I didn't think that I was vague in what was posted, but after looking it over and discussing it, I made an update to simplify it further. The original post has been updated and here is the changed text:

This is similar to the OP's suggestion, but we have decided to preserve the current drop rates for weapons and individual chests. And in addition to the reward weapon, we will introduce an item that can be traded to an NPC for a weapon. This new item will drop at a fixed rate, and will be loot list-tradable, so you will have an opportunity to pass it to another player. (Updated on 11/22, 6:45pm PST for clarity)