Every much indeed.I think it was more the developers didn't have a handle on how they wanted the gameplay to work.
Having to press Shield Block every six seconds or risk exploding? Not fun, engaging or challenging.
Spirit on gear for classes that could only use it for health regen? Strange.
Shield Wall on a shared thirty-minute cooldown with Retaliation and Recklessness? Insane.
Even if the numbers had been terrible, today's class design would have wrecked vanilla's content.