Thank you for the incredibly kind words, HKM! That genuinely means a lot to me.
Going straight to your question—here is my gut reaction:
It definitely reads as being "sent to the bench".
In a fast-paced arena game, 4 seconds feels like an eternity. If it were just 1-2 seconds, it might feel like a slick tactical 'escape' or dodge. But 4 full seconds breaks the momentum entirely and feels like a timeout penalty where you lose control of the match.
Hope this helps! 🎮
Thanks for coming over and answering it here as well 🎮
The part I am taking away is your phrase rather than your verdict. “Sent to the bench” is a substitution, and a substitution is also a long loss of control that nobody calls unfair — because it is a named rule, you know why it happened, and you know you are coming back on. So the first thing I am going to try is naming the mechanic rather than shortening it, and only cutting the duration if it still reads as a penalty once it has a name.
I have written the long version back in your thread so I am not duplicating it here. Appreciate you taking the time to answer a question that was genuinely hard to answer.
