I came up with some ideas for stats based around a different approach: what are the actions that players undertake and associating these with the five elements:

Elements:
Aid – supporting, enhancing and healing people. This includes repairing technology and self defence. (Earth)
Investigation – uncovering or learning facts and information. (Water)
Influence – interacting with groups and individuals with the presumption on persuasion. (Fire)
Harm – ostensibly combat: seeking to inflict harm or imposition on others. (Metal)
Acquire – the procurement of goods and possibly services by non persuasive means. (Wood)

Kungfu:
Heroes can choose a number of Kungfu – skills, experience and aptitudes – by assigning points to them:
Guns, Tactics, Ordnance,
Interface, Culture, Repair,
Stealth, Traverse, Navigate,
Medicine, Empathy, Inspire,
Endurance, Intimidate, Fighting.
During an action, the relevant Element is modified by a relevant Kungfu score. Kungfu are independent of any particular Element and can be combined with any Element. The only limit is the situation: so a heroic doctor with a high Earth element and a score in Fighting may combine the two for the purpose of self defence. If he wants to go on the offensive, he must use his Metal element.

The basic mechanism is dice + Element + Kungfu (skills, essentially) vs Difficulty/opposing result.

Does this rub people the wrong way? Does it miss something? Do people just prefer traditional attributes? This feels a bit more flexible to me, as opposed to merely being different for different's sake.