Are you gonna do something about gem tools? Theres no real reason to do anything except diamond ones cause they hit hard and that what matters.
Its pretty stupid to have 5 different gem tools when theres no real reasob behind those. Maybe have some effect on them?
Have you seen any other forged version of gemtools than diamond? No cause theres no real reason to do so.
I would suggest you give back our aoe gem tools. That way they have real meaning. And with forge you can just improve the aoe if so.
I love amethyst hammers. Incredibly fast even without swing speed. Invest 8 points in swing speed, oh boy. Forge it to make it even faster OHHHH BOYYYY
Each of the gem sets are not created equal but nor are they out of balance. Most people stat for high swing speed and thus a Heavy Hammer is pretty effective but what about farming lower level worlds where that power is now overkill? Now we switch to a swift Gem Tool that will chop/break blocks way faster without the need for extreme power and thus allows us to farm at nearly twice the speed.
I don’t fully know how expansive the elemental system will get but each tool acts as a different element and I can personally imagine a half dozen ways those will make events, bosses and instances a fun but pleasant challenge while allowing diversity.
Finally with the forge every weapon will grow differently finding unique max stats and gaining benefits another tool could not reach. Forge a swift weapons stronger or stat a heavy tool faster. Choice is yours.
Perhaps instead of buffing the faster tools (armor makes them objectively worse on high tier planets) - maybe give them some measure of armor penetration? That would make up for the difference for sure
