A passive skill that merely boosts weapon damage output by a percentage rate isn't very exciting, and quite frankly helps some weapons more than others. There are other buffs to weapons that could improve weapon performance and at the same time be evenly spread.

In their comments about TTK the Dev's mentioned they were thinking to rework the proficiency skills so that each weapon would instead only get a bonus to their damage profiles instead of a universal buff. This would be okay for RR's, CR's, and other weapons that punch through armor (as shields don't usually stand up well to anything), but would be quite devastating for weapons whose damage profile would be naturally more damaging to shields and less effective agains armor.

Remember, Armor tanking, shield tanking, and even Dual tanking may be separate (even competing) defensive strategies but we all have some of both. Additional damage against shields is one thing but armor is the last line of defense.

So instead, I was thinking of proposing an alternative to what I feel is an unbalancing choice: remove weapon proficiency skills (as they exist as a percentage boost to damage) altogether.

Apparently the shotgun proficiency skill increases rate of fire, I wouldn't mind having a skill that actually affected a gun's shortcomings instead of just increase in damage, which is always useful but as a long term strategy for the game's survival it probably shouldn't last.

When you have a prototype gun, you're starting off at 10% damage above basic weapons, with proficiency at level 5, which affect's the gun's base damage, you get 26.5% damage above basic, regardless of whether or not the damage modifiers act on base damage or on THIS multiplier, you put on 3 complex damage modifiers and suddenly it increases to at least 50% above basic. How do they expect people not to get frustrated when new players fight people with at least 3, sometimes 4 or 5 times their own health, and can deal the same amount of damage in 2 bullets to their 3? Then these proto stompers run in packs of people who all have good gear and good aim...when does this become fair? lol