Aspects of the present disclosure provide various magnetic recording slider structures and fabrication methods that can reduce head overcoat (HOC) thickness without significantly reducing the lifetime and reliability of a slider by using a protective cap placed on preselected locations on the outermost surface or HOC of the slider. A slider includes a writer comprising an energy-assisted recording element. The writer is configured to store information on a magnetic medium using the energy-assisted recording element. The slider includes a head overcoat (HOC) layer providing an outermost media facing surface. The slider further includes a protective cap positioned on the HOC layer to at least partially cover the energy-assisted recording element, the protective cap including a preselected shape configured to protect the energy-assisted recording element.