How would you improve the Paladin's Cover skill?

[Nicola_Kunu]

I hope you realise you have basically described Intervene except with the damage coming to the Paladin rather than staying on the target? (There is the gauge cost, but that is pretty much meaningless in this comparison). So, the next question is, are there any examples where this is a meaningful difference that affects how a mechanic is handled and the subsequent healing requirement after?

If a tank dies and is revived shortly before a dual tankbuster and they haven't had time to aggro juggle.

I have on more than one occasion been killed (by my own hand or others) during Cachexia 1 in P6S.
By the time I have been revived, the dual tankbuster "Synergy" may have already started casting, as it follows the mechanic.
I know which DPS is about to receive it. I have plenty of time to ask him to get out of the group so he does not kill the group. But I cannot Cover him because the spell has an Oath Gauge cost.

I would like to be able to save my Samurai friend when this happens.

[Rithy255]

Since I see the idea coursing around a few times.

"Increase the tether range by X"

Allow me to say this as someone who uses / used Cover techs, if you were to extend Cover's range of the tether aka the distance before the tether stops working you'd actually make it more clunky for certain techs that would involve moving back and forth from your position to only get hit for a limited amount of hits.

While there have been no recent attempts to utilise techs with cover other than essentially trying to circumvent a provoke on P8Sp1's buster to keep the boss facing the same direction (I saw that recently and give me honestly a bit of a giggle), future-proofing Cover would be best by not extending the reach to avoid making usage of Cover more clunky.

Let's start simple by simply removing the gauge cost.

Removing it's gauge cost really doesn't do much for the ability, it still would just be an ability that exists so people can Justify Paladin having low DPS and the longest invul in the game, I rather it be made into something that actual use in more then "Paladin can cover a tank buster in one of the fights so it doesn't turn the boss".

Personally I'd like the range extended, but being allowed to disable it during it's duration. Also adding a regen to the Paladin and it's target would give it some general uses in general content, so you can cover a Ally while restoring both your health.


I think it's actually fine that Paladin has "good utility" again it's already the lowest DPS and got the longest Invul. Clemency, Shield bash and Cover are currently hardly any reason to bring a Paladin over a tank that just does better damage and has a faster Invul. Even Passage of arms isn't really great due to how it's only useful in certain situations where the party is behind you, Considering Warrior's shake it off is just better divine veil it feels like warrior is more of utility tank then paladin.

[Mikey_R]

If a tank dies and is revived shortly before a dual tankbuster and they haven't had time to aggro juggle.

So, so far, 1 example, which requires the PLD to die just before a 2 tank buster so that they have no gauge to use. If the requirements for Cover being potentially useful have to drop that low, then I see no reason to keep it. Bear in mind this example has the tank death, of which, the obvious thing would be to just do the mechanic properly in the first place or, if possible, adjust yourself if you notice something isn't right. PLD doesn't lose much from disengaging, especially with Holy Spirit.

However, you also only described the gauge cost being an issue, when what I was saying is in relation to the defensive aspect that the poster I quoted wanted to add. Whilst the gauge cost is an issue, the actual issue is the relationship with Intervention. Until that is sorted, it doesn't matter if it costs gauge or not.

[Burmecia]

ok, what is cover gave gauge instead of used it

if it must be somehow connected to gauge

[Reinhardt_Azureheim]

Removing it's gauge cost really doesn't do much for the ability, it still would just be an ability that exists so people can Justify Paladin having low DPS and the longest invul in the game, I rather it be made into something that actual use in more then "Paladin can cover a tank buster in one of the fights so it doesn't turn the boss".

Personally I'd like the range extended, but being allowed to disable it during it's duration. Also adding a regen to the Paladin and it's target would give it some general uses in general content, so you can cover a Ally while restoring both your health.


I think it's actually fine that Paladin has "good utility" again it's already the lowest DPS and got the longest Invul. Clemency, Shield bash and Cover are currently hardly any reason to bring a Paladin over a tank that just does better damage and has a faster Invul. Even Passage of arms isn't really great due to how it's only useful in certain situations where the party is behind you, Considering Warrior's shake it off is just better divine veil it feels like warrior is more of utility tank then paladin.

While I understand your sentiments, please understand that making great changes as you envision them are unlikely to happen. We are more likely to go literally anywhere by asking things step-by-step.

I find it disingenuous to say that it won't do anything for the ability if you remove the gauge cost. If it first had that cost removed, there would be freedom to use the ability again over having to consume a resource shared by Holy Sheltron and Intervention.

The only other alternative would be to give it something that justifies the gauge cost on the power level of Holy Sheltron/Intervention. Increasing range or adding a toggle to it don't do anything to justify that in a vacuum without the gauge cost removal.

Once again - babysteps. Let it be free of cost first so we can actually experiment with the ability to see how we can utilise it.

[Metricasc]

3 changes:
1) code it like guardian in PvP (aka damage taken via cover takes into the account of PLD's mits, make hallowed still incompatible with cover for balancing)
2) bring back the 20% mitigation that they had removed back in 5.0
3) increase its range by 5-10 yalms but also have a sister action that disengages cover

[Cabalabob]

If I was to change it, I’d make it work like SCHs Aetherpact. Change it into a toggle ability with 3s CD but it slowly drains oath gauge while active and can be toggled off at will.

They then could increase the range on it because if you need to “break” the tether you can just turn it off. With good timing if you just need to cover one hit the oath gauge cost could be minimised making it less of a trade off compared to sheltron and intervention and it would add a more interesting dynamic aspect to the oath gauge than just cap gauge and pop sheltron/intervention.

[aodhan_ofinnegain]

3 changes:
1) code it like guardian in PvP (aka damage taken via cover takes into the account of PLD's mits, make hallowed still incompatible with cover for balancing)
2) bring back the 20% mitigation that they had removed back in 5.0
3) increase its range by 5-10 yalms but also have a sister action that disengages cover

Except cooldowns do mitigate incoming damage transferred from using Cover, the only action that does not interact with Cover is Hallowed Ground which never interacted with it directly. Indirectly on double busters it used to be possible, by using mitigation and Hallowed maybe because tank went down and tank buster would go on a DPS or Healer, or other tank ran out of cooldowns. But nowadays, most tank busters apply a bleed or magic/ physical vuln that makes that a pointless exercise, now you might as well just sacrifice yourself and save Hallowed for a more appropriate point in a fight.

While it would be nice to get that mitigation back, personally I rather remove the gauge cost first before any other adjustments are made, as long as it shares a resource with Holy Sheltron and Intervention, it's not worth using.

[Sqwall]

Except cooldowns do mitigate incoming damage transferred from using Cover, the only action that does not interact with Cover is Hallowed Ground which never interacted with it directly. Indirectly on double busters it used to be possible, by using mitigation and Hallowed maybe because tank went down and tank buster would go on a DPS or Healer, or other tank ran out of cooldowns. But nowadays, most tank busters apply a bleed or magic/ physical vuln that makes that a pointless exercise, now you might as well just sacrifice yourself and save Hallowed for a more appropriate point in a fight.

While it would be nice to get that mitigation back, personally I rather remove the gauge cost first before any other adjustments are made, as long as it shares a resource with Holy Sheltron and Intervention, it's not worth using.

It actually did work ....back in the ARR days. It was a coding oversight. Hallowed Ground did work with cover.

It was patched shortly after it was found.

[Oizen]

If you remove the gauge cost from Cover, doesn't the Oath gauge basically just become the Shelltron gauge?

In which does the gauge even need to exist at all? Like Shelltron is good, but its not so good that I don't think it couldn't be a standard CD skill, nor do I think its so broken it needs a gauge just for it.
Kinda the same with cover, like its okay, but I'd rather have Intervention, TBN, Nascent Flash, ect.