[Sir Kenyth]

Rangers and Paladins are primarily "role-playing people" classes. Power gamers will want specialized characters as they level much quicker. Level is the benchmark of power, so characters that level quicker gain power quicker. For a simple tank, almost nothing beats a straight fighter. Quick levels, not to mention being able to go to grand mastery. Leave the spell casting to the mages and priests. The Archer is an exception as no one else does as well with missile weapons. He will level slower though. Straight class clerics and mages will get spell abilities quickest. Multi-class is tricky too. Certain combinations are counter productive. Fighter-mages for instance. A fighter without armor is not much of a fighter. So the experience is somewhat wasted until you get some potent magic protections. Even then your potential is still compromised. Mage-thief on the other hand is more complimentary since the restrictions of both classes more closely match. Dual-class throws a whole new science onto things. I've been told that dualing an archer to a mage can be quite rewarding. Try to play the game for its fun rather than power gaming. Smart fighting is much more helpful than powerful characters anyway, not to mention more interesting.