Is the (Holy) Paladin the better Warrior?

[Darian]

Same question as in the previous (Shadow) Priest vs. Mage discussion:

Is the (Holy) Paladin the better Warrior in WOW for Solo-Play? Is there any argument - besides the DPS output - that could convince me to play a Warrior instead of a Paladin with his self-healing ability and buffs?
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I rolled to 60 in the company of a Paladin. I was arms/fury specced. So I can address this pretty succinctly. However, I simply can't separate this into a discussion of just solo play, because the bottom line is that you're just not going to get the gear you need unless you hit instances as you go along.

From 1-45, a paladin is better than a warrior, regardless of the warrior's spec. He can solo more rapidly (and with much less risk of death), has the benefit of being able to just mow through areas infested with undead thanks to his specific skills designed for just that purpose, and actually does more and mitigates more damage. In a group, the paladin will more often than not be the main tank (although the warrior is more likely to be the puller), because he's still out-damaging the warrior, and has more ability to take the hits.

From 46-55, the tables turn. The paladin's ability to solo slows dramatically; the warrior's DPS is still increasing rapidly as the warrior gains more skills designed specifically TO increase his DPS, while the paladin remains somewhat static. Likewise, the warrior's solo ability is increasing as his fights become shorter. In groups, the warrior begins to supplant the paladin as main tank, both due to increased damage output and skills designed for that purpose.

After 55, although the paladin is still an extremely useful character, the warrior wins. When people start putting together groups, more often than not it's "we'll take a pally if you can't find a warrior." That's possibly a little unfair (and it's definitely unfair depending on the objective -- a 56 pally can tank Sunken Temple perfectly well, thanks, and a 58+ pally can handle all of BRD except the Emperor with no issues), but it's the mindset out there.

So the thing you have to ask yourself is whether you want to race to end-game and then scramble, or take a slightly slower path and then pretty much always be able to find a group when you want one. But strictly speaking of solo play -- i.e., if you were never ever going to group at all -- there's no reason whatsoever to play a warrior over a paladin.