What follows is an expanded version of an earlier idea I hit. It's still kind of rough, but I think it's improving a lot...

STEP ONE: REGULARIZING WEAPON SIDE EFFECTS
Right now, weapons that can stun, poison, and such have their own varied means of expression. To make some of the stuff that follows be trackable by players, these would need to be regularized into the same naming scheme UVs use. So, a Venom Veiler might be listed as "Poisonous: High", another weapon as "Stunning: Moderate", another as "Burning: Low". Low, Moderate, High, Very High, Ultra, Maximum. This would not need to change the present effects of those weapons in any way, only their presentation, for ease of handling in what comes next.

• This step is purely to act as a foundation to what comes after; it's not a thing in itself.

STEP TWO: CHEMICAL BOOSTS
Once step one is done, take all the various vials (poison, fire, stun, and so on), and build on the ability for holders to "activate" them in a second way, by clicking the other mouse button, dragging them onto a dot on-screen, or what have you. When activated in this way, the vial would be consumed, and would temporarily add to the corresponding special ability on your weapons. So, Jimmy has a poison vial. He drags it onto the boost circle, and it clicks in! His weapons now have "Poisonous: Low" as a special feature, for as long as the effect runs (for the floor, or a set timer, as suits best). If those weapons were already poisonous, that ability is stepped up by one. Not all features would necessarily combine - you couldn't get a freezing weapon to also burn, most notably among them. But most could. You could only have one boost at a time, though - drop in a different one, and it replaces the old effect. The different levels of vials could, in turn, provide differing levels of boost - a regular poison vial is "low", a super one "moderate", that kind of thing.

• This makes vials more desirable and useful to all players. Which is good in itself, but also makes the rest of this way cooler.

STEP THREE: CHEMICAL TANKS & MECHA CRATES
Consider the following recipe:

POISON TANK [1 Star]
- Allows you to craft a poison tank, a one-time usable.
- A poison tank can only be used while in the clockworks.
- A poison tank, when used, gives the user 3 vials of poison.
- Poison tanks can be traded, sold, and so on.
---Ingredients: 1 Green Shard, 1 Energy, 20 Crowns.

Now, there could be a whole range of such stuff - Tanks for poison, curse, fire, freeze, shock, sleep, stun, remedy. Tanks for health would, I think, need more materials, or possibly should just be left out. In addition, the same deal could give "crates" of mecha knight kits. Further, each of these could come at three power levels - vials, super vials, ultra vials, and each more costly and more resource-intense than the last.

• This would act as a crown and material sink. It'd be weak if just implemented alone, but far stronger with chemical boosting.

STEP FOUR: NEW CHEMICALS
With that framework around, there would be no reason not to add chemicals that only come from crafting. Here's one that gives you bonus shadow damage when you boost with it, but can't be thrown. Here's another that gives you fire resistance. And so on.

• Neat new ways to spend your monies, and room for devs to play with wild effects.

STEP FIVE: BOOSTER-HAPPY GEAR
Here's the Prismatech Alchemer. It's not all that fantastic right now. But what if it was "Double Boost"? Whatever effect you throw into the boost circle, it's twice as good with a Prismatech. Right. You get the idea.

...Thoughts?