If you think of the tank job solely as getting hit and holding opponents' attention, I can see why you'd think of the Shadow Knight as better. Both classes can generate similar threat but the SK can do so for lower mana expenditure. Critically, the Shadow Knight also does so while giving up fewer of its strengths. A mana-stingy Shadow Knight might lifetap a little less often. Big deal. A mana-stingy Paladin won't be chain-stunning or healing or doing the other things that make the class stand out (and, indeed, will feel basically like a SK who can't feign or invis or snare). The Shadow Knight shines in that scenario; conversely the Warrior isn't really a tank at all in such groups because by the time he finally gets aggro, the target's already dead and folks are switching to the next one and it's the Shaman doing most of the tanking.
Paladins have a more deliberate play style, and tend to gain value as the rest of their group gets worse (either due to lazy groupmates, or ineptitude, or imperfect group composition). If the Paladin has a tougher time keeping up in the above group, at least he can; the Shadow Knight can't do much of anything at all to save an Enchanter who's at 20% life because the Cleric was tabbed out reading Reddit instead of actually healing. The Shadow Knight certainly can't provide any buffs when the group has to settle for a Druid healer instead of a Cleric, and has some difficulty with interrupting caster or healer opponents (it can, but snare/fear requires a lot of setup time and isn't always practical in some tight spaces). Nor can the SK help out all that well with crowd control in groups that lack a mezzer or do much to reduce damage intake when the slower's too lazy to bother actually slowing anything and the healer's struggling for mana. The Paladin's the more complete defensive package by virtue of its greater ability to cover for such contingencies.
The Shadow Knight maintains marginally higher popularity simply because it solos better and has (arguably) a slightly better raid role. Look at the top four classes--Druids, Necromancers, and Shamans are all solo powerhouses, and Monks are usually regarded as the best solo'er of the pure melee types. The middle rankings are full of classes that don't solo well but are great on raids, such as Warriors and Clerics. The group-centric Rangers and Paladins tend to stay down at the bottom. Perhaps that's a bit strange for a group-centric game, but P99 is what it is.
Danth
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11-05-2015, 03:10 PM
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