Curious why is paladin's the least played class?

[tizznyres]

What I find ironic and comical is that during beta, and on very early live EQ, Paladins were wholly considered to be the "OP" class by many, for reasons you named and several others.

It is no secret that Paladins were confirmed to have an "epic" flaming sword from very, very early on, and despite the fact that the original "epic" version of quest was never completed, it still gave most players the image that Paladins were given an unfair advantage.

Back then, nobody (or very very few people) knew about hybrid penalties, and before extreme min-maxing and years of gear farming / raid experience, players actually VALUED the perks that Paladins offer.

Of course, on P99 with a large playerbase of min-maxers and raiders, most of which have had literal years to practice and gear up, it's pretty apparent why they aren't popular -- at least in Kunark / Velious era. I didn't get much chance to play P99 pre-Kunark, but pre-Fungi Paladins would also be much more appealing for new players, especially roleplayers / soloers.