"Plate vs. Chain"
Until you reach planar gear, plate classes don't gain much AC over what chain classes can access. Chain quest armor (ivy etched) has the same AC as fine plate and better than bronze. Many slots offer high AC options anyone can wear (azure sleeves, etc). Most chain users have bad AC because they don't focus on it as a stat, favoring offensive stats instead.
In short, Rangers can tank adequately for 1-50. So can Bards and Monks, various caster pets, and correctly-geared Clerics and Shamans. True 'tanks' aren't all that necessary at this stage of the game. Once Kunark and Velious roll around and NPC damage increases faster than player defenses, that becomes another matter.
Veteran players, particularly those who spend too much time raiding, sometimes develop blinders and start to think, "since class X cannot do this in raids, he must not be able to do it, ever." There always has been a sort of trickle-down effect across all MMORPG's where a class's performance at the high end influences the player base's perception of its capabilities at all level ranges. As such, 'myth debunking' threads like this serve a useful purpose.
Danth
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