Deka can still do well in open though - a good player anyway. It isn't a class designed for 1v1s - often the deka would have assists and the jedi wouldn't be at full fp to begin with.
I don't think it's in need of a buff exactly but knockback changes cant come soon enough for the class
There are a lot of new/noob duelists joining recently so that might be why you are encountering worse ppl
There is a chat filter option in settings however i'm not entirely sure what it blocks,
You can always /ignore I guess