A Memo About Clemency and Cover in Feast

[Februs]

This is mostly for new players, but some people could do with a reminder ...

• Firstly, Paladins ARE NOT HEALERS.
  
  I’ve seen an awful lot of people who seem to think that Pld’s can just use Clemency to pick up the slack when the real healer is dead, overextended, or just off in lala-land chasing butterflies. That is dead wrong.
  
  Clemency is a supplementary heal only. ‘Supplementary’ does not mean ‘substitute.’ Clemency does have a hefty potency; HOWEVER, it takes 1/3rd of a Pld’s Mp to even cast. That means they only get 3 casts until they are dry. A PALADIN CANNOT SPAM CAST CLEMENCY. Clemency also has a full 2 second cast bar and no access to Swift-cast. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but if you’re hp is already 50% or lower, THE CAST MAY NOT GO OFF IN TIME TO SAVE YOU, especially if you break line of sight. It's a long cast bar, so don't dodge it. You should also NEVER expect it to act as a clutch save. It's awesome when it does, but it's just not that fast and cannot be guaranteed.
  
  With that said, Dear healers, please be aware that having a Pld in your party IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO BE LAZY. If the Pld is doing more to save the team than you are, then you are FAILING at your job. Exercising your excellent CC is great, but not at the expense of letting your teammates die.
  
  
  
• Secondly, COVER DOES NOT HAVE INFINTIE USES.
  
  Cover has a 120s CD (that’s 2 full minutes, fyi). That means that, in an 8 minute match, a Pld can use Cover a MAXIMUM of 4 times. That’s it. Just 4, and that's assuming they used their first use right at the start. On average, you’re actually looking at closer to 2-3 times a match, because Cover is not always the most beneficial move to use. It doesn’t cover magic (including all forms of limit breaks), it can be wasted if it’s not needed, and the Pld takes A TON of damage in exchange for covering your squishy ass, meaning that they’re putting their neck on the line each time they use it. That’s not a big deal at the start of the match, but when they start to get debuffed with heavy medal it’s a different story; so, don’t expect a Pld to Cover everything, especially if they stand to lose more than you do.
  
  Also, pay attention to the tether. DO NOT RUN AWAY FROM THE PLD WHO IS SAVING YOUR LIFE. Further, healers, please be aware that you have to heal the Pld when they are covering a target. Just because the dps isn't taking damage does not mean that the damage doesn't exist. It just swapped targets, so please pay attention.

*EDIT: I’m adding to the list, because apparently people are getting dumber by the day …

• Thirdly, STUNS!!
  
  Holy flying fornications, it is utterly disgusting how many people don’t understand how stuns work, and it is INFURIATING to deal with as a Pld.
  
  Firstly, A PALADIN CANNOT INFINITELY STUN TARGETS. I really don’t get how people have trouble understanding this, but stun resist is a thing. It’s actually an attribute of the target being stunned, and it pops up after a maximum of 3 stuns. That’s 3 stuns in total. They do not have to be the Pld’s stuns. It can be any combination of people. The game doesn’t give a damn who started it or ended it. It’s just 3, and then it’s over, and it I over for a FULL MINUTE. So don’t expect miracles in the meantime.
  
  Secondly, a full Pld stun rotation is 7 seconds. That assumes that the Pld is the one who did ALL THREE stuns. If some other asshat dps does the first one, then that time is reduced and there’s nothing the Pld can do about it. Now, Plds can stretch that 7 seconds out to about 8 or 9 seconds by throwing out a Spirits Within and Glory Slash, but the actual stun only lasts for 7, blissful, seconds.
  
  Dear Dps. If you cannot kill a target in 7-9 seconds, THEN YOU ARE FAILING AT YOUR JOB.
  
  I can’t count how many Dps, melee in particular, seem to think that it’s all the Pld’s fault when they couldn’t kill a target. NEWSFLASH, it is the dps’s job to kill things! Man up and take some frigin’ responsibility. Do not simply assume that the Pld isn’t doing their job when you FAIL so miserably at yours, and do not assume that the Pld can stun a target whenever they frigin’ want! If you wasted a Pld’s full rotation, then you have to wait a full damn minute for the next one, and no, that is not an excuse for you to take it easy. A Pld’s stun rotation is a wonderful tool for killing things. It’s a great set of crutches to stand on, but you SHOULD NOT NEED THOSE CRUTCHES TO DO YOUR JOB. This is going to sound harsh, but if you cannot, at the very least, pressure a target without a Pld’s stunning the healer, then YOU ARE FAILING YOUR JOB.
  
  As for healers … I realize you have a high stress job and are constantly hounded, but please understand that your Pld cannot be in two places at once. That’s actually physically impossible. So, it should go without saying I cannot save your ass while I stun the enemy healer at the same time. Pick one or the other. Do not expect both at the same time.

End of memo.

[Koltik]

For Paladins:

Don't cover without using your mitigation CD's. HG doesn't work, but others do.

[Februs]

For Paladins:

Don't cover without using your mitigation CD's.

Definitely!

Almost every Pld that I've seen die in Feast has died because they were taking excessive dmg while covering a target. So DON'T FORGET TO POP A DEFENSIVE CD WHEN USING COVER! Be sure to use Push Back, as well, in case someone tries to punt you off of your covered target. Further, keep an eye out for splash damage and AoE's. You're already taking extra dmg from the covered target. You don't want to get caught in the crossfire of any additional damage that you don't necessarily have to be taking. Cover has a short range, but it's not so short that you have to be glued at the hip.

[Dimitrii]

Cover is not always the most beneficial move to use. It doesn’t cover magic (including all forms of limit breaks)

Does it really not work on melee limit break? I never play my PLD in PVP so I may be ignorant in terms of some of their abilities applications in PVP but I could have sworn I once killed a PLD before via melee limit break as DRG while I was targeting their melee. It was a while ago though so the details are murky now in my memory. I thought he died cause of cover on my LB but perhaps I mistakenly targeted the PLD instead of the melee contrary to what I thought.

[Koltik]

Does it really not work on melee limit break?

No, it does not work on melee LB. Melee LB goes through it.

[Februs]

Does it really not work on melee limit break?

Nope.

I can't remember the exact wording at the moment, but I'm pretty sure that the melee Lb doesn't specify dmg type. It just says a flat potency of 'x' (depending on tier). That said, I'm fairly certain that ALL limit breaks are considered to be 'un-aspected damage,' which would imply magical and non-elemental. At the very least, it's not physical. For that reason, when I see any LB's going out I only ever attempt to mitigate them with defensive CD's that are not damage specific such as rampart, sentinel, or the Tank Limit Break, just to be on the safe side. Regardless, Cover does nothing to mitigate or stop it. I tend to use Cover if I think the healer won't be able to keep up with the incoming damage (and admittedly I sometimes cut it a little too close), but when I see a melee LB charging up I know that my covered target is pretty much toast unless I can stun the Lb (which is unlikely with varying latencies). I've seen many a covered player get snuffed by those pesky buster swords.

[Februs]

Actually, now that we're on the topic, I do wonder about the effects of non-magical AoE's on Cover.

Attacks from Smns or Blms are not covered, so the Pld only takes dmg from a single hit. However, I don't know if that's the also the case for physical AoE's, such as from a Brd, Mch, Drg, or Mnk. Technically, if that dmg is considered physical, then the Pld could potentially be taking double damage from any non-magical AoE's, but I've never tested it or really paid attention. I'm fairly certain that the toolkit doesn't specify damage type, stating just a flat potency, but I'm not sure ...

[Enlial]

I believe so, that you will take double damage from a physical aoe. The only evidence I can think of is when I'd use cover on a player being marked for shiva's beam attack in ex mode, and then get hit by the beam myself as well, I'd go flying, hard, clear across the ring as if I were hit twice (pretty hilarious actually xD). I assume the damage is counted twice as well, but cant say Im 100% certain. Im a little curious also actually but on a practical level, dont think there are any physical aoe's that get regular use in pvp

Another thing about stuns, the resistance timer resets exactly 60 seconds after the last non-resisted stun. Meaning if a pld stuns the healer twice, but then decides a third one isnt worth it, and a monk shoulder tackles them 59 seconds later, they're going to have full resist for another minute after. More importantly, the pld probably loses the ability to track resistance and is left guessing when they can do their stun locking again.

[Februs]

The only evidence I can think of is when I'd use cover on a player being marked for shiva's beam attack in ex mode, and then get hit by the beam myself as well, I'd go flying, hard, clear across the ring as if I were hit twice (pretty hilarious actually xD).

One, that is hilarious and I want to try it just to see it happen now lol.

On a more serious note, I really am curious how that damage is calculated, but unfortunately I haven't had any real way of testing it in a PvP setting. As you said, almost no one does physical AoE's in Feast because they're just not considered to be very effective. That might be a different story if a Covering Pld takes double dmg, though ... which makes me kinda hope that no one tests this, because it would make using Cover hell if it became the common practice for a Mch/Brd + any melee was to spam AoEs when the tether popped out.

Another thing about stuns, the resistance timer resets exactly 60 seconds after the last non-resisted stun. Meaning if a pld stuns the healer twice, but then decides a third one isnt worth it, and a monk shoulder tackles them 59 seconds later, they're going to have full resist for another minute after. More importantly, the pld probably loses the ability to track resistance and is left guessing when they can do their stun locking again.

This is a good point as well, and it can definitely be an annoying thing to deal with. I typically use Spirits Within as my timer for stun resistance, because as long as you use Spirit within on CD it will count the minute down for you in 30s intervals (Last stun > Spirits > +30s CD > Spirits > +30s CD = 1 full minute, so stun resist is reset). That only works so long as someone else didn't screw around with the timer, or jump the healer before I got to them. People tend to forget that Pld's don't have any form of gap closer.

[Renius]

Amen brother!! Very well put.