Worth going Paladin?

[Xelris]

Pals and SKs are the best-case-scenario for xp tanking. For raids you've got wars taking the mantle for the most part, but that's their big niche.

Both the Pal and SK fulfill multiple needs of an xp group.

In the Pal's case, root CC works wonders and you don't need any extra help to shut down a caster mob, which on p99 is far, far more important than it was on live (with the notable exception of gate mobs and cleric mobs specifically). While an enc or bard is ideal, you can get the job done with lulls and roots, and in a high-power group you can save a crowd controller/healer's ass. You can even res for xp at the top end (and trust me, if my rogue dies in the middle of sebilis... I'm taking the 90% without complaint). All of this is huge in skilled hands.

In the SK's case, their main duality role is as a snarer and puller. While SK splitting is slower than a monk's, it's also easier in some respects (FD + snare is quite powerful. FD + disease cloud is potentially amazing). A skilled SK can be a huge part of making a tough camp break stupid-easy. No, they can't rez, but again at the top end they can make sure you get your corpse back, because SKs are better than monks at infiltration due to having access to both invises, and in a worst case scenario can summon your dead ass anyway.

All that and the wonderful aggro-on-demand spells that cost near nothing. Really when push comes to shove a group is compromised by NOT having a hybrid tank, as an overlapped role is simply more assurance that the issue is covered and covered well.

People who think the penalty spread out over 6 members means a damn thing compared to what hybrids bring to the table are dumb. The problem is compounded by people who don't play the classes well (playing a paladin like a warrior, SK dotting mez targets or lacking pet control, for example) and give those dumb people ammunition.