Say what you will about SOE... but EQ 1 is 100x better than it was 10 years ago
My understanding is the game went to shit after Shadows of Luclin (seriously the animation and art direction under SOE was goofy as hell).
I play classic EQ1(legit progression, no private server hacks/cheats) for free via Project 1999, which will eventually cover everything up to Velious. I cannot stand all the changes SOE made to the game in the name of "convenience" (automated bazaar, planes of knowledge, old-world/previous content practically deserted etc.), completely ruining what set EQ apart from a certain MMO that practically plays itself and that everyone is trying to ape nowadays.
After discovering P99 there's no way I would be able to go back and give SOE money to play the abomination they turned EQ into. This is all imho, of course.