Take hits for allies who cannot protect themselves.
Description
Cover is a Knight support ability in Final Fantasy V. It is a defensive ability that causes the user to take physical hits aimed at characters who are on low HP. Cover is innate to Knights, and can be used by other jobs after leveling up Knight. Cover on its own is a useful defensive ability that takes advantage of Knight's toughness, but is especially effective when combined with other setups and abilities, including those learned from other jobs.
Obtained[]
Cover is innate to Knights, and will be granted to any character equipping the job. After reaching job level 1 as Knight, for only 10 AP, Cover can be equipped on any job.
Mechanics[]
When equipped, Cover activates when an enemy targets allies who are Critical. It will never activate if the character that would be covered is afflicted with petrify, zombie, instant death, sleep, paralyze, confuse, berserk, or stop, or is off-screen. Characters with zombie or other disabling ailments will not use Cover.
Use[]
Cover on its own is a useful defensive ability to allow more a durable character, such as one equipping heavy armor or with higher HP, to protect less durable ones without. It should not be entirely relied upon, and is not a substitute for healing, because abilities that hit the entire party at once can still kill allies if they are low. Nonetheless, it provides good utility especially against physical damaging enemies.
Cover is better used when combined with other abilities, namely Guard and Counter. Guard, when used effectively, nullifies physical damage received by a character until their next turn. As such, a party with a Knight can not only defend a critical ally from receiving damage, but receive no damage themselves. Counter, on the other hand, allows a party member to respond to a physical attack with an attack of their own. This means a party member equipping both can take damage for another party member and then respond with damage of their own, providing a beneficial increase to their damage output.