I've only been playing for about two years. I can honestly say however that its been getting tougher and tougher to find decent warrior tanks even at mid levels (which is where I spend most of my time).

I have fond memories of people disappearing at 15, coming back a few days later and racing to 35 in no time flat. So the typical warrior lost 5-10 hours getting their defenses into the 90s (many sticking around to master). Now they're awesome tanks and can quickly rank themselves and their damage dealing groupmates into levels where the fun starts. Being able to start raiding cabals, getting past the hordes of zero roleplay lowbies, exploring, etc.

I almost never practiced defenses for the purpose of pk, and most of my characters are pk oriented. I got my defenses up so I could tank and get to levels where I find pk more fun. I agree with you that the 100%s across the board don't mean much in pk. Most pks last less than one tick. I'd guess they probably last less than 6 rounds. However, when you'll be fighting the same host of mobs for an hour or more straight, the difference of 5% in parry dodge and shield block means a world of hurt. Also not knowing your weapon well, or hand to hand will mean less damage, less parrying, and a lot more resting.

All of those things you want us to do? We'll get there faster and more efficiently if you let us have reliable skills. If someone's willing to take their time to get them, let them have them. I don't understand this war you have with people who want to practice. You keep stating it makes no difference. Fine, then stop making such a big deal out of it.