Paladin Cover Ability - Do you use it?

[Knives]

The problem I have with the ability is the recast time. I feel like it's just long enough, given its short duration, that its usage is too tediously strategic to employ. Coupling that with that fact that it takes the original target's mitigation into account instead of your own makes it almost burdensome to consider using, spontaneously or regularly.

[Wadoka]

I see it in my mind's eye, as you see it in the opening movie, when the Roegadyn Archetype physically stands over a downed comrade with his shield high. So in my mind, the mechanic certainly should be short range, but also it ought to use the Paladin's defense/parry/mitigation because it's the Paladin physically shielding the person they're Covering.

I am certainly going to find a place I can experiment with using Cover now!

[Xandim]

IMO this skill has a way long CD for it to be truly effective. That and the short range (ok, I get it, you'd have to be close to someone to protect him, but 9 out of 10 times you cover someone, that someone will end up running away from you, or you dont get close fast enough for it to actually protect the target in time). But it HAS its uses, albeit very limited. But what I like doing is on Turn 4 phase 4, when you have 4 spiders and 2 spinner rooks. You let the healer grab aggro, cover him and flash away. I think its safer then running around Flashing or having the MT worry bout helping tank that phase (specially when the dreadnaught is still alive).

[Zikh]

It's a decent skill and it has it's uses. If it shielded from magical dmg as well it would an awesome skill.

You choosing not to use it doesn't make it a useless skill.

[Maelwys]

As others have already mentioned, I mainly use it during Turn 4.
Usually this is to cover a Healer at the start of Phase 3 (first dreadnought feed - they'll get a hit or two from the spiders before they get absorbed) but occasionally during Phase 6 if I'm Off Tanking.
I used to use it a lot in Wanderers Palace to escort a squishier class past the Stalkers.

The downsides of Cover (that virtually no defensive Cooldowns other than Bulwark and Foresight make any difference to it unless cast DURING the cover) make it difficult to use in a true "emergency" situation. And the cooldown and range are still a little too restrictive for my liking.

[Nailkita]

So in one of our first attempts of Twintania (I think it was the last go of the night) one of our paladins decided to "see what happens" when he covered the current tank during a death sentence... it did not end well.

[Sinaloa]

We use it for the second snake-phase in T5. The whm grabs the aggro with a precast medica 2 to position the adds, the pal covers him and the whm drops aggro after 6-8 seconds. This makes positioning as easy as it can be because noone has to move at all. But basicly that´s the only encounter we found a use for it.