Here is a little side-by-side comparison of my little tanks at lvl 5. Obviously, this is only a snapshot at the current state of things, and subject to change!
Stats (the values in parentheses are the start values, +1 assigned in str and sta for all):
WAR: 76 hp, 12 str (9), 11 sta (7), 11 con (7), 9 agi (6), 10 dex (7), 8 int (5), 8 wis (5), 7 cha (5)
PAL: 82 hp, 10 str (7), 12 sta (8), 11 con (7), 8 agi (5), 9 dex (6), 9 int (6), 10 wis (7), 8 cha (6)
DL: 88 hp, 10 str (7), 13 sta (9), 11 con (7), 9 agi (6), 9 dex (6), 9 int (6), 8 wis (5), 7 cha (5)
Abilities:
Techniques (note: WAR has access to slashing, piercing and blunt, PAL can use slashing and blunt, and DL can only use slashing). Note that these each consume 1000 readiness.
Heavy Slash (Slashing: 100% weapon dmg, +10% if in front of target)
Cross Slash (Slashing: two attacks with 50% weapon dmg each, bypass 15% of target's armor)
Shiv (Piercing: 100% weapon dmg, +10% when behind target)
Skewer (Piercing: 100% weapon dmg, bypass 15% of target's armor)
Bash (Blunt: 100% weapon dmg, +10% when behind target)
Strike (Blunt: 100% weapon dmg, bypass 15% of target's armor)
WAR:
Lvl 1: Taunt (force target's attention for 3sec, increased aggro for that duration, 5 sec cooldown)
Lvl 2: Strike of Breaking (25% weapon dmg, lowers target's armor class, stacks up to 5 times, generates 1 battle point, 5 sec cooldown)
Lvl 4: Storm (Charge target 5-20 meters, short stun, generates 1 battle point, 20 sec cooldown)
Lvl 5: Shield Block (Raise shield to block all incoming physical damage for 2 sec, consumes 1 battle point, 10 sec cooldown)
PAL (note: reckoning points regenerate slowly over time):
Lvl 1: Lay on Hands (Instant Complete Heal to target within 3 meters, 30 min cooldown)
Lvl 1: Shock Undeath (Undead DD, costs 200 wrath, 1 sec cast, 3 sec cooldown, range 25 meters)
Lvl 2: Incite (force target's attention for 3sec, increased aggro for that duration, 20 sec cooldown, range 15 meters)
Lvl 2: Fervent Strike (25% weapon dmg, generates 50 wrath, adds some threat, 5 sec cooldown)
Lvl 3: Edict of Celestial Fury (reflects next damaging melee attack, ability or spell back at attacker and increases wrath, no cooldown, consumes 1 reckoning point)
Lvl 4: Oathflame (Lightly heals target within 25 meters, 1 sec cast, 1 sec cooldown, consumes 600 wrath)
DL (note: only DL has currently some mastery on some abilities, Provoking Phantoms, Sanguine Shield and Lifetap can be greatly improved):
Lvl 1: Provoking Phantoms (increases threat of following actions, one target only, stacks up to 20 times, consumes 100 essence, 5 sec cooldown, range 20 meters)
Lvl 1: Boil Blood (Fire dmg DoT every 3 sec over 30 sec, 1.5 sec cast, 1 sec cooldown, consumes 250 essence, range 20 meters)
Lvl 2: Sanguine Shield (absorption shield for 10% of your HP, consumes 500 essence, 20 sec cooldown)
Lvl 4: Lifetap (19-20 curse damage, restores 50% of damage dealt as health, 2 sec cast, 1 sec cooldown, consumes 250 essence, range 20 meters)
Lvl 5: Devour Dexterity (reduce target's dex by 5 and give that to yourself for 5 min, amount consumed increases with INT, 2 sec cast, 1 sec cooldown, consumes 250 essence, range 20 meters)
All three are fun to play. I soloed them to this level, which took a few hours each (since I stopped to harvest and craft on each, so they all have a basic set of armor, some crafted weapons and bags). While you can level up to 5 in your starter gear, I don't recommend it...dying to white cons gets old quickly ;) And at lvl 5, you really want to start grouping (preferably before).
Early on, the paladin had some trouble here with aggro due to the long cooldown on Incite, but with the addition of Fervent Strike, things should be much better now. Paladin feels very solid thanks to Fervent Strike and Oathflame. Dire Lord has Lifetap, but it is a lot weaker than Oathflame (at least until you put mastery points into it). Still, with dual wield or great axe, the DL deals enough damage to end fights quickly. The Warrior was the first tank I made for this comparison, and unfortunately their Strike of Breaking was nerfed after I was already lvl 5 (it was 50% weapon dmg before, and on 5 sec cooldown and no cost you could really mow down targets with it). The ability as it is now feels more appropriate now, before the nerf the warrior was feeling too strong. Warriors can also dual wield and deal good damage like DL, and with their sheer flexibility when it comes to weapon choices, are very fun to try out all the possible options.
Of all classes I tested so far, or the tanks? For the tanks, there is no clear favorite for me, although I prefer having some spells to cast. So I would tend more to the PAL or DL. But WAR is a great class as well, from all I've seen.
For grouping I have mostly played cleric, and shaman (although both can also solo quite well thanks to their healing). SHM is very powerful and sought after because of their buffs, but I enjoyed the cleric just as much. They also get great buffs, and personally I like their instant healing better than the shammy's HoTs. Clerics still need some love though, since they are supposed to be more melee oriented compared to the shaman (who is much more a caster), but lack real melee tools, and currently only have the basic techniques for fighting (they also lost a melee ability to the paladin). But both classes make excellent healers.
The last class I played is the enchanter. They are a lot harder to solo with, which can make the first few levels a pain if you don't find someone to team up with. If you do though, then they are mostly enjoyable. I still think the mez abilities should not have an upkeep cost however...exactly in the situations where the enchanter should shine with their crowd control, they can very quickly run oom and die to their own mez aggro. It can be frustrating. Still, I will keep making new enchanters after the next wipes, since it is one of the classes I am looking to play as main, so I cannot give up on them :)
