Shield Charge

my lvl 62 HC templar used shield charge so much i would almost say i built around that skill.

i was worried when i saw this in .9.4 changelog:

"

Shield Charge now provides no damage bonus if used at minimum range, because it's fast and doesn't miss. It still provides the same damage bonus at longer ranges.

finally got around to respeccing last night (no passive changes, exact same build as before i didnt see a keystone that fit my playstyle on this build and i really think i did a good job the fist time so no changes).

using shield charge in the same close-up spammy manner to finish off elites or bosses, maybe slightly less dmg but still a viable attack strategy for sure imo. i still use shield charge with cold dmg mod for that extra snare ability that cold produces.

overall i am still enjoying this skill a lot since it has so many uses:

-chase down a enemy running away
-chase down archers
-great against ele-reflect bosses
-get into or out of a pack of mobs easy
-quick burst of speed if you need it
-great single target attack since it is fast, doesnt miss and stuns target often

this one skill does a lot for me!

I have to agree with the above poster on this skill. Wasn't around to see it's earlier state but the current state of it makes it an amazing gap-closer and is by far the most fun skill I've used in the game so far. I mean it's not that it's super exciting or anything but the mobility and responsiveness it brings to your playstyle is just HUGE. After I picked it up my character became so much more fun to play it's insane. Not to mention the fact that it makes you "immune" to one of the most common ARPG "bugs" that tends to be teh reason behind 99% of your deaths. The dreaded "Target lock". a.k.a. when your character has a rare or something similar targeted and all of a sudden you realize you're taking too much damage and have to retreat except when you click anywhere on the screen all your clicks will register as if you were trying to left click the rare you're currently "targetting" making you stand around like a moron using whatever your left-click attack happens to be for like 3 seconds until you die a horrible death and end up in default league. Diablo II had this issue. Path has this issue. Titan Quest, although one of the buggiest games I've ever played and enjoyed didn't have this. So it obviously doesn't have to happen. But it does. And it makes me sad....and dead. Not necessarily in that order.

Anyways back on point. This skill seeing as it is a ground-targeted gap-closer totally bypasses this "bug" and makes you actually able to escape when s**t hits the fan. Which makes it another must-have skill in the arsenal of any shield wearing character I'll ever make.

Oh and the amount of damage you can avoid by kiting large groups of enemies while darting back and forth between ranged and melee groups with this is also just awesome!

great skill for taking out archers and mages and also for getting out of dangerous situations. Very usefull!

Fun to use but it feels a little clumsy, often it will miss if the target moves even a few inches from the spot they were at when you initiated the attack.

The graphic for this skill makes me think it should have a small AoE effect - this would also provide an AoE for claws/daggers (if they're using shields/armguards).

On the plus side, I spent a good 10 minutes asking people in Global why nobody had told me how much fun this skill was when I started using it!
I then got Flicker Strike and found that I had almost no reason to ever use it again.

0.9.5 feedback below this post

Draconicblessing's post is pretty much on the spot. This skill is, for a lack of a better description, flat out worse than flicker strike in just about every way.

Suggestion: Make it a VERY fast charge and make the knockback and stun much more noticeable (longer stun, longer knockback). Make it have diminished effects for special monsters. To compensate, possibly increase the mana cost to offset the increase in power.

Suggestion #2: Possibly make it so that it can't be used unless you have a target. Can't tell you how many times I've used this but was a little off in my clicking and just ran next to them for no reason.

Also, the "trample knockback" effect is barely noticeable. They move like 1 centimeter if they get pushed. Not sure if this is intended or bugged.

Definitely in the top 3 worst skills atm.

I really like this skill, to close the gap between me and the enemy or for fleeing it is perfect.

But it needs a little AoE-damage, because sometimes it doesn't hit, even if i click on the monster. So it could be used without clicking on the monster and it would be more of a skillshot.

The damage is ok for an utility-skill.

This skill is fun to use. As others mentioned it adds mobility to your char and also it feels cool to just trample through a horde of enemies and watch them fly. Flicker strike is better but I like shield charge because it is str based and because you don't need a target so it's also useful for quick getaways.

However, this skill is also very buggy

- Sometimes the skill will simply miss for no reason
- Sometimes an enemy will stand right next to you and be completely impossible to hit. You'll just stand there hitting away at thin air without ever connecting, until you use another skill or take a couple steps back, then attack again.
- There seems to be no real pathing to the enemy, so if there's even a tiny obstacle between you and your target, you'll get stuck on air and drain mana without doing anything.