Who would benefit the most from nerfs to shield regeneration?

[Duck SMASH!]

We've all heard it before. You execute an elaborate attack string, whittle your opponent's shield down until you can barely see it, and then you get grabbed, Dthrown, Uair'd, and by the time you land, your opponent's shield has regenerated back to full, or at least enough to withstand your next assault.
Fast shield regeneration is a key reason why shield grabs and throw combos are so prominent in Sm4sh's current meta. Why do anything else when your shield is so safe and it's always there when you need it?
The shield stun increase helped address this indirectly, but not enough to stop the meta from centralizing around throw combos.
Think about it. Tier list placings depend on the ability to reliably rack up damage. If shields are reliable, options out of shield become especially important. Throw combos become critical by extension because of how easy and safe it is to shield grab opponents.

But what if that changed?
What if shield regen wasn't so quick, thereby making shield and its punishes less safe?

I feel like offensive characters, such as Bowser Jr., rushdown characters like Fox, and several pressure oriented characters like Megaman and ROB would reap huge benefits. If they can keep a consistent offense and their opponent can't keep them out or weather their assault/zoning, why shouldn't they be rewarded with more shield pokes or shield breaks for a stronger neutral consistent with their playstyle? It would make the game less centralized around throw combos and shield grabs, and give characters a reason to vary their approaches because they'd be a little safer.

Thoughts? Who else would benefit, and would there be any other unforseen consequences that I didn't list?

 

[LancerStaff]

Thing is that it's the stronger characters who can pressure shields and not the weaker ones. A handful of lower characters would benefit overall, but most would be worse because now they can't shield on top of lacking other defensive options.

 

[Duck SMASH!]

Shield damage doesn't need to be increased as well - that would definitely unbalance the meta.
If anything, it could be lowered to encourage shield pressure and continued offense.
Other characters could then have to consider options to "parry" attacks instead of just hold shield, like beating out aerials with tilts and smashes instead of holding shield. It would indeed be more difficult, but it would also be more rewarding if you could time your attacks to beat out your opponents'.

 

[Uncle Tonkle]

Yoshi, having next to no grab game and phenomenal shield pressure, is the first to come to mind for me. Especially since his grab game is really bad with no actual throw combos. This is the one thing holding him back right now, another significant nerf to shields would shoot this guy right up to top tier. I'd like to see it to be honest, these grabfests get old.

Of course, people with massive shield damage get help from this as well. It'd make things like Jiggs Pound, Marth/Lucina SB and Peach general offense game much stronger than they are now.

I'm for anything that encourages offensive play. I prefer a "don't get hit" mentality over a "just shield and punish/reset to neutral" mentality, but that's probably because I'm biased with the Melee mentality a bit. I'd like for shield to be a good option against smash attacks or generally attacks with extreme amounts of knockback and against all other moves it means you either put yourself in a bad spot or just nothing happens aside from taking a bit of shield damage. I think Peach is a great design for this reason, I'd definitely play her if it didn't hurt my wrists.

 

[#HBC | Red Ryu]

Projectiles would be a lot better if they would deal more pressure from a distance and force more shield pokes.

Some characters with better pressure like Peach would be able to abuse this a lot more.

 

[ghWyPakDzVvPncx76h2J]

I whole-hardheartedly believe that Duck Hunt would benefit the most. When you time gunmen, and his side b and then mix a smash attack or any other attack in there it diminishes their shield very fast and because of how long it takes to get good set ups with him this would absolutely benefit Duck Hunt and force opponents to approach him and automatically he is in a very good position. Duck Hunt dominates in the air with the projectiles so you have no choice but to play a careful ground game and all that while you have stage control entirely tips the matchup in duck hunts favor. I feel that he would benefit the most. Then there's Ryu who would also benefit ridiculously, but he doesn't benefit as much as Duck Hunt due to the fact that some characters could attempt to camp him out for a bit and you don't want to be near Ryu [in the neutral] in the first place (That's suicide!). But if a character had to benefit the most it's guaranteed to be Duck Hunt who would see the most rise from this due to the fact that he forces you to approach and makes shielding not an option while he has stage control (endless amounts of potential right there).

 

[MarioMeteor]

Mewtwo, Lucario, and Samus would benefit a lot, especially Lucario. A forward smash at Max Aura one-shots shields, combine that with Force Palm and Aura Sphere, and Lucario would be a rampaging monster. Obviously, the other two benefit from having powerful projectiles that wreck shields.

 

[Masonomace]

From a offensive perspective, Peach / Yoshi / Lucario / Mewtwo / any character mentioned already with decent to high shield pressure can really shine. From a defensive perspective, it'd be Shulk with the Monado Shield art since the Shield arts increase the max HP from ~42 HP to ~63 HP. Having that much bubble shield strength also means that the shield regen per second improves despite of the hypothetical shield regen nerf.

 

[LancerStaff]

Shield damage doesn't need to be increased as well - that would definitely unbalance the meta.
If anything, it could be lowered to encourage shield pressure and continued offense.
Other characters could then have to consider options to "parry" attacks instead of just hold shield, like beating out aerials with tilts and smashes instead of holding shield. It would indeed be more difficult, but it would also be more rewarding if you could time your attacks to beat out your opponents'.

Like I said, it's even more discouraging to the lower characters because if they shield Captain Falcon or Ryu's attacks a few times they can't shield again for quite some time... Being that most of these low characters have terrible mobility, it makes them even more of punching bags.

 

[LightLV]

They should just take everything regarding shields/evasion and return it to Melee/Brawl levels. Smash 4's terrible defense balance removed an entire dynamic from the game that only helps characters like Shiek, ZSS and Falcon crap all over the meta.

Not only shieldbreak should be considered, but shield pokes and pushing people off ledges as well, as that was pretty damn important.

Of course the way Smash 4 is designed, it's not going to knock the current top 3 anywhere off their thrones. But it'll at least give other players some tools to work with.