Please revert the Viper changes immediately and stop changing it.

[OdinelStarrei]

The job barely lasted a single month before it got its single upkeep mechanic removed, that's got to be a new record. Makes me wonder how the fuck the Reaper one survived since upkeep mechanics are apparently too difficult and stressful to maintain for the average player.

I'm impressed at how many upkeep mechanics have been gutted, are they really that hard for players to work with?

If I had to guess...Shadow of Death is still in the game because it's the only GCD you can use while Enshrouded that does not consume gauge and push you further to being forced to Communio. This is important, it acts as filler GCDs while Enshroud's timer ticks down after the first usage. With this, you can get 2 Communios, Plentiful Harvest and the Perfectio in Arcane Circle. Considering Arcane Circle is one of the first of the buffs to go out in a team, after the 1st GCD, fitting those highest damage hits in Arcane Circle is the hardest, and everything else typically works out from there.

If Death's Design as a debuff was removed, they'd have to also completely remove or nerf Enshroud's cooldown down to less than 10 seconds, or double Enshroud windows, one of the things I appreciate the most on RPR in terms of "game feel", would be impossible.

That's assuming it's even intentional design in the first place...and this isn't even getting into the gauge build up from enemies that die while the debuff is inflicted in something like a dungeon. In order to compensate, you'd need higher potencies on AoE attacks, but that's just boring. Again, they'd be removing a mechanic and not adding/replacing anything in that empty design space.

EDIT: It also feels a bit anti-thematic to Reaper. If I don't gain anything when enemies die, what am I Reaping, exactly?