Demon Shard Predictions

Let me defend JeffCross idea, because i like it. With few tweaks, it could really work.

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Iga said on one of his interviews, that at first, the shards (they didn't had that name yet) would need to be "matured" for the player to use them. He wanted to add another layer of alchemy into the game, forcing the player to do "something" with the shards prior to being able to use them. Later on, IGA said that this idea was about to be scrapped because the dev team thought this could be really frustrating. This wasn't discussed anymore, so, i think they gave up, BUT, it could be like what you said OR it could be like a combination of shards. 

Maybe the player need to collect broken shards and use alchemy to fuse them together, like you said, or some shards have greater benefits and powers when used at the same set.  The Custos Glyphs at Order of Ecclesia was like that. Each one represented a head of Cerberus, like Cerberus powers broken up at three pieces. When you used all at once, Arma Custos increased it's power by 50% and each head had more damage. 

Dawn of Sorrow also had that. The Enchant Soul Skeleton Ape had a description like this  "Throw a foe with incredible power." That soul, alone, it does absolutely nothing.  When equipped with some souls that are based on throwing some weapons or enemies (like the Shard Cast Amy) it increased it's powers, or changed how they worked. 

Both ideas sound good to me.

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The game can have both things. You could increase shards powers by collecting more of the same type, like Dawn of Sorrow AND some shards could be broken, in the need of being fused AND / OR some shards could work better when equipped together at the same set.

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Online is a optional gameplay at Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. The main game is the main game, and everything must be done thinking on the main game. I also see absolutely no problem on forbidding things at online play for balance purposes. It happens all time in MMOs, as JeffCross said. A lot of skills in MMOs aren't really forbid, they are just really nerfed when put in any kind of dispute between players. For instance, a skill that gives STR + 300% damage against enemies, and STR + 30% damage against players. MMO players are used to that.