Of course, if that PC3 can target a different enemy or can use AoE/Save Spells, then shoving is back to being a good idea. Which circles us back to "Prone is situationally very good."
In the case of facing a single enemy, don't forget about readied action either (I'll fire X when he is no longer prone).
If the Ranged attack is a caster, they don't lose their extra damage at level 5+ since it's a spell. Rogues will keep their sneak attack too (as long as the prone target is engaged when he gets up)
It's not as great as someone who has the Extra Attack function, since they will lose their extra attacks. However, if you have Extra Attack (so likely a Ranger or Fighter), you can just draw your melee weapon and join the pile on if you're in range.
If for some crazy reason the Fighter or Ranger must use their bow, they can still shoot from 5 ft out for a neutral roll - advantage (prone) cancels out the disadvantage (threatened). Recall - Prone gives advantage to any attack from 5 ft, not just melee weapons. It's a terrible choice if it doesn't finish the prone enemy though. However, if they have the Crossbow Expert or Gunner feat, doing that will actually gain them advantage, and tons of style
Originally Posted by mrfuji3
I guess I just want Shove to be a bit more useful in all situations. It'd probably be too powerful if standing up provoked AoOs...maybe Prone could grant disadvantage on Dex STs? Then it would synergize well with both casters and melee characters.
I think it has to be situationally good, otherwise you'd always use it - kind of like the issue many people have with the backstab system in BG3. If backstabbing is always the way to go and is available to everybody, then you're just adding an extra step/clutter into the combat equation.
Example - I posted this vid in the Gith Patrol thread for an unrelated reason, but this timestamp shows the unnecessary struggles I had dealing with the UI caused by the need to backstab as the optimal strategy.
