Which facilities available at launch ?

I'm re subscribing in time for this year's TLP's having finally managed to retire and get the time I need to relax and play an MMORPG.

Have searched the FAQs, Dev messages and player forum, but still confused about whether the following will be available at launch on the 25 May 2022 :-

1. Will there be a Newbie zone such as the current Mines of Gloomingdeep ? If so, will the Defiant armour from there be removed from the loot table ? Else, will we be spawned in the Race / Class starter zones of the original game, for example a Wood Elf Ranger would spawn in Kelethin, Human Monk would spawn in Freeport etc ?
2. Following on from 1, is Defiant armour removed from the game until the appropriate expansion unlock ?
3. Assuming the Newbie zone of Mines of Gloomingdeep will be in the game at launch but without Defiant armour drops, how do we get out of there at level 10 ? The cave exit sent us to Crescent Reach ( which I assume won't be available until the appropriate expansion ), and saying I am Ready To Leave to Arias sent you to PoK. If neither PoK or Crescent Reach will be unlocked yet, how do we leave Gloomingdeep ?
4. Will we be back to the lag fest that was Commonlands Tunnel for an improvised Bazaar ?
5. Spell Vendors - If there is no PoK, will Spell Vendors be spread out all over the place as they were in original Classic ? For instance, a Human Mage would spawn in the Freeport starter zone and most, if not all, of his spells and spell components would be available in the Mage Guild in Freeport up to about level 20. However, after level 20 some spells would only be available on specific vendors that were in other zones, often several zones away from Freeport, requiring a Druid port or a lengthy run between zones. Same for Druid who had to travel either to other cities or to various Druid Circles all over the place once he reached the 20th level.
6. Are we going to be restricted in initial languages, for instance Human Race will only be able to communicate in Human ? Or will there be a Common language channel ?

Thanks for any replies.

I'll answer based on past TLPs. If there are differences, someone can correct me.

1. No mines of Gloomingdeep.
2. Yes, defiant will be removed until it is in-era.
3. N/A
4. It'll be the tunnel until Luclin launches. I suspect the population on Yelinak won't be as high on past TLPs because we are on Phinigel #4 at this point (or whatever the number is).
5. They added some spell vendors to the EC tunnel for some of the spells. Aside from that, it'll be just like classic. Some spells in the guild hall, some on the LFay fairies, some in Highpass (chanters and bards at least), and so on.
6. No, common language will be the default.

Mines of Gloomingdeep will be available on Vaniki as it starts with GoD unlocked but it will not be available on Yelinak as that starts in classic.

You may want to include which server you are interested in playing.

.1 The tutorial zone is available with the launch of GoD. So it will be locked on Yelinak, and open on Vaniki.
2. The lower defiant armor is unlocked with TSS. So neither server will have it.
3. The exit portal to the tutorial depends on what expansion is unlocked. Starting with GoD (when it unlocks) it ports you to PoK. After TSS unlocks, it ports you to crescent reach.
4. Again it depends on your server. Vaniki will start with the bazaar. Yelinak will probably use EC as the defacto trading zone. I don't think it will be laggy. I never had issues there.
5. Spell vendors are a tricky one. Some were added after classic. This is especially true for classic researched or quested spells. Best to check for individual spell vendors on Allakazam before you make the trip out to get a rare spell.
6. No language restriction for either server from what I know.

I hope that helps.

Hey there! Makes me happy to see a new/returning player. I really hope you enjoy your retirement by getting a brand new EQ job!

I cant really add anything onto the previous replies as it is all correct. However, how new to TLP or how long the gap from playing EQ? There are a lot of things about EQ nowadays that if its been a while, knowing ahead of time will help the learning curve. If you are familiar with all of these, then great!

- the "pick" system
- AoC
-adv loot

I'm sure there are more, and willing for others to give input! A lot of QoL things have changed. I wont go into specific class changes, but many have changed in significant ways in the past couple years.

Again, I hope you enjoy your time and safe travels my friend!