POA is unique on that front as it can take a few seconds to actually activate based on server tick similar to improvisationSorry to nitpick, but you can weave Passage of Arms into a rotation by pressing it and immediately cancelling it by moving or using another ability/weaponskill. AFAIK it's called "flashing" the skill.
The PoA effect actually persists for about 3-4 seconds on party members after the Paladin cancels the skill (I guess depending on server ticks?) so with some tight timing you can still use it as mitigation, especially in mechanics where the party is bunched up (e.g. In UwU, Garuda's Friction). I use it quite often in Ultimates and Savage.
Obviously it's not worth it to hold it in high-level content (outside of the situation you outlined) as it's a DPS loss (same as Clemency lol). I think it would be fun if it "stored" some of the damage mitigated and then once the skill was ended it returned the stored damage as an explosion. Would be fun to hold it in Styx or other multi-hitting AoEs.
Something like collective unconsciousness will flash 100% of the time, POA doesn’t always flash due to server tick like improvisation
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