I would be inclined to agree that is not an "open" beta.  Generally speaking open betas have allowed everyone in that applied with-in a timely manner.  This is the second of STOs big mistakes in my opinion.  First being the name a ship contest that seems to atleast in part never have been a true contest.  Leaked info on a few sites suggests the ships might have already been named prior to the contest.  I do not advocate the latter being true atleast not entirely.  I do however think STO is being miss handled and its affected my opinion and I personally am questioning myself and my wife spending $100+ on this game.   Less then a Month to launch and I just dont feel as excited about this game as I might have two months ago.   Expecting Cryptic to drop the ball more really doesnt make this game inviting.  MMOs are a difficult market for a player to really spend money in.  As we cant take the failed games back to "gamestop" for a refund when they suck.

On a side note Last time I check we dont even know the price of the game yet.  Except everyone is expecting the general $15 monthly.  This isnt a rant just more of a few observations.  I do still hope this game is a success as I have grown quite tired of the traditional "EQ heritage" MMOs.

Just a thought

-raz

SKs are not even close to being Overpowered as in stands they have just started to become on par with other tanks. 

Paladins at end game can be a raid MT.  Guards are a traditional tank type.  Duel wielding wont help them as much as you might think they do have some skills to take hate from others and they until the very end game have the most 'oh sh*t" type skills.  Paladins who try and heal a lot during a fight and tank will find they run low on power fast or they lose dps.  Amends as it stands wont remain what it is now after the fighter changes are completed. 

Zerkers,  rather GOOD zerkers are in short supply.  Poorly played ones are common and most guilds rarely want to take a chance on a tank.  I spent all night Tuesday reteaching a zerker how to play his class because he got very bad info from another zerker.    Guilds  are generally over filled with tanks or brawlers wanting to DPS. 

Question you need to be asking yourself is Do you want to be a DPS/AE tank or do you want to be a more traditional MeatShield?  DPS tanks being Zerkers and SKs.  Meatshield types being Guards and Paladins.  

You are trying to fill a roll in a specific group so joining a guild may not matter as much to you until the end game.   One thing to remember in EQ2 if you dont like your class you can betray to the mirror.  SK could become a Paladin  Guard can be a Zerker.  This does require you to change your city alignment. 

This is not to say that a guard and paladin cant put up some decent DPS numbers. SKs and Zerkers are just built more towards the offensive end of the tanking spectrum. 

I have been raid tanking in EQ2 for a long time and the most common thing I see happening is solo players never grouping getting to 80 with few AA and wanting to join a raid guild and tank.  You will have a huge advantage over them.  My best advice would be take it slow build your AA, learn your class, learn your groups classes, learn what everyone does,   positioning etc of mobs and how to move them.  When it comes time you will be lvl 80 tank that people want to group/raid with. 

-samous

SKs are in better shape now.  Around the time of TSO launch they got a major buff.  They are still the no 4 of the plate tanks for survival. Paladin and Guards tend to live longer then SKs and Zerkers.  

Monk and bruisers require a lot more gear to tank then the Plate tanks.  That being said a zerker will require better gear then a paladin or guard to hold agro the same.  I play a zerker it took a while to get to the point that I could reliably hold agro off some of the high end toon with mythicals.  Paladins and Guards get an advantage with a few skills.  However with a  dirge/assassin/coercer any tank can appear to be a golden god.  So see how your group will turn out and then decide from there. best tank is the tank that fits his groups style..  Me I well i play a Barb zerker who you can always count on to rush into..more mobs then anyone in the group thinks we can kill and start AEing and swinging my weaopns like a mad man...  So choose a class that fits your style and remember gear is king in this game. 

at any rate  you may find you need to roll a few different tanks before you get what you like.  All tanks can tank some just need a little more attention.  I play on crushbone PM me here if you need any help in game