunderbuss and shoot it when they get to you, but that is if they don't get to you first and start swinging and jumping. (which they totally will) Sword dashing would probably work but you lose a lot of speed charging one up, unless you block and then charge a sword dash which lets you keep all movement speed. I don't believe it is intended but that alone is really powerful. Missing one though is still fatal though.
If I had to suggest changes, I'd say:
Revert sword to its original state - the massive nerf to all guns was itself a massive buff to swords.
Restore Eye of Reach's damage - the small decrease removes the ability to do the sniper sword combo, but the highly inaccurate hipfire already nerfed the combo. Scoping near an enemy is very risky, as your FOV and speed are significantly reduced, you'd have to snipe someone from a distance and then close the gap and throw in a sword slash, all while the enemy time to eat a banana while you come at them.
Reduce the spread on the Blunderbuss - Having to follow someone and then slow down to pull out your gun and then shoot wouldn't feel and be as weak as it is now.
Rework the pistol - Assuming a player's health is 100, decrease the damage to 40, reduce the time it takes to reload. The inaccuracy of the sniper hipfire makes it more of a ranged only weapon, and the blunderbuss will only ever be a close range weapon. This would allow for the pistol to be in the middle, decent close range and decent at a distance. An effective yet not overpowered combo would be landing two shots with the pistol and then throwing in a sword slash.
Pistol and Eye of Reach knock players off of ladders - The blunderbuss shouldn't be the only weapon that can effectively protect a ladder. If you get the damage in, you can kill someone on the ladder, but it would in most cases require the work of two people to completely prevent someone from getting on board. Pistol and Eye of Reach doing no knockback otherwise is okay though. There is no risk in attempting to board a ship that is directly behind you following you; so it should at least still be a little tricky to do. It's way easier now and very rewarding now that only one thing weapon can knock you off the ladder.
I really love the combat in this game, and I want to continue to love it. However, as I've said above, it just doesn't feel right anymore. I hope you continue to experiment with combat changes, it really should be a priority to perfect it before Arena releases.