1. Special design not meeting the goal
From the release post:
Upon reaching a minimum essence gauge threshold, the next Special attack will be empowered. If the essence gauge is completely filled, the next Special attack will be empowered even further, granting a reality-tearing Warpshock Slash attack.
This “reality-tearing Warpshock Slash” attack is only really able to kill bruisers and below. Given how long it takes to gather the charges it should definitely pack more punch. I would expect it to kill at least Dreg & Scab ragers at a full charge and the damage drop off should also scale with the charge level, having lesser falloff at higher charges. Otherwise, the charge amount needs to be dramatically lowered so that the special can be used more frequently.
2. Variant design not really working, VIII is better single target and horde
From the release post:
Covenant Mk VI Blaze Force Greatsword
This 2h Forcesword mark has immediate access to powerful Strikedown attack loops but can reach its Heavy Vanguard attack only when chaining from specific Light attacks.
This makes the weapon very suited to deal with single foes but also will require a bit of skill when facing dense hordes.
So it seems the Mk VI variant should be the more “single target” oriented one. Let’s continue.
Covenant Mk VIII Blaze Force Greatsword
This 2h Forcesword mark has immediate access to many different Vanguard attack loops, but can reach its Strikedown attacks only when further into the combo.
Particularly, its extremely strong Heavy stab can be reached only after a push-attack, therefore requiring a small amount of setup.
And this is supposed to be the “horde” variant.
HOWEVER
Mk VIII (horde) is actually better for both single target and horde. Because of the unique wield and sprint attacks, the Mk VI (single target) will force you to loop through many attacks before you can access the H2 stab after sprint or immediately after wielding the weapon. The Mk VIII (horde) can force the stab out by performing a push attack into heavy after a sprint or wielding for immediate access.
Since the strikedown heavies only target a single enemy and will not cleave, the Mk VI (single target) variant cannot effectively deal with single targets mixed in horde as you will get damaged by the horde that will not be staggered and you might hit the wrong target. The Mk VIII (horde) is much better in eliminating singular targets both mixed in horde and solo, as you can perform a push attack which will CC the targets around you as well as the intended recipient of your stab, allowing you to safely shove it into the intended target.
The Solution?
At least let the Mk VI (single target) access the H2 stab as a follow up from push attack, just like the Mk VIII (horde) as well as directly from a sprint / sprint slide / wield animation. In addition, if you are not planning a third variant, you could just make the Mk VI have only stab heavies, except as a follow up from L3 like it is now, so that the lack of control would be justified by the increased damage.