Return of Reckoning

SM lacks in group utility compared to KoTBS and IB; everyone knows this. SM is widely regarded as the best 'offtank' because of its damage, but main tanking leaves a lot to be desired. Beyond the bubble-HoT build, which I will admit is great for self-defense, SM is very bad at supporting their group like the other tanks can. Part of the reason is the lack of a reliable punt. Gusting Wind is amazing in certain niche situations (mainly if there is a cliff nearby to throw several enemies off of), but outside of those rare instances it does little but spread immunity timers to a bunch of enemies. Its knockback distance is also distinctly subpar compared to both KoTBS and IB.

Instead of getting into the various builds of SM such as the Khaine, Hoeth and newly emerging Vaul, I propose to increase SM's group usefulness across the board by modifying one of the base tactics of SM: Forceful Shock.

As it currently stands, Forceful Shock causes Blurring Shock to knock back players and knock down monsters. It is virtually never used by any SM build, because it ties the knockback to Blurring Shock, which is a CORE ability, and causes you to knockback people when you really don't want to.

Instead of its current effect, I propose to change Forceful Shock to modify Gusting Wind into the single-target knockback that would normally be given to Blurring Shock. This will solve both the issue of constantly handing out immunity timers to a bunch of enemies when you didn't want to, and give SM the core ability to isolate a target and punt him into an allied group for extermination, abilities that both KoTBS and IB have but SM currently lacks.

P.S. Sorry for my complete lack of formatting.

AoE KB is an incredibly potent form of CC when used right. That people are using it incorrectly/'handing out free immunities' isn't indicative of a problem with the skill, but rather the person using said skill.

I am not a fan of making the tactic affect AoE KB: AoE KB is what separates SM/BO punts from other tank punts, and AoE KB doesn't require a target so how would it apply a ST KB? Not sure if that is possible to code right now.

Having said that, I will be happy to open such a proposal that links Forceful Shock to another ability other than Gusting Winds. It is nonsensical to tie a ST KB with a DPS amplifying ability, I agree.

Think of another ability to tie said tactic to, and get back at me. May also be worth tying an improved version of this tactic (as per your proposal, I hope) to SnB, so as to see more Shieldmaster incentives.