I meant by comparison to bards in the first edition which had to progress up as a bard, then become a rogue and finally a druid before finally being allowed to take up the bard class. It was crazy.

In second edition, being able to play a Paladin, Ranger or a Bard was a rarity. In fact, the initial die rolling determined your entire career. If you rolled poorly you were likely going to be a rogue. You also died when you hit zero hit points. There was no "unconsciousness" or "negative ten" bleed. Generally, all statistics were pretty much the same unless you were under nine or above fifteen. Ability bonuses were rare.

It was only later that we implemented 4D6, drop the lowest die and the point buy systems so that you could play the class you really wished for that things started to change.