I completely disagree with certain aspects of this article, mainly
dealing with retribution pallys. I have been a ret pally since level
1, when i chose a two-hander over a one hander and a shield after one
of my first quests, and now as I approach 70 (65 now), I have to say
it is one of the easiest classes to solo with. There is just so much
versatility. Ret pallys can pump out some impressive dps, whether you
haters would like to admit it or not. On top of that, we have plate
armor. This means that we can fight all sorts of mobs, downing them
quickly while at the same time taking much less damage than, say, a
priest or mage would. This improved armor means that we can also
handle groups of mobs efficiently, and we always have the bubble to
fall back on when things get iffy. I find that gear for ret pallys is
relatively easy to find, and even though I can't take as much as a
prot pally, I have 6k health and over 1k ATP at lvl 65. By far ret is
the best leveling spec for pallys, as we get the mob down quickly and
move on. Our heals may not be good for raids/instances, but we can,
in a pinch, heal ourselves or our group members if need be.
Also, your generalized statements about how pallys are a "support class" sicken me. I quote, "Even Paladin tanks, fantastic as they are (don't let anyone tell you otherwise!), need healer support. I know all tanks do, but you understand what I'm trying to get at." No I do not understand. All tanks need healer support, it is a fundamental part of WoW. Since you admit this, why do you single out pallys as a "support class?" With this logic, every class is a support class. And it is true. You reference raids/instances frequently in your arguments. No group/player in an instance can survive without a tank, healer, and dps. NO ONE. Are you trying to say that other classes would be just fine if they went in and attempted to solo, say, Karazhan? Not a chance. You also say that pallys,"shine brightest when we have friends." What class doesn't benefit from grouping with other players to quest/do instances/whatever? NAME ONE. All classes perform better when they have "friends" to help them. This is one of the fundamental points of WoW and what Blizz is trying to accomplish -- a game where no one person can achieve all the game's best content by themselves -- they must interact with other players to get to the top. Hence the very genre WoW is classified as being in -- Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Notice the "Multi"? This means more than one, folks. This applys to WOW as being that no class can truly survive in any sort of end-game content without the others. So, there is no reason to single out pallys as a support class -- all classes are in their own way.
Zach, quit whining and go play your shammy. There is no need for this basesless inflammatory hate.

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