Paladin "Cover"

[Twilite]

But can't Hollowed Ground → Cover.

[Brannigan]

Cover is another gimmick that doesn't do anything most of the time on a class filled with gimmicks that don't do anything most of the time. It was cool in Bahamut Prime mostly because it stopped the puddles from forming, but it doesn't prevent secondary effects from happening like anywhere else in the game. If the devs have to invent weird situations like that for your ability to be useful, it's probably not very good.

Basically, cover is pretty good when you get to use it. It's just that 90% of the time you don't. It could use some tweaks to make it more of a benefit in everyday fights, but you could say that about a lot of paladin stuff.

[loreleidiangelo]

Shorter cooldown; redirects magic damage as well as physical so it's useful all of the time, and not just some of the time; reasonably longer range but not so long as to be ridiculous in concept. Boom - I'm happy.

[Eye_Gore]

I think I've used it once doing Titan HM a while back. Was only me the other PLD who was MT and 1 DPS left, everyone else dead. Titan was almost dead and instead of a wipe I used it on the MT to take the damage off him. Once it ran out I started healing the MT was just enough to get the clear. Other than that, never used it, found no need to. I really only run the 4 man content and no one usually standing close enough for me to use it or even taking damage that I need to "cover" them.

[Werhusky]

Go pally OT in T9 DF and cover the maintank for ravensbeak had a lot of fun with that.

[HorseBoots]

Same reason why Black Mages never Aether Manipulate. Or DRKs forgetting about Sole Survivor. Or DRGs neglecting Illusive Jump. Or MNKs questioning the application of one-ilm punch. (It's good for PvP!)

It's just one of those skills that are really nice to have, but are super situational so it never really gets beaten into your head like the muscle memory you have on your rotation. So most players tend to forget they even have it, despite the amazing utility you can have with it if you remember its even on your bar.

[dekal]

Cover needs more work on it. I has potential, but I think the dev team stopped working on it and just throw there just to keep it. Cover in this game is more for emergency. I wish it could have more uses. As I said cover is a good skill. I wish it could be more similar to sacrifice skill from the other game I played.

[Pterois]

use it all the time, NEEDS TO INCLUDE MAGIC COVERAGE!!!

[Nyalia]

I use cover all the time, or at least try to. The second I lose aggro, or an add spawns in a boss fight while a regen buff is up, I immediately try to use it on the person who gained aggro. However, I often don't actually use the skill. Why? Because when people take aggro, they run away. Cover has a fairly short range. No matter who your tank is (well, unless it's Titan-egi), when you pull aggro, run TO the tank, not AWAY from the tank. If the enemy cleaves, stack on the tank and run through the enemy the second your aggro bubble changes.

Also, important point the OP appears to be missing - Cover only works on physical damage. Magic damage doesn't transfer. The vast majority of non-primary target damage is magical, not physical. There are only a few fights where you want to use Cover on someone who doesn't have aggro. Like, some of Cerberus's damage is physical (the rush attack, the tail swipe, and, surprisingly, ululation. The second boss of Qarn HM - the needle attacks are physical (3,000 needles, 5,000 needles) and will usually one-shot a non-tank. So if you know the healer is bad at dodging and targetted by one, cover them in case they don't get out in time (I've done this to great effect, saving the group, when I knew my wife was in a lag spike). I believe in Steps, the "underfoot" attack is physical, but only careless DPS get hit by that. Captain Morgan in Sastasha HM's gun shots are physical, and covering a healer who gets targeted is great, but I find cover is best saved in that fight for the final phase when you get swarmed (run to the healer before you're locked in place and cover them until you can get free to pull aggro). The first boss of the Vault (I think?) has an attack that targets someone and hits them with a bunch of attacks. Cover will negate the pain from that entirely.

But, those are exceptions. Physical secondary-target damage just isn't common at all, which is why most PLDs don't bother.

Also also? Never, ever, ever, ever use it during Titan. Even if it helps with the stomps, as stated, landslide's knockback transfers. It's only funny when it happens to other people.


The best way to use the skill, as others have said, is to make a mouse over macro and put it on your middle mouse button. The macro is just:

/micon "cover"
/ac "cover" <mo>

I mainly use it to cover the healer if they pull agro, or if they are mana bombing a whole lot of adds. Occasionally I'll use it on the other tank If I'm OT and their hp drops low, however I'm rarely healed when I do.

Right, but you can stay at the edge of cover range, and when your health gets lower than theirs, back up a step out of cover range. If you get healed, step back into cover range. Gives you nice control over who takes the damage, essentially doubling the tank's health for the skill's duration.

[dekal]

I hope SE take a look in this. Cover is a skill with great potrntial, as I mentioned, but it was not refined. Another thing to added to the things pld need fixed.