Not exactly true. Burn nets, mallets, and strings. In that order.

The chances of me ever being an end game raider on this server are approaching zero. I have a life.

strings before mallets (assuming the mob is >51)

cheaper to recharge

Plenty of guilds on this server cater to casual and super-casual folks and they see some end game content

turn that frown upside down!

Cuc have you been told not to post so much? Your presence has diminished here lately

Playing a Warrior in a pickup group with bad players is one of the worst possible experiences in EQ. You are also completely dependent upon having both a CC AND a healer in group so you have very little flexibility in group formation. For a Warrior to be optimal in groups you really do need to play with good casters otherwise your group will inevitably wipe and you are powerless to do anything about it. Warrior really isn't even an incredibly popular class due to dependence on others (and gear) and lack of flexibility.

Hybrids offer far more versatility at the expense of not being able to "raid" tank. Very few hybrids even make it past 50 anyways and few will see how powerful a hybrid is in dungeons or have that feeling of not being able to tank "raid" bosses. Besides "raid" offtanking, Hybrids also offer good utility on "raids", with SKs being able to FD and Paladins being able to rez and cast a unique HP buff in Velious.

Very few people level a hybrid to high level and can truly attest to their abilities, but especially at higher levels their utility in a group makes up for lack of DPS (depending on who you talk to.) SK gets Circlet of Shadow and FD which are both very powerful as well as fear. Disease Cloud is excellent for agro. Many people choose SK over Paladin due mainly to the general appeal of evil races to MMO nerds, but my hypothesis is that it attracts people that play pure melee classes more than Paladin does due mainly to FD and not having to be responsible for (and not desiring) heals, CC, Stuns, and Calm.

Paladin at high level is a beast and is also very versatile. You're a tank that can do your own CC with Root and you can also heal. The DW helm is a very useful clicky heal and its cheap. The DW BP is also nice but a bit more cost prohibitive to acquire.

You can use Stun to interrupt casters, and you can also use it when pulling casters and they won't cast a spell when other party members are in range and instead they will go straight for you. You can hide around corners to use this to park casters wherever you want instead of dealing with the pain of them casting from range on your other group members (Chef camp is a good example) Casting Stun when you pull is a good habit so you sit right on top of the agro list and keep it up with Flash of Light. You can also stun to help with charmed pet breaks. Paladin also gets great proccing weapons that are cheap like the Sword of the Morning that proc off real nice with some dex.

When you hit 57 and get Superior Heal you become an effective healer. DA at 55 is an excellent ability as well as Lay on Hands, which in the hands of a great player will save countless hairy situations. Many times you'll have to use it on someone other than yourself. At 59 the 90% rez is excellent.

Many players will say that you never calm as a Paladin but that is false. While leveling and even in your 50s you will find yourself calming often. If you carry CHA gear and get your levels you can calm just fine and its a very powerful skill. I even know Clerics that wear Ragefire gear and Calm all the time.

If you come from a caster class you will likely find the lack of spells on a Warrior disappointing. If you come from a melee class you will probably want to try a Shadow Knight over a Paladin because Paladins "are gay" and you haven't realized how awesome it is to play with Stun, Root, Calm, and Heal. Not having FD is quite the tradeoff, but its up to personal choice at that point.

I can say that high level Paladins are excellent (the best) group tanks and with Superior Heal, a Bixie Blade, and a Sky haste belt Paladins are nothing to fuck with at all.

The main issue is the road to 60 is a long one on a Hybrid vs. a Warrior. I don't foresee an incredible explosion of Hybrid classes once the XP penalty is lifted but it should help some. OP should consider a Hybrid but really it takes a lonnng time before they really come to form.

Play a paladin or shadowknight then, both are solid classes and only get better once Velious comes out.

1. They are solid tanks in every group setting.
2. They have multiple abilities to help the group, and keep you from getting bored.
3. They can both solo if you wish, Shadowknights do that a bit better.
4. They are less gear dependent than a warrior.

^

Gonna disagree with this. It is situationally useful 45 to 50, and at best marginally useful thereafter, neither of those correlates to "very" useful. I don't think I've even carried it bagged since L55 or so, when I realized I hadn't used it in forever. 120hp with a 10 second cast, requires the target forgo or click off a substantially more useful buff like Hero, Natureskin, or SLN, hell even Resolution is twice the HP & AC. And the long cast costs you mana regen while you stand there waiting.

I used the DW helm from time to time L45 to L50 when I was grouped with a Shaman or a sub-49 Druid as healer, at those levels it's greatest value is chain healing a Shaman during/after buffing in a melee-heavy group to speed the Shaman's mana recovery. There are oddball group makeups where it is truly valuable, but groups with a Necro or Paladin as main healer are far from a common occurrence. It's also useful solo, but soloing a 45+ paladin sucks donkey balls regardless of gear.

The next time somebody tells you the DW Helm is a valuable healing item reply "oh wow man, so those Donal's arms must be pure awesomesauce!" and ask him about the amazing groups he's been in where the the Cleric was healing with them.

Group with real healers and wear an SSB or a Valorium Helm because you don't get the free MR a Warrior does. The DW helm is 98% shiny toy hat & 2% marginally valuable situational clicky.

You can add 'cast spell' and you have all tanks. You're over simplifying the class and role. There is a lot more that goes into tanking than simply target and attack.

Knowing which mobs to kill first in a multiple pull, positioning. Tab targeting throwing taunts/stuns. Timing kicks for spell interupts. You can take it as far as you want.

yeah, i used to fear kite seafury cyclopses on my warrior. i've got a tinkerer bag full of various different proccing weapons. i took it pretty far. still a really boring and gimpy class.