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is useful, but only available at the end of the game. Call Dragon
Fire and Frost Breath are single-burst shouts that seem to do little except to low-level NPCs and animals, instead of the devastating long-duration blasts that dragons use. Ice Form is good for taking a foe or two out of a fight, but not for dealing damage. Marked for Death is alright for weakening foes, but only kills weak ones when it's maxed out.
I could continue on how sneaks and magic-users get little in the way of useful shouts, but I won't. The rest of the shouts are really useless for combat except in very specific scenarios (Whirlwind Sprint for escaping, Clear Skies for getting rid of flammable gas traps). While I get by with the shouts I have, I was hoping for some ass-kicking shouts. While Ulfric likely used Fus Ro Dah on High King Toryyg, the imagery of him shouting Toryyg to pieces is a fun one. Obviously not feasible, but it would be a blast to have a shout that deals massive damage directly, plain and simple. Maybe a shout that bestows a cloak that deals damage, a la
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Or a shout that turns the undead and sets them on fire? Or one that raises a certain number of dead bodies in an area? The first is a spell available to mages, and the other is a Guardian Stone perk, but wouldn't it be fun to have those modified, balanced, and useable as shouts for those who choose a warrior or thief/assassin playthrough?Boethiah's Ebony Mail?
Speaking of, how about some shouts for sneaks? Perhaps one that cloaks one in shadows, muffles footsteps and even forces foes directly engaging the PC to lose the PC and force them to attempt to find them? Or a shout that inflicts mild to severe poison damage on a character without them noticing or switching to combat mode?
Also, last, but not least, it would be awesome to have Alduin's unique shout that summons a storm that rains flaming meteorites instead of lightning bolts. Yes, it could be overpowered, but it also could be balanced for player use, like every other shout in the game. The devs could also make it extremely difficult to gain this shout, or make it available after completing one of their upcoming DLC packs.
Thoughts?