Tanks

[Danth]

Warriors' aggro weakness isn't so much of an issue for raid bosses owing to the common use of mallets for the high-aggro click effect. Between that and /disc defensive there's no reason to use another tank in situations where you're worried about your tank dying. Using limited-charge mallets is impractical in normal groups and consequently when a warrior "tanks" for an experience group, usually it's the monk or rogue who actually takes most the hits. Despite this hassle, Warriors level more quickly than the other tanks, deal significantly more damage over time, and are the most popular tank class by a fair margin. Warriors usually rate mid-range in popularity while both the other tank classes typically rank lower.

Paladins do well as group tanks, but aren't very good at most other jobs. They have probably the weakest raid role of the three tank classes. Paladins vie with Rangers for the dubious honor of being the least-played class on Project 1999.

Shadow Knights solo somewhat better than Paladins, but have a few fewer defensive tools while group tanking. Usually that's not a problem and the Shadow Knight undoubtedly has a better raid role. Consequently the Shadow Knight is the more popular class of the two, although it's still usually in the bottom 4 or 5.

The experience penalty of the knightly classes should not be underestimated. All of them have at least a 40% built in penalty, and large-race Shadow Knights suffer even more. Many players find themselves unable to tolerate such steep penalties. The majority of Paladins and Shadow Knights run out of gas by the early 50's. Relatively few make 60. They're not for the faint of heart.

Danth