This was probably done for items that end at 4*, like winmillion and vitalux. Of course it should be fixed regardless, with these items bumped up to 5* or otherwise dealt with.

I always thought that this was because 0* and 1* items stopped scaling after Tier 1, 2* and 3* items stop scaling after Tier 2, and 4* and 5* items stop scaling after Tier 3.

But now that you bring up the fact that 0* and 2* items stop scaling at those respective Stratums, rather than full-tier, I couldn't help but do some tests of my own...

Found that they did indeed stop scaling, so I'm saying +1, but on top of that I'd like to add that weapons like Winmillion, Heavy Deconstructor etc should get a small damage buff to relate to 5* weapons in Stratum 6.

+1

This is why Nick wouldn't tell us all the secrets, eh? So we could find them and then suggest that they be fixed...? xD

(No dirt an anybody, I'm kidding! This was probably just an oversight.)

you are telling me that the difference between 4* and 5* kat armors is one pip of health? that's quite the oversight.

I'm all for cutting 4* stuff down to size

+1

It would also help if a level 1 5* piece of equipment was as strong if not STRONGER than it's 4* counterpart. Otherwise the progression is just f***ed up.

There's a huge gap between 3* and 4* strength
maybe lower the 4*s power to be closer to the 3*, so the 5* is stronger compared to the 4*

My goodness, have not realized this oversight at all. 4*s definitely need to be cut down, this is just hideous in terms of progression. I'm still all for bumping any lines, weapon or armor, that cap out at 4*, and give a 5* variant. I'm even possibly going to be considering ideas for some sort of a 5* Cautery Sword or so.

@Holy-Nightmare
I was actually thinking of giving it shadow/normal with fire status and it still has the Slime High bonus on it
It'll do less shadow damage than Acheron but slightly more normal damage than it.

I realize this is redundant since we already do have a brandish line that deals fire status, but stun doesn't work too well with Slimes to begin with (Given that's the intended target enemy for Cautery line anyway,) but I do feel fire is a bit more beneficial to it than the stun status. I do think certain swords need to deal stun however, or do need lines for stun, certainly would like Leviathan's charge to at least do stun (I'm looking at you Celestial Saber, bleh.)
I'm just not too sure about giving Cautery stun, I would prefer more making an entirely new Brandish line dedicated to stun.

Making it shadow type would get rid of the one thing it is better at than the Acheron (killing silkwings). A normal/stun Brandish would be viable everywhere, the slime perk is just to give it an area it does slightly better in.

I made a deconstructor suggestion but a total of 2 people commented on it

And its really not much of a Nerf to implement this, even for the things that stop at 4*

This suggestion is still one that would be good. Things that stop at 4* are special in their own way. Winmillion stops there as it's a normal-damage gun-sword. It doesn't do a great job at being a sword, nor does it do a great job of being a gun. Same thing with the tortoguns. They aren't great, but that doesn't mean they're unusable.
However, this just means that the winmillion will take one or two more hits than before to kill something in depth 28. If it took you 10 hits before to kill something and it gets nerfed in depth 28 by ~19%, then you lose 2 hits. With a winmillion, it attacks fast enough for those two hits to connect in under a second, plus if you're using a winmillion at that depth you either are skilled with it or have no idea what you're doing.
It's not a huge nerf to the 4* items, but it is a reasonable buff to the 5* items that are outclassed by their 4* variants for a long time.

So I had a thought for this thread since it's easily the best (and proper) fix for gear and heat regardless of how rare radiant fire crystals are, and it goes like this- not all weapons are equal, and in particular your fix would do nothing for weapons like the haze bombs and at least far less for weapons like nova driver that rely heavily on their charge. To address this, it would be nice if we could alter the way charge time reduction is handed out with weapons.

0-4* weapons wouldn't change-

Level 1, 4* and below = 0 charge time reduction
Level 5, 4* and below = 1 CTR
Level 10, 4* and below = 2 CTR

But then at 5*-

Level 1, 5* = 1 CTR
Level 5, 5* = 2 CTR
Level 10, 5* = 2 CTR

You could also plausibly give 3* and 1* weapons the same fix, since they get a large increase in power/radius etc. at 2/4* due to ranking up in tier, and you could further have 5* weapons get a third level of CTR if you were really so inclined, as that would help out bombers massively but this thread isn't about either of those things, it's about the transition from 4* to 5* only and I don't intend to change that.

Hmm, that is true. I guess that really we need them to do some sort of a "bomber update" to address the whole bomb-heat issue where bombs are useless without CTR while guns/swords are immediately useful via not relying entirely on charges.

+1

Since this information is out there, it would be good for OOO to fix it, or it may keep people from upgrading their gear, and if OOO does release a new 5* armor/helm/weapon, then it will possibly be a waste of a lot of effort as not many people may craft it at this point(if they know about this).

I will admit that I have been hiding behind the strength supplied in leveling up 4* weapons. Such is also a reason why I have not bothered with a Blitz, I find it to be marginally effective in the lowest stratum.

While I might have missed all of the discussion, am I right to assume that the maximum damage output be capped for 4* weapons up to the end of Stratum 5 and in exchange, raise the damage output for 5* weapons? I would be in full agreement if I could see a way to come unto... nope. No second thought about it. I agree.

I can also admit that, upon running through my earlier and later T3 missions after the crafting orb rarities were released, I come upon my fair share of Eternal Orbs of Alchemy. That is not to say that I have an abundance but I speak to the surplus for how much I desire to hold onto. Furthermore, the 4* forging crystals come a lot easier to me, giving me a greater means of preparing my 4* weapons to be upgraded to its final form.

Providing that others have had similar experiences as myself with finding 4* Shining Forge Crystals and 5* Eternal Orbs of Alchemy, I'm all for it.