I have to admit this: I haven't seriously played EQ1 since Planes of Power. (And by "seriously" I mean I had a level 13 ranger that I absolutely loved. Yes, I sucked at the game back then.) There, I said it. Since then, I've played other games: EQ2, WoW, RIFT, and SWTOR, among others. But I have always had a place in my heart for EQ1, and so I am returning. Since it's been so long and I was so god-awful at the game back then, I'm wondering what I've missed (for either reason). In case you're wondering, the ranger has been retired.
Everything . Seriously, a lot. There have been so many changes that it's hard to say; check the links in my sig for some details. In (very) short the core essence of EQ hasn't really changed, but a lot of the needless pain has gone. There are mercenaries, potions, guild halls, corpse summoners, quest windows, kill quests and daily quests, hot zones, every class can solo (to varying degrees), ...
The Eternal Darkness on The Rathe server is always looking for new friends. We are a family style guild that just likes to have fun, our only requirements are a good attitude, and a desire to have fun with like-minded individuals. With a little help from a few friends, that mountain of learning your facing isn't quite as rough. We have been picking up a lot of new friends from this forum. We are not a raiding guild, except for Anguish as people need their epics. We do have some world class raiders in house, but they raid with other guilds, and just come home to roost with us because we are all family, even if not in real life, so their expert advice is available. We also have Ventrillo, and a player base ranging from Europe to Hawaii. Even if you don't stay with us, although I think you will, I encourage you to try us out. Any class, any level, any player skill level. If this sounds like what you're looking for, send me a /tell, Roxxanna, m-f 6-9pm, almost anytime on weekends.
Well, I have a wizard on Vox that I'm using for a video series, but my main is probably going to be a necro on Bristlebane or Cazic. Why a necro, you may ask (since it's so different from a ranger)? Well, three reasons. One, I play a warlock in WoW, love it, and want something like that. Two, I play a necro in EQ2 and love it. (I'm getting back into EQ1 because of All Access including an EQ1 sub with the EQ2 sub!) And three, the person who got me into EQ1 back in Ruins of Kunark (yes, I'm dating myself even more!) had a necro main.
The patch notes linked at http://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki/EQ:Expansions should catch you up on most of the non-tradeskill changes. Most tradeskill changes were done between expansions. As said, Borek's sig links are very helpful and provide more than just changes info. Crystilla's sig also includes many informative and useful links. Yther Ore.
One more question: I currently have the expansions through Veil of Alaris. Do I need to get Rain of Fear and Call of the Forsaken?
I wouldn't worry about the new expansions just yet, although you will probably want to get them as you progress. They do bring some nice 'comfort' changes like the agro metre, and more trading options, but nothing that will affect you dramatically as you start. The actual content is designed for high level and will be some weeks (maybe months) before you can hunt in these new zones.
