The problem is, I'm not sure how much they could reduce the additional skill potency and retain meaningful skill expression on Viper. With the exception of Dragoon and Samurai, all melee lose 60 potency when they miss a positional -- Dragoon on the other hand loses 40 and Samurai loses 50. Viper loses 60 on the Hinds/Flanks combo enders and 50 on the Dreadwinder Coils, so it's in line with other melee DPS as far as how much it loses when it fails to hit a positional.

Now, given Viper's personal haste buff, Swiftscaled, you could argue that it's performing positionals more frequently than a job like Dragoon or Reaper, but Ninja's Aeolian Edge still loses 60 potency, as does Monk's Snap Punch, and those abilities are on recast times similar to Viper's, and no one is asking for a reduction of positional reliance on Ninja or Monk because they have had time to get used to it (that is, assuming they aren't for the removal of positionals entirely).

That's what's so frustrating about the Viper situation; some players new to the job (and that means everyone right now) are trying to change Viper into something it is not because they want to play the new flashy job without feeling like they aren't performing well, without any consideration for its longevity as a job. Positionals have survived six expansions because they are integral to melee DPS engagement, and Viper's should not be done away with like a candle in the wind because some players haven't completely mastered the job in a week. As the OP suggests, Viper is completely in line with all 5 other melees and should remain as it is if they want the job to be fun not just right now, but in one year, or two, or five.