A few questions about classesFollow

First of all, welcome to the land of the grownups! May your stay in Middle Earth bring you much joy and relaxation.

Now to your question;

Guardians are the ultimate tank in the game however, captains can tank quite well in most group situations and in most instances. However, the end game raids (and we only have a few) will still require a "specialist" (read Guardian)

You might also consider trying out a warden - this is a new class introduced with the Moria expansion and they are already proving to be very able and adaptable tanks.

Ultimately, no one can tell you which class you will enjoy playing the most but the good news is that your account will allow you to roll up 7 characters each on as many servers as you'd like, so there is no reason you can't try out all three of the classes mentioned above and decide for yourself which you prefer.

One word of advice - play each toon you roll till at least lvl 20 since the game really begins to develop there and a class that seems weak early on can end up being a lot more fun in later levels.

Ahhh, shucks! /blush

I was a (closed) beta tester, I am a founder and a lifetime subscriber but none of that really proves anything! Hopefully you'll still think I "know my stuff" a year from now when you have one or more level capped characters! :)

In any case, thanks for the compliment...

I've been impressed with how well a good Captain can tank. Captains are also really nice to group with because of the buffs they can give their groups. I'd say if you're really intrigued by paladins, level a captain to at least 20. I believe (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) that captains can also do some healing and rezzing at higher levels. Always welcome additions to a group, but think of those more as a bonus rather than core contributions.

Keep in mind that it's not difficult to level a character in this game so don't be shy about trying out the different classes.

By the way, I'm in a kinship with both of those other yahoos who responded to you and they've given you solid advice.

Vegabond? Bonded to vegetables?

From my experience, Captains can tank but I would use a rule of thumb to tank things/instances two levels (or more) lower than what a guardian can do*. (I would say even warden too.)

You can one hand it with a shield, but you can only wield a light shield. You might be better off with an aggro producing halberd. If you have a decent icpr one-hander, that might work with a shield.

My style is more geared to support with my Captain though and that is plenty fun in itself.

* e.g. I had no trouble tanking with a level 54 in the 3-man stuff in Eregion, but had oodles of trouble in the 6-man Treasury.

It's simple economics... nine does not go into seven which pressures you into a 2nd account... just do the math :)

Then I'd have to make 7 characters there, and I still wouldn't be able to have a full set.