Why didnt they just adjust trade prices? you could easily charge emerald block for high end items, while also reducing trades to something brutal like 64/1.
the problem is that on top of adding a logistical nightmare to standard worlds, a biome dependent trading system alienates everyone whos on a non standard biome world. superbiome and amplified are going to be way harder, and neither superflat nor skyblock will even have mending tools at all without using commands. which to be honest, is exactly how im to be getting mending books in the future if this nerf remains.
it also completely destroys the concept of the village style build. why would i bother build a bunch of huts for different trades if im limited on my trades? i want to concentrate my builds in one area. if i now have to do it in 4 seperate locations that are thousands of blocks apart im just not going to do it at all.
overall, i suspect this nerf was aimed at the kind of players who would rather see a pick as a trophy than an actual tool. the kind of player that sees The End as literally the end of the game, and not the ironically titled real beginning of a long term world.
yea its absurd! and you cant use an elytra at all because you dont have mending on it! thats assuming you use a seed map to find a village if you choose not to use a seed map it makes mending one of the rarest items to get in the game