Quote Originally Posted by FreeKingStefan View Post
(A+) Paladin: The uncontested “best” tank for both solo and party, as they can be labeled as something no other job can: The anti-carry.
I agree with pretty much everything you're saying about what a Pld can do, but the reality of Pld game-play is far different from the theory.

The problem lies with how dependent their CC is on the party being coordinated. Pacify is great, but Pld's are like mosquito repellent. You can go an entire match without seeing a Shield Swipe proc, because the enemy dps would rather attack practically anyone else other than the Pld. Their stuns can also be sabotaged, or completely wasted, by their own team. Even the most beautifully timed healer stuns don't mean anything if the dps are too scrub to finish off a target, and the total duration can be clipped by melee stuns and gap-closers. Even their defensive utility requires the healer to take full advantage of it. It just goes to waste if the healer is not up to snuff.

All in all, you're completely right about everything a Pld can do, but they require a coordinated party to do it. You're more likely to win the lottery than find a coordinated party in solo-queue, so Pld's practical utility is dramatically nerfed from their maximum potential. In party matches or custom matches, then they're most certainly in a tier of their own, bt in Solo-queue they're closer to the B range tier because everything they do requires the team to be on point.