It's only "clunky" if you neglect the weight/ratio stats, and even then, plenty of dex builds have your character zipping across the screen hitting with pinpoint accuracy with precise control feedback

If you play as a tank things are gonna get clunky, and you know some folks like that, but let's not pretend there's no accelerated option, dex builds do go fast

What management? What moron is gonna try to keep swinging after their bar is done after the first couple of fights? You get your swings in, you back off for two seconds while the bar refills itself, the fights are balanced around the idea that you will need this interruption

Ok no, fights are not balanced around backing off and waiting, some enemies sure, but large swathes of the game are designed around tipping over that established rubric and pressing you out of your comfort zone play style wise, many enemies will not allow you time to "back off", some switch into ranged move sets and others rush you, this requires a keen eye for management and anticipation, patience is only rewarded when those first two criteria are met. Not meeting them punishes you, which is where the stake arise, you can play cocky, loose and fast and maybe get lucky for a while, but the 'management/anticipation = patience' philosophy is always in the background acting as a torsion for the unwary and impatient, and when paired with TIME management (Souls/Humanities) and the risk of losing it forever, that is literally casino ass stakes

You have no idea what that entire genre is about, not even a pedestrian understanding.

I don't have a pedestrian understanding, I have an experienced understanding, because I'm good at those games, too good the shit is boring, I'm one of those mutants who can move my thumb up and down real fricking fast, as a result I always clip my opponents and then one or two memorized combos (does that sound familiar) and boom I win....and if I don't want that to happen I have to limit myself to one or two specific character types where quirks and gimmicks can offset my twitchy thumb

Souls-like games, that doesn't happen, in fact my quick thumb more often than not gets in the way, I love games that punishes overeager trigger fingers

How does it change the way you approach fights other than raw stats. How does it fundamentally change what buttons you are pressing on a regular basis during an encounter.

Raw stats changes your strategy, gives you more openings, offsets the punishments, nullifies ranged and elemental attacks in many cases, you become a high roller at that casino I mentioned, you can double your bets and when you still eat shit you can't help but laugh because at that point you have no excuse, it builds confidence in a game that loves to means test confidence, shit feels good

see post above, also “a lot of people played this game”, a ton of people played League of Legends but that game is a blight

But unlike Legends, shitty netcode in Souls incentivized skill formation towards anticipation, one of the game's core gameplay aspects, the concept of mind games was introduced, dueling, management, timing, and of course etiquette

In an ironic twist the core gameplay aspects were heightened DESPITE and because of the lag and something developed that many games struggle forever to create, NOVELTY