Again, it's not at all necessarily a bad thing, but energy has become vital to many suggestions... which Is why I'm tryong to think of an upgrade which doesn't require energy xD
yeah, wit the hammer, swing speed could be very interesting! but what about a spinning (just because it would make it cooler) lunge attack? here is how it works: you jump while moving forwards, press a key (doesn't really matter which one) and you dive diagonally towards the nearest target.