I played the game since January of 2005. I have the Benediction to prove it.
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/ch...eden/gabriaell
Note that this isn't my main (on retail) and I retired my priest back in BC. I played again briefly in Legion as my Priest.
I was stating when I started actually playing really hardcore. Vanilla was NOT harder than Mythic raiding. Sorry. I've done both and I can tell you that Vanilla, while not a push over, is a lot more forgiving than any Mythic boss.
Great. You're at top paladin on a 15 year old game! Congrats on a private server top player!
I know EXACTLY how bring the Class not the Player goes. I was playing Ret in BC as the only Ret in my raids because I brought a good attitude, knowledge about my class, and I was proving my worth to scouting guilds.
Yes, there is a huge difference in Vanilla Ret vs BC Ret. I never once said they are the top choice at all. I have just said that they aren't as much of a burden as people like you claim. It doesn't really fucking matter what the "top guilds" pick. Top guilds always stack the overpowered classes. Does that make other's completely obsolete? No.
40 Priests killed Onyxia back in Vanilla. People 5 manned Onyxia before AQ was even out. It's completely acceptable to bring in some less than optimal specs.