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.