Also got to level 2 on my wizard on takp server. To be honest I'm having more fun playing live everquest and feel like I'm making more progress. I hit 200 platinum and bought some gear for the monk too. Old EQ is is slow like real fucking slow. Plus you need to group versus live where I can do everything solo with a barbarian mercenary.
I get you, and back in the day playing EQ the grouping dynamic was half the game. But now it's a ghost town in the low levels with people running around with twinked alts on 3-4 box accounts. I think once you hit like 100 or so groups come back into play for the higher end stuff.
I always tried to play on the emptier servers. Gives the game a lonelier more exploratory vibe. Many of the zones had a mystical and supremely dangerous quality when empty. Like a Celtic myth made manifest. I remember have a blast taking my level 16 gnome from Ak'Anon to Qeynos on foot, then down to the Rathe mountains to see the Sphinxs. Died a lot.
Great way to put it! The old paths you used to have to take over Norrath and by boat where so dangerous. I remember having to go through highpass and the forest before it that was haunted at night. You'd like the alkabor project server, it's pretty much a ghost town with like only 100 active players. Or on live going to the old world zones.