On a fresh server, there's such an incredible shortage of tanks that nobody will give a flying fuck about the XP penalty. Even as a ranger, which was what I rolled on day 1 of green, I don't think I spent more than five or ten minutes LFG at any given time for the first month. It's the same thing right now pre-50, by the way. Try leveling a char lately? There will be literal entire days where you go from group to group and gain multiple levels in your 30s without ever having a tank. At best you'll have a monk, and even that is kind of uncommon because 75% of the people who make monks now are fungi twinks who just solo to 45ish.
Playing any tank class on a fresh server is like being the sole girl at a 90s LAN party. You'll get tells non-stop asking if you want to join groups. You have to go anon when you're busy so you can get some peace and quiet. Doubly so if you're a hybrid, because warriors kind of blow unless there's an earth pet. And since everyone's probably wearing banded at best for the first several weeks, and heals do a fraction of anyone's health bar, rangers are pretty much the best tanks until the plate-wearers start getting some real gear. The ability to hold aggro, provide snare in the process, and pull with Harmony in Unrest/MM/HK/CT, all while tanking every bit as well as a warrior, is just straight overpowered.
Nobody will ever even mention the XP penalty. Same goes for the knights, though they're so rare that it barely matters. The odds of having even two hybrids in a group are miniscule, and I don't think I saw three hybrids in one group through all of classic.
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