Address current viper issues (PVP)

[Divinemights]

Any analyze on current PvP is pointless due to the fact this is not what we are going to get for Dawntrail expansion
It is patch 7.1 that matters as that is the real toolkit we are getting

[Teno]

While everyone knew that 7.1 would be the real kit, just dropping it like that for 7.0 is underwhelming, but it's on par with the rest of the expansion so...

[Router]

Haven't really tried it in CC, but I honestly think it's one of the better melees in FL. Having 3 charges of slither with the occasional snake scales makes you really difficult to kill and you have pretty decent sustained AoE with your LB. Combined with the fact that VPR gains BH really easily makes you a decent frontliner job IMO. I went on a lengthy 7 games win streak and topped my team's damage a couple of time playing VPR. Is it as good as DRG? No lol, But DRG is a gross outlier.

[Vandi]

I would assume gauging VPrs performance in CC more beneficial than in FL. For melees, it’s the equivalent of dancing between the raindrops there.

[Ixon]

Viper is pretty fun in Frontlines. The fast building AoE LB is pretty good when you can get a coordinated dive. Uncoiled Fury is a nice ranged snipe. Slither provides good aggressive and defensive positioning. Snake scales? Better off pretending it doesn't exist in Frontlines as you will die very easily through it. Though Snake Scales feels a lot better in CC with the ability to combo two Snake Scales(with Rattling Coil) and Guard for a decent stall. And I enjoy that all their oGCD's go through guard. I'm genuinely fine with most of it's kit as being a fast paced, damage focused, dps. Though changes I would want made are:

- Snake Scales to actually block all crowd control(Sleep and Miracle of Nature still get through) minus crowd control from LB's that goes through guard anyway(MNK, DNC, RPR).
- oGCD's extended to 7y instead of 5y as a third to almost half of VPR's damage comes from their oGCD's and between netcode or people just sprinting, feels weird that they can easily out range a follow-up oGCD hit with sprint.
- LB at minimum should be Bind, not a Heavy. Firstly, come on, snakes? Binding? Makes way more sense(yes I know vipers aren't the constricting type but just go along with it). Second, more importantly, the fact that the LB is supposed to be an all-in on a single character with the Noxious Gnash debuff, and they can still use movement abilities to get away without even taking Purify into account feels bad. 90% of the PVP roster has movement abilities to easily slip away without ever burning their Purify, and it just removes any lethality from the ability not even taking into account how they can just out heal the damage over time with pots.

[Lymberey]

When I first read the kit, it was obvious to me that this job is going to have a hard time killing someone due to the lack of hard CC and low debuff duration. In theory, this job can deal almost 70000 damage in a full LB, but it is not effective for reasons.

First, the heavy debuff has 5 second duration. For a job that has to press 5 GCDs + 4 OGCDs back to back in quick succession with minuscule range, people can and will outrun Viper. Gap Closer with LB can be good, but due to the lack of hard CC on Viper, your target can easily heal through your whole LB. It should at least be a Bind so Viper can be effective against people with no purify. This doesn’t change the fact that people can still guard or heal through the LB in the best circumstances. This should balances it out.

Second, for a job that prioritize speed, the Swiftskin buff is on the second combo on both Sting-Fang and Coil. 15s buff duration is ok, but please move the speed buff to the first combo of both Sting-Fang and Coil. This will make Viper go from 0 to full buff a bit faster. This will also charge the limit break a little bit faster too.

Third, 20% damage received debuff lasts for 10s, which is around the full LB combo. This is not effective because the opponent will waste the debuff by simply running around. Even worse, use any reposition tool. The effectiveness of Viper LB plummets significantly without this debuff. This stems from the first problem of having 5s heavy on LB.

I use Viper exclusive for Shatter as the crystals are, you guessed it, completely stationary. This means Viper LB will be at 100% effectiveness almost all the time. I often find myself at the top of total crystal damage with almost no damage dealt to players. It is as if Viper was actually designed for this mode as the Crystal Devourer.

[Cyrox94]

I notice now playing VPR I get picked out in a group ON SITE and the only defense ability snake scales can easily be nulled with an enemy RPR. Right now it feels like an AoE Glass Cannon which is a terrible combination in my opinion.

[Loggos]

viper and pictomancer both do not have their final toolkits. these are just temporary ones in place until the annual sweeping overhaul in 7.1. both of them are janky as hell right now, but that's because these iterations are only gonna last a few months.

Oh how our hopes were disappointed...