How gear dependent is the Paladin compared to other tanks?

[Lorian]

Hiya, new player here!

I started a shammy and got him to 19, then a couple of days ago i decided to have a tank as well, as sitting on my bum waiting for mana can be boring. First made a warrior to and leveled him to 6 in a couple of hours, someone gave me a Sword of Skyfire!

But after reading (and also remembering myself from waaay back in live) all about how warriors need uber expensive gear to keep aggro I deleted him and created a pally instead. I always wanted to be Prince Charming anyway. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] I am now level 8, soon to get spells, have banded legs and mail, was gifted a werewolf cloak and bone armplates (love P99 older players!) for some extra nice STR.

Will this be enough for a while, considering i can buff my ac and heal? I was hoping I can play this class and have tank-fun without later getting ditched from groups for not having 1000's of plats worth of esoteric gear?