I learned the hard way and started as Cleric and Shadowblade.
That's just not true.
Correct. Only players suck.
Any kind of hybrid build is great. The game is made to be classless - actually. Although it doesnt look like it because of that character creation section and its style of displaying "presets" to "help" the ... "less fortunate" players among us.
Which ended in dumbing down the gaem.
Also, someone above said you should take hybrids early because something,something, blah, blah, blah.
Complete nonsense. The result of twisted mentality that plays jack of all trades as focused builds.
In reality, if you want to play jack of all trades then you do so from the start so you can properly plan the attribute and talents allocation and learn to use its diverse skills during starting easier sections of the game.