#1 BDO ranking highest kill-count in the world here. Enough about me.

This is with respect to the recently proposed changes in the Lab Server.

Presently, about 2/3 of the classes have a grab. For those that forgot their basic math this conversely means that only 1/3 of the bdo classes have a grab. That's 66.66% vs. 33.33% respectively.

By the developer submitting to a mere popularity contest if whether or not every class should have a grab (option 3), it is unknowingly and unfairly asking a population of 3 members in which 2 are wolves and 1 is a sheep, to vote on what/who to have for dinner. The two wolves obviously will vote to eat the sheep and will win the election since the sheep has only one vote it can cast; In an ironically equal mathematical scenario, 2/3 of all BDO classes have a grab, and thusly are likely to dismiss option 3, which would help 1/3 of the BDO classes; the problem exacerbates itself because in practice, players realize the strenght that having a grab brings and so more will end up picking a class with a grab, and thus further increase the membership on the 2/3 side and leaving the 1/3 of grabless classes with even less representation in the election.

It is commendable for the developer to have stated that "Grabbing is the most powerful of the status ailments." Excellent point to begin making some progress from. Now that we recognize how dominant this skill is, it is time to act on that notion.

The developer has recently stated that option 2 seems to be leading in popularity. While I think that is a very great option, it still won't account for the fact that grab will remain a win-button, because it will still override any FG in spite of there being fewer SA's with option 2 (as if grabs respected SA to begin with). I am of the opinion that no class should have a grab, since it simplifies pvp too much; but I already made an essay on why grab skills are an abomination in fair pvp and debunk every counterargument in my essay on the matter which you can read here:
1) There is no excuse for a skill as powerful as BDO's grab to exist in any game and I will prove it
2) (extra) Grabs are a win button and have ruined PVP for far too long

The developer has recognized the extreme power of grabbing, it is time to bring a solution to the table.

Option 1 makes gaps shorter and adds means to counter them in pvp. Grabs still go through everything and thus this option doesn't address the problems that grabs will reign even more so over everything.

Option 2 increases FG at the expense of SA but this is irrelevant to any class with a grab. Thus classes with grabs will still have an easy time.

Option 3 is the only option presented by the developer that actually proposes spreading equality by means of everyone getting a grab, and for some cases compensating their other abilities.

This is why in my opinion the only one of the 3 options that brings us closer to fairness is #3, even though the existence of the grab skill is idiotic and should have never existed. But I am also aware that it is unlikely that they will remove grabs so the only possible alternative is to at least make it fair by everyone having one. Yes, grab dumbs down pvp, that is uncontroversial; but unfortunately it's either some classes have it or all do, the selection to me is a no-brainer.

If the developer does add as an option to removing grabs entirely, or making them respect the protection of Forward Guard, then I agree that option #2 is the best. But as things are right now, the best option for class fairness is #3.

Again, all the reason why grab is a win-button in BDO and shouldn't exist are completely covered in my essay which you can find the link in the previous lines; it also includes a full-debunking of all pro-grab arguments. This thread is just to bring to the attention of the developer that their current popularity contest is not a good mean for under-represented classes to have their voices heard. Opposition to this observation is also expected to be identically distributed as described by the ratios mentioned in this topic, precisely due to the under-representation of non-grab classes. Thus, if this battle is going to be won, it won't be by popular vote but from well constructed arguments and evidence; which once again can be found in my essay post.

With that being said... :)

Why are there no ways to counter a grab? In every other fighting game you can tech it or counter it because you have to balance them. 

back in the day, iframes had priority over grabs on server-side checks. So, if you grabbed, and I iframed, and these states came about roughly equally server-side; you'd perform your (then unprotected) grab animation, and I would safely iframe out of it with a chance to punish you. Although, this system was buggy, sometimes only avoiding the grounding portion of the grab, allowing me to use skills in your hands.

Overall this was a far more balanced system; grabbing was a risk if the target was completely aware of the attempt.

Everybody knows grabs are braindead. The only ones thinking grabs are an expression of skill are probably monkeys that have issues pressing one button.

But I don't mind anymore. For, you see, I rolled a grab class and advise you to do the same. Let's enjoy the clownfest of who grabbed who first together, until poe2 beta comes out.

All of the good players agreed that giving everyone a grab is a terrible idea even sorcs and dks among them. W developer decision W patch stay mad losers getting a grab wouldn't help you anyway.