Quote Originally Posted by Reynhart View Post
I don't recall Cover being that useful if you're the one to take physical damage...
I meant that you are not limited to using Cover only as an OT. It doesn't happen often, but in the event you are main tanking you can still cover a healer or DPS from taking lethal damage if needed. Cover usage is not limited to being in the OT position.

Quote Originally Posted by Kabooa View Post
It's redirecting attacks to the paladin. Not reducing damage. Not preventing damage. The function is changing the target.
Cover does in fact reduce damage. By a lot, if you want it to.

Quote Originally Posted by Reynhart View Post
And you're deliberately avoiding an important difference between those actions, that I already explained, precisely that addionnal effects are redirected with Cover and not with any other way of mitigating damage on someone else. The sad part is that this is essential on what makes Cover strategic, allowing to bypass some movements or tank swaps, which is an important concern when imagining a tank that isn't supposed to "main" tank.
Again, you are only describing the fleshing out of a particular ability. Cover is a tool to mitigate damage dealt to a single party member. As a function of it's design, it redirects that damage. Sometimes this redirect function is useful, other times you are only using it to mitigate the damage.

But I can't help tie this in to the bigger picture. Clearly, this is the type of ability that you and Lyth would seem to support. It's wholly unique in it's function among support abilities, and it's also deeply ingrained in the PLD archetype. To take Cover away from PLD would be to take away it's shield. Fair enough. But don't then say that there is too much homogenization already and that's why they've failed to achieve "balance". If you want or need this unique function, then you can only get a PLD to fill it. Good night, Dark Prince.