(Note: this isn't a suggestion, just a discussion.)
Should the Valiance have the same regular attack as the Tortogun?
The Valiance has a small blade on it which appears to be obsolete, but the Tortogun has a suitable attack animation/mechanic for it.
TL;DR: Tortogun has melee/gun attack, Valiance (blade gun) doesn't.
Tortogun mechanics and Valiance?
I like the current combo mechanics but the damage is way too bad. The damage is about as good as DVS, yet it's sluggishly slow. It's not too useful as a utility for getting motion, as the speed means a shield cancel and some good ol' walking does roughly the same, although using the Tortofist may look cooler and do a tiny bit more damage. I think it would be fair to make the total damage roughly the same as a Suda. While Tortofists have range, Sudas have width, which is something incredibly useful for melee weapons and it's something Tortofists don't really have.
Since valiance's charge is mediocre (situationally usable but not winning awards), I would say that it would in every way be out classed by the tortoguns if it were given the same style of attack on normal hits. If anything, valiance could be split into two lines; one with a bayonet that slices or jabs on the charge and one that behaves like the current valiance (perhaps buffed?), but lacks the bayonet. Unnecessary, but cool.
That is what I thought valiance should do all along. Ever since I noticed its similarities with Wolf's Blaster (yes I KNOW its completely unintentional):
http://www.smashbros.com/wii/en_us/characters/images/hidden12/hidden12_0...
I would think that the bayonet should stab without moving at all and only stabs at the beginning just to give a slight knockback just like the energy bullets Valiance has.
It would be neat, but I don't think the developers would make such a drastic change to a weapon.
Though a combo such as:
Slash - Slash -Bullet would be awesome, gotta say.