Recently i have played a wonderful game called Bioshock Infinite, and the vigor system captivated and astonished me. And then I remembered the vials from SK, and I thought they need revising.
Here is my solution: Remove vials/vigors, and replace them with something that combines features of both!
I have alternate ideas for vials/barriers with Salves!!
Fire vial:
Mechanics would involve this: You consume the vial like a capsule, and then you temporarily (for about 10 seconds) have both of your attacks replaced by two different ones: left click causes you to secrete oil like an oiler, right click throws fiery projectiles upon the nearest enemy or oil puddle.
The name would stop being just "fire vial" and would be replaced with "oiler essence" and replace fire vials/barriers. It's appearance will change, looking like a soda bottle/mustard bottle/poweder flask but with spikes on it and colored like an oiler. Fire puddles would stay for six seconds. Can only use oil igniting fireball once
Curse vial:
Would be replaced by the unlucky 13. Bottle looks like stylised slot machine and using it summons a phantom to fight for you. Phantom will curse enemies, but once it runs out of enemies to curse, it will try to attack you directly. Phantom does not respawn after you killed it, but enemies cannot damage it. Fights like normal.
Freeze vial:
Frosty's Revenge bottle looks like a snowman and will allow you to breath ice and get a bonus to duration of ice effects. Will slow down movement by 10% though, at a cost of adding to defensive capabilities. Will refreeze ice cubes.
Poison vial:
Nuclear disaster will cause 3 orbs to orbit around you, but they follow individual orbits, not one orbit, and explode when they hit an enemy for strong chance of poisoning. Resembles a bottle of wine for some reason. Each orb explodes into toxic puddles, and you yourself ooze puddles.
Shock vial:
Electric catalyst is thrown like a grenade, deals no damage on the impact, but splits into 3 tesla bombs that work like a mist version of gremlin grenades.
Each mist burst is long enough to reach it's fellow tesla coils, no matter what.
Stun vial:
It's name will be Bulwark, and uses the power of the force to kill enemies, pick them up, and throw them like normal vials, causing stun, as well. Larger enemies like zombies, lumbers, etc, will have their chest or head ripped out and thrown in similar fashion, killing the victim.
These and all consumables can be dropped at will, even when one is dead. All of them can stop their effects with the R button or something. Might come with line of armors that boost effects of each, but I will elaborate later, perhaps when I got concept art of all of them. Each has 75-50% chance of appearing in place of normal vials, and comes with a "Classic" mode that has all consumables in order. Other consumables not affected.
There we go, that made sense, didn't it? Now talk about design and special effects, I want to know your opinions on the outward appearances. That means aesthetic appearances.
~~~~Fight Beetle
or, we can keep the vials since they are perfectly fine and add these new items as rare items. maybe you don't use vials, but I do. when I actually remember I have them at least.
now to the actual ideas:
oiler essence: as a fire-spreading thing it's ok, but I would see it more like an actual weapon than a vial effect. also, the "fire at nearest" makes oil completely pointless since you can just spam that and the enemy catches fire.
unlucky 13: not a good idea until OOO decides to upgrade the AI on things. curse self-infliction on use is also not a good idea, since nobody would use this in a battle to make a phantom do the work for them, since the weapons we have deal more damage.
frosty's revenge: and this is different from the freeze vial because? seriously, if you sue this, you are aiming for the thing you are freezing, not hoping that somebody else is going that way to freeze itself too.
nuclear disaster: this could actually replace the barriers mechanic entierly, since OOO doesn't want us to spread status too much with barriers anyway.
electric catalyst: same deal as frosty's revenge.
stun ram: it's a stun vial, but you use it by throwing an enemy. it also doesn't work on bosses, but the stun vial does.