So, let's talk about Cover (or, a cool thing about Titan Extreme)

Was in Titan Extreme today and a healer went down, so being the off tank I used cover on the main tank to help spread out the damage while the resurrected healer recovered. I didn't realize in the hectic battle at first, but I had a stack of Mountain Buster on me. Huh? I know I didn't get hit by it. Meanwhile the main tank was able to tank all the way to post heart phase without a tank swap, because my mountain buster stack meant he didn't get his.

Not only does this mean less damage for the healers to heal on the main tank, but it simplifies the tank swaps if it's the same tank all the way until gaolers are dead.

I later confirmed it works like this by joining duty finder and testing.

Now I'm curious where else it works like this...

when in cover you take all the damage or debuffs intended for the person you are covering. Now there are different types of debuffs, some debuff will apply if you take damage from the skill used by the boss (ie: death sentence, raven's beak, ifrit EX's fire breath...etc), some debuffs cannot be avoided and will apply regardless (ie: Titan's mountain buster). Those that do damage and apply the debuff can be negated by using hollow ground or from extremely good shielding/stoneskinning.

by the way, your mitigation skills doesn't reduce incoming damage from cover, the damage you take will be the damage that'll be taken by the person it is intended for as is.

Cover is not applicable for AoE damage, BUT i have successfully covered a person from getting hit by "1000million ton swing" used by the cyclops boss in Halatali HM.

I wish cover was on a lower cooldown though.

The skill reads that it only covers physical damage though, so if a boss deals magic damage it won't work.

I'm not online to try but I'm curious if it works on Ultimas tank swap mechanic.. The cover paladin would first need to be able to absorb the debuff, and it'd have to cause it to fall of the main tank before it got reapplied.. I will try tomorrow.

the only point i see to use cover is wen you lose aggro

and if you lose aggro you cant call yourself a tank so no point

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

the only point i see to use cover is wen you lose aggro

and if you lose aggro you cant call yourself a tank so no point

---

Well IDK about you but I've never seen aggro tables work in PvP so I mean...

And also, what if someone goes down, no swiftcast, and chances are the healer will get canceled by AOE? You can cover them during the cast time.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jubez187

Well IDK about you but I've never seen aggro tables work in PvP so I mean...

And also, what if someone goes down, no swiftcast, and chances are the healer will get canceled by AOE? You can cover them during the cast time.

---

i dont know PVP and i dont care about it

also talking about cover when healer spell might get cancelled

you should know that cover wont work if the healer is more than 5 yalms away from you

and no healer will risk going near tank regardless of using cover or not

pointless skill is pointless just like MNK one Ilm punch

maybe with longer range it will have some use but still not the decent way

also if using cover when aoe coming means taking double damage and risking death to yourself

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

i dont know PVP and i dont care about it

also talking about cover when healer spell might get cancelled

you should know that cover wont work if the healer is more than 5 yalms away from you

and no healer will risk going near tank regardless of using cover or not

pointless skill is pointless just like MNK one Ilm punch

maybe with longer range it will have some use but still not the decent way

---

Tbh Paladin's shitty flash can't keep hate against flare crits.
And you have no answer for medica II spammers.
Cover is your option while you get your flat hate of flash to build up from a hard crit.
Sound more like a bad paladin yourself that holds people back.

Don't compare cover to something as narrow as one-ilm punch... that's laughable. You wanna compare something to one-ilm punch, try holmgang.

Anyways, on-topic for the thread:

Seems cover follows this rule: If you can prompt a block/parry for the attack (you can block/parry a mountain buster despite it being 'magic attack) you can cover it. Maybe even if it's AoE (mountain buster is also AoE).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

and no healer will risk going near tank regardless of using cover or not

---

Um, what? If I aggro something or for whatever reason pull hate, the first thing you should do is run to the tank. Why? Because if they have to chase you down because you're running around, they won't get hate back. Oh, they provoked and then you casted a cure? You negated that provoke. Simple solution, bring the mob to the tank, they halone/BB and no issues. How do I know this? Because I main a SCH and sub WHM as a pair with a tank. And sometimes, if I nuke, bane gets me hate (assuming on SCH). I prefer contributing damage rather than standing there with my thumb up my butt sitting on full mp. So, yeah, if you aren't bringing mobs to the tank, you need to reconsider how you play as a healer and try helping your tank rather than making them work harder because you don't feel like taking a few steps forward.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

i dont know PVP and i dont care about it

also talking about cover when healer spell might get cancelled

you should know that cover wont work if the healer is more than 5 yalms away from you

and no healer will risk going near tank regardless of using cover or not

pointless skill is pointless just like MNK one Ilm punch

maybe with longer range it will have some use but still not the decent way

also if using cover when aoe coming means taking double damage and risking death to yourself

---

You just made a complete spectacle of yourself, you know that right? You're ignorant and uneducated when it comes to this game.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

pointless skill is pointless just like MNK one Ilm punch

---

this is wrong on so many levels, you do know there are mechanics in the game that negates the hate table right? like Goblin snipers and gliders in brayflox or turn 7 Lamia Archers, if someone is taking too much damage, a cover can be a life saver before the tank grab back hate or kill the add. It certainly isn't the useless skill you make it out to be.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nayto

Tbh Paladin's shitty flash can't keep hate against flare crits.
And you have no answer for medica II spammers.
Cover is your option while you get your flat hate of flash to build up from a hard crit.
Sound more like a bad paladin yourself that holds people back.

Don't compare cover to something as narrow as one-ilm punch... that's laughable. You wanna compare something to one-ilm punch, try holmgang.

Anyways, on-topic for the thread:

Seems cover follows this rule: If you can prompt a block/parry for the attack (you can block/parry a mountain buster despite it being 'magic attack) you can cover it. Maybe even if it's AoE (mountain buster is also AoE).

---

mountain buster isnt even magic attack no titan attacks are magical

and wait flash cant keep hate against flares?

guess you didnt tank SR brayflox before

i can easily keep hate while im sleeping

wen im undergeared to BLMs maybe i lose aggro

medica 2 spammers yea i agree with you

as for holmgang its way useful than many bad warriors think it is

and if healer kept using aggro king skills while should i be helpful and keep him/her alive let him/her die so they know the mistake

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Minako

Um, what? If I aggro something or for whatever reason pull hate, the first thing you should do is run to the tank. Why? Because if they have to chase you down because you're running around, they won't get hate back. Oh, they provoked and then you casted a cure? You negated that provoke. Simple solution, bring the mob to the tank, they halone/BB and no issues. How do I know this? Because I main a SCH and sub WHM as a pair with a tank. And sometimes, if I nuke, bane gets me hate (assuming on SCH). I prefer contributing damage rather than standing there with my thumb up my butt sitting on full mp. So, yeah, if you aren't bringing mobs to the tank, you need to reconsider how you play as a healer and try helping your tank rather than making them work harder because you don't feel like taking a few steps forward.

---

im not talking about losing aggro i mean if the tank keeping aggro great why would healer run to tank for cover wen cover range is 5 yalms

She aggro'd the forums pretty well.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dano

this is wrong on so many levels, you do know there are mechanics in the game that negates the hate table right? like Goblin snipers and gliders in brayflox or turn 7 Lamia Archers, if someone is taking too much damage, a cover can be a life saver before the tank grab back hate or kill the add. It certainly isn't the useless skill you make it out to be.

---

still range is a heavy major downside that skill got

if range is around 15 yalms the skill might prove some worth of usage no one will risk his/her life staying 5 yalms from the tank

titan EX and T8 are completely excluded conditions

Speaking as a healer whose main paladin friend frequently uses Cover correctly, there have been many times I've seen the skill completely save from the odd mistake in difficult fights.

T4 is a good one. If I'm not concentrating it's really easy to overheal at the end of a phase/start of the next and then all the bug aggro comes to me. Pally covers me, I run over to feed but don't take a cleave to the face in doing so as he takes it for me. Similar has happened a couple of times in T6, too, since mostly we're all stacked together it's easy for the tank to see who's moved too far forwards or can't get out of the way of something in time.
Cover is a very situational skill, but it is FAR from useless in the hands of a good paladin.

The range is 10 yalms and its freaking huge, you can almost cover from the middle to the wall in T6. note : great for covering a dps with honey glaze during a blight phase.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

mountain buster isnt even magic attack no titan attacks are magical

---

Tumults, Bombs, Geocrush, and Weight of the Land are all magic damage.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Viridiana

Tumults, Bombs, Geocrush, and Weight of the Land are all magic damage.

---

yea rite use manawall and tell me if it negated any damage from those

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

yea rite use manawall and tell me if it negated any damage from those

---

You want me to use the ability that negates physical attacks? Sorry, I'm not that gullible. Now, I do have it on good authority that if you actually use the ability that negates magic damage, it affects those attacks.

The skill really only shines in pvp. Pretty much match winning skill, when used correctly.

Cover could be used strategically - as an example given above on T4, healer could intentionally use Medica or Medica II to get mobs to come in while PLD uses cover and a CD, to get all needed aggro since the adds will now be in one place. On bray SR, I've used cover on the BLM or WHM so as to allow AoE attacks go uninterrupted if they don't have sure cast up and ready on the second pull where the mobs target randomly. Can also be used on Copper HM on last boss since the last adds aren't able to be pulled off whomever they target, especially if you have two casters and whose spells get interrupted.

I agree it is most often used (IF ever) in "oh crap" moments, but like the OP posted, you could find a strategic use of it (like I put above in T4). Still limited, yes. Still not awesome, yes. Useful - still actually testing and finding strategic uses.

Yeah, Cover picks up debuffs for other bosses as well, T5 it grabs death sentence, Ifrit EX it takes debuffs, etc etc. Normally for fights that require tank swapping, I try to time it just right to prevent a swap before going into a new phase if I'm not planning on being MT for the upcoming phase (Titan Heart phase is a good example). Also, if timed right, this can cause stacks to drop on the other tank if the timer for the debuff is almost out. Some fights are easier than others to pull this off in, other fights like Ifrit EX I generally don't use it because the attack that gives you the debuff is less predictable. Just experiment a bit and you'll get the hang of it :)

That's actually another good idea on T5 if the MT is a WAR and OT is PLD. Take a debuff once or twice if you can. Why not? Could help keep things moving well.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AlrikRouge

That's actually another good idea on T5 if the MT is a WAR and OT is PLD. Take a debuff once or twice if you can. Why not? Could help keep things moving well.

---

Because it will take the healer's focus away from the MT. Cover has a 12s duration which means it's entirely possible that you can take death sentence + auto-attack (not sure if plummet is physical or magical but I think it's physical). As OT PLD, you should have sword oath on and you can die if you try to cover the MT without cooldown popping/shield oath. IMO it's just better to have the MT manage their cooldown and take it. Storm's Path + Inner Beast is more than enough. You can circumvent Infirmity by Lustrate or stoneskin or a well-timed cure 2.

Good call. May try it right free debuff hits.

Errr....right after. Can't edit from phone.

A Whitemage saying Cover is useless. What's next, a Blackmage never using fire magic?

As a healer, I would absolutely prefer you didn't do this unless it's an attack that would otherwise kill the MT. I will be precasting heals on the MT, and I already have a decent amount to pay attention to. If you throw in this then I also have to watch for the cover buff, start healing you, watch for it to wear off then switch back. Since you said the other healer's down, I'm also covering raid heals and dodging. I can keep the MT up through almost anything on Titan (provided they use cooldowns properly), but if you make it more unpredictable it makes my life harder.

Cover does have it's uses, but it mainly helps for covering DPS/heals (they'll either be taking what for you is minimal damage or be about to die) and when you pre-plan the use (for example eating an MB to keep the MT going would be valid, but I want to know in advance).

If there is at least one situation where X skill is useful, then it is not useless.

Cover, as stated by many in this thread, is a good skill to use in specific situations. The healer did a dumb Medica II and got aggro. Someone didn't run into the shield during the Cyclops on Halatali HM. The healer needs to not be interrupted during a cast.

Comparisons to One Ilm Punch are also unwarranted, as many people fail to see that the skill is perfectly usable and actually quite useful... outside of raids. It would actually be too useful if it could be used in raids, as boss buffs meant to make a mechanic unable to be ignored could successfully be ignored, thus making the Monk an even more required class than Bard in current content. As it is, it's kind of satisfying to be able to remove Stoneskin off of a FATE boss in a single punch, stop haste and featherfoot in their tracks, and potentially put some enemies in infinite loops of continually attempting to buff themselves instead of actually attacking you. Just like cover, it has its moments where it is useful.

I like cover and with the recent patch to it where you get a tether to you and the tank its much easier to see its effect. However I do feel that it needs to be on a shorter cool down. 90 seconds if not 60 would see more use of this niche but great skill. I can see this being used more often in coil if the cd was 90 sec.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

i dont know PVP and i dont care about it

also talking about cover when healer spell might get cancelled

you should know that cover wont work if the healer is more than 5 yalms away from you

and no healer will risk going near tank regardless of using cover or not

pointless skill is pointless just like MNK one Ilm punch

maybe with longer range it will have some use but still not the decent way

also if using cover when aoe coming means taking double damage and risking death to yourself

---

I'm a healer and i get close to tanks whenever lol cuz it's not really that dangerous.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

the only point i see to use cover is wen you lose aggro

and if you lose aggro you cant call yourself a tank so no point

---

This is a really silly post and kinda the essence of what's wrong with XIV community. Cover is a phenomenal tool, even when you have aggro. If you can't understand why you should not be playing PLD.

edit: Know what? At additional thought, I dare say this is probably the most ridiculous thing I've read today. The OP is clearly trying to share what seems to be a very legit strategy in case a tank swap goes wrong for MB stacks, and you've conjured up a very dismissing obtuse comment.

People should have their accounts banned from the forums for childish things like this.

It's worth noting that with our current ilvl capabilities Titan EX is solo tankable, so while finding a way to steal some Vuln Up debufs is cute it's probably easier to just find a party who can DPS hard enough to circumvent it entirely.

That said, learning about how your skills work is admirable and I hope you continue to learn.

Here's some advice people didn't bring up: Cover works with certain cooldowns, but not all of them. This was changed in 2.2, when before Cover was entirely bugged and would 1) use your target's defense instead of yours (ie if you cover a WHM you take that hit as if you were a WHM) and 2) ignored every cooldown in existence. Now it uses your defense and works with Rampart, Sentinel, and Foresight (lol). It won't work with Hallowed Ground and stuff like Bulwark. Knowledge is power!

One of the more mundain, though actually useful situations which I use cover in is for the jumpers in Brayflox Hard. It's rare, but on a full pull, it is entirely possible to lose your healer to an unfortunate one-shot jump. So I preempt the issue by covering him or her. It doesn't last long, but usually long enough for the DDs to reduce the risk to a manageable level.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

yea rite use manawall and tell me if it negated any damage from those

---

Manawall only negated physical demage not magic demage ^^

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

you should know that cover wont work if the healer is more than 5 yalms away from you

---

max range of "cover" is is 10 yalms

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

and no healer will risk going near tank regardless of using cover or not

---

On Bray SR with whm as healer most whm using holy and many of them stand near enough so their holy will hit all monsters

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

guess you didnt tank SR brayflox before

---

^^

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by shrek

Manawall only negated physical demage not magic demage ^^

max range of "cover" is is 10 yalms

On Bray SR with whm as healer most whm using holy and many of them stand near enough so their holy will hit all monsters

^^

---

What he forgot to add to this Crimson, is your posts are much fail.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lemon8or

Because it will take the healer's focus away from the MT. Cover has a 12s duration which means it's entirely possible that you can take death sentence + auto-attack (not sure if plummet is physical or magical but I think it's physical). As OT PLD, you should have sword oath on and you can die if you try to cover the MT without cooldown popping/shield oath. IMO it's just better to have the MT manage their cooldown and take it. Storm's Path + Inner Beast is more than enough. You can circumvent Infirmity by Lustrate or stoneskin or a well-timed cure 2.

---

I pretty sure you can remove Cover by right clicking it (it works for some buff's; haven't tried it myself though)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GurrenLagann

I pretty sure you can remove Cover by right clicking it (it works for some buff's; haven't tried it myself though)

---

It most definitely is not removable by right clicking.

I think its a terrible design to have abilities that are useful in only some situations.
That would work better if the game actually had a system like gw1 and wildstar where you have to actually choose your current set of abilities.

Im afraid with expansions this game will turn into having your screen full of action bars and needing 40+ keybinds to be effective.
But thats just my opinion.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

yea rite use manawall and tell me if it negated any damage from those

---

You DO know that Manawall is for PHYSICAL attacks, right? And MANAWARD is for MAGICAL.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crimson-Falcon

the only point i see to use cover is wen you lose aggro

and if you lose aggro you cant call yourself a tank so no point

---

Aaaand the winner of the dumbest post in 2014 goes to... Crimson-Falcon! Congratulations. Would you like to say a few words before you receive your prestigious award that you worked so hard for? No? Okay, here are just some of the reasons why you've won this award!

1) Plenty of enemies have random aggro, including some boss fights (golem in Qarn or, pudding in Wandering Palace to name just two).
2) Healers that pull aggro from wandering mob groups can be protected while you gain enmity on them.
3) Chain-bombing Black Mages can steal aggro from the best tanks simply because they deal so much damage to so many targets. Cover is their best friend.

Come up and claim your reward, just promise me you won't tank in my parties...