Williams, 36, has been playing professional rugby in Cardiff since the turn of the Millennium and has ridden the ups and downs of the region's fortunes since its advent in 2003.
With the likes of Gethin Jenkins, Casey Laulala, Rhys Thomas, Ben Blair, Richie Rees and John Yapp all leaving the region at the end of the season the Blues' lineup will be very different for next season's PRO12.
But Williams says he has seen it all before and believes the region can still prevail once the transitional period is over.
"I was here (at Cardiff RFC) in 2001 and 2002 when a very similar thing happened and we lost a lot of players," Williams told walesonline.co.uk.
"It's so similar it's unbelievable. Ten years ago more or less, we went through exactly the same thing.
"Then, around 2005, we started recruiting the likes of Xavier Rush, Ben Blair and Gethin Jenkins.
"Paul Tito and Casey Laulala have also joined over the years and the younger boys have come through.
"We have had a good five years and I think we are ranked four in Europe because of our performances over that period.
"We have been building, building and building.
"But for one reason or another, it looks like that's going to be lost.
"It's a shame because I thought we had been through that painful period, but it looks as if we are going to go through it again.
"I suppose we are in a rebuilding phase again. We are stripping everything down and starting again."
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