I've been keeping track of how much damage Dive for Cover blocks throughout this run, and it's been a bit disappointing. With the limited but still usable data I have, there was almost no difference between how much damage was blocked in Southside Park or the Slags. Here are the data:
Dive for Cover
base defense 4
(only recorded if damage got through. e.g. I don't record "6 of 6 damage blocked", unless I've already blocked 5/6 damage in the same situation before)
(these are buffed stats)
(only relevant defenses are mentioned, e.g. melee defense only if I'm being punched)
Ref 2: 4 damage blocked
Ref 2, +2 ranged defense: 5-6
Ref 3: 4-7
Ref 5, +2 melee defense: 4-5
Ref 5, +1 ranged defense: 4-6
Ref 8: 5-7
Ref 8, +1 ranged defense: 6
Ref 12, +1 ranged defense: 5-7
In the beginning, men were mortal.