I would just so much rather have the option to shove things prone, so my melee will actually get to *do something* other than camping on high ground and blocking/shoving off enemies going for my ranged.
Once melee characters start unlocking extra attack, people are going to start realizing that all the current iteration of shove does is prolong the hell out of fights. Sure, the enemy takes fall damage and probably can't retaliate against you, but it's also several turns that your melee can't beat the shit out of them either. Or, in Larian speak, there's a VERY good reason why most people used Teleport and Nether Swap to set up a wicked offense rather than warping things away, and the most optimal builds almost always included a 2 level dip in Aeroteurge for the sole purpose of learning both skills.
(And this is also something I will argue that EA locking us to level 4 is a very bad thing for testing purposes, when level 5 gives us skills that could drastically change the game's flow of combat.)
I'm also pretty sure everyone would agree that getting advantage rolls by shoving something prone and then attacking right afterwards is several degrees far less stupid than leapfrogging over their heads for backstabs. Especially since the former is far more strategic in that one successful shove prone = ALL of your melee attackers get advantage rolls against that target until said target's next turn, at the cost of a single party member's action/bonus action. Whereas the backstab option eats everyone's bonus action to jump behind the enemy, and it looks incredibly stupid/immersion-breaking to watch your entire front line re-enact some stupid 'nothing personnel kid' meme at the same time.
Last edited by Saito Hikari; 08/06/21 09:59 AM.
