Customizing enhanced Vaivora effects

[Kisaragi]

Vaivora has become the staple for weapon ichors, but increasing the vaivora stages does not feel rewarding.

How about giving the users additional customization options by adding skill gems to the vaivora ichor to unlock additional effects at Vaivora lv 2,3 and 4?

lv 2 -> +2 skill levels
lv 3 -> -30% Cool down time
lv 4 -> +20% final skill damage

Every skill can only be strengthened once, so the lv1 skill (to put in an example, Pandemic on Necrosis Vaivora) cannot be selected for the lv 2,3 or 4 slots

you put in the skill gem/monster gem you drop in the fields/from gem boxes that match the class of the vaivora to receive the effects for the specific skill

to give an example, lv 4 Vaivora Bow - Reinforced Bowstring
in the first socket(lv 2 Vaivora), you can put every Fletcher skill gem except Barbed Arrow to have its skill level increased by +2
in the second socket(lv 3 Vaivora), you can put every Fletcher skill gem except Barbed Arrow and the one you put into the first socket to have its cool down time reduced by 30%
in the 3rd socket(lv 4 Vaivora), you can put every Fletcher skill gem except Barbed Arrow and the ones you put into the first and second socket to have its final damage increased by 20%

Edit: This suggestion can also be taken as a blueprint for alternative vaivoras that have no skill effect and instead allow the user to decide its skill effects by utilizing monster/skill gems.
Alternative vaivoras (mk II because why not) could be crafted from a vaivora existing for the same base class at Teliavelis in Fedimian, allowing you to choose from all classes in the same class tree of the base class which the vaivora weapon used as crafting material belongs to.

[Zeucleio]

I like this idea but I’d probably give a sizeable nerf to the effects, with the intent of reducing the gap between those who have the VV and those who do not:

Lv2-> +1 skill level to one skill
Lv3-> -15% cd reduction to one skill
Lv4-> 10% final damage increase to one skill

Though I must say some skills would become incredibly op in a system like this, even with reduced values. Mostly the final damage increase skills, or anything that massively increases your dps, such as Infernal Shadow.

[Kisaragi]

yeah, the final damage skills will need a rebalance at some point anyway, removing the final damage from them and moving that to the base class, just like the minimum crit chance buff skills.

This is because they make the class and at the same time break the system by just how overpowered they are in a game where you now have to battle against absurdly high defense values coupled with absurdly high critical resistance, meaning the best way to enhance damage is by adding the multipliers of critical attack (*1,5) and final damage boost(*x, depends on the class).

If you want that sort of system, you need to relocate these buffs to the base class so that all classes in the tree have access to them and none of the advanced classes become necessary.

And I don’t think halved values would really do something, they look too small for the investment.
I’d rather just remove the lv 4 Vaivora effect to balance this.
The reason why +2 skill levels and -30% Cool down are necessary is because there are also defensive and support classe4s in the game, which have no incentive to level up their Vaivora unless their players are already super rich.
However, if they can expand their skills by two levels easily, they are enticed to go the extra mile for another vaivora, and then it’s not that far till lv 3 (or you get a lucky drop?), which allows for a 30% Cool down reduction.

By the way, the reason why I said 30% is viable is because the lv 4 Vaivora effects often have a higher Cool down reduction than 30%.
Examples: Rete Shooter (Blandir Cadena -50% Cool down), Grind (Joust -33% Cool down), Diffuse Reflection (Shadow Condensation -50% Cool down), Wicked Desire (Evocation -50% Cool down), Outrage (Ripper -40.5% Cool down), Saber (Infinite Assault -33% Cool down),Orbital Arrow (Spread Shot -50% Cool down), Triple Steps Single Shot (Rapid Shot -50% Cool down), Centerfire (Crouching Strike -50% Cool down), Rune of Vigilance (Rune of Justice -50% Cool down).

The same for the final damage, boosts, most weapons feature a +100% final damage boost, you can look it up here.
In my opinion, replacing these shenanigan buffs with the option for the player to actually choose which skill to boost per lv his Vaivora increased would make a lot more sense, and everyone would be able to enjoy a small cool down time decrease, skill level boost and final damage boost on the skills of their choice instead of an enforced skill and only at lv4, making the progression unrewarding until you hit the (current) cap.

It also requires you to get the monster/skill gem, which is absurdly difficult to achieve for certain skills, so the boost is actually very minor if you consider the combined costs of lvling your vaivora and getting your hands on the corresponding monster/skill gem.

If IMC has a problem with this, maybe they can make this option as a blank Vaivora alternative with another boost at lv1 so people have an actual choice and classes that have no vaivora yet can actually participate in auto-matching contents, allowing them to take their time designing while players can use their makeshift vaivoras until then.