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Job or class as it's called in EQ, doesn't matter too much as long as you play it well and enjoy it enough to work at it. Shadowknights have a more versatility and better Area Effect aggro (hate) than Paladins, but Pal get the best non-healer heals and some useful spells.

If you read about both and still can't make up your mind, I'd try out both since leveling up to a point to get a good feel for the class doesn't take too long now-a-days (a day or two or week at most if you go really slow). So you're not really losing alot of time.

Since you plan on soloing / moloing (solo + merc) mostly, it probably doesn't matter, but if you plan on grouping, you'll be compared to a tank merc which requires alot of good equipment, skills, and AAs to be even be competative. Just a forewarning as I like playing my Warriors.

Both can solo fairly well. At lower levels just because equipment mudflation makes lower levels very powerful, but at higher levels with equipment and AAs and certain spells they both do ok. Pal great versus undead where they get some DPS and Shd in various ways, particularly using life tap from weapon damage effects.

About all I got for what you asked about.

Hope this helps some.

Yther Ore.

SKs can swarm-kite. While that ability has some unsavory aspects to it with respect to SKs who charge plat to PL other players this way, it's still a valid strat and an excellent way for the SK to level up AA skills fast. Over the years of my EQ play I've often heard pallies lamenting how slow it is to solo-level this class while SKs rarely raise that complaint. Altho these days with mercs and the care-bearing of the game, every class can solo-level pretty well.