So, I've played p99 and Phinigel here of late and my assessment is as follows:
P99 (Have leveled a druid to 25)
Good
Nostalgic, looks and acts like when we first started playing this damn game.
Everything seems to work, server is stable
People are really nice to noobs with gear/buffs/etc
no boxing makes for better interaction, stronger groups
Free
Good population
Bad
Its classic EQ, leveling takes forever, traveling takes forever, finding a group takes forever
Corpse runs
Most at low level are uber twink or getting a PL
No new content, same content has been out for years
End game raiding is an infinite cock block, raid mobs drop almost immediately after spawning. All mobs are on complete lock down for 5th/6th alts in uber guilds.
Mobs with desirable drops are cock blocked
RMT is rampant
No box is bad for non-solo classes that cannot find groups
Conclusion
I'm not so sure why everyone gets a hard-on for classic EQ. After the nostalgia fades, its pretty fucking annoying. If you want to take a long time to level to 60 and then have little to do, play this game.
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Phinigel (Have leveled a monk to 20)
Good
All of the convenience upgrades to the game are convenient. New loot system, global channels, etc.
Instanced raiding - fuck the poop sock - this is the best feature of the server. Everyone can raid without having to batphone/poopsock.
More content to come
EXP rate is better
Easy to find groups
Boxing rules allow for boxing but limit boxing. Boxing is way less common than I thought it would be.
Good population
No corpse runs
Bad
Pay to play
RMT/Krono - the economy is strange here
You are behind at this point and really need to power through to get to end game (but its easily doable, and there is end game content that you can actually consume)
Solo exp is nerfed
While raid content is instanced, the method of acquiring keys/flags is not.
Conclusion
If you want to play EQ and experience it at a bit faster lving pace, this is your game. If you want to raid Luclin, PoP and beyond as instances, this is your game.
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I'm not going to play p99 anymore, but you can find me on Phinigel as Renshu.