Well I'm going Iksar no matter what, as it's just the most aestheically pleasing to me, and MMO are a lot about my character and how he looks/fun to roleplay. Leveling isn't a big deal, I'm just going to go Iksar SK and tough it out :)

Hopefully I'll see you guys around!

Iksar SK have rich story and are fun to play. Just stock up on alcohol for the exp penalty.

http://www.project1999.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2482 - this might be what you're looking for for a little updated graphics

So I am sure someone is going to disagree but..

1) Tanks are hard to play as a first char because gear is important and expensive.
2) Iksar tanks are especially hard because tanks wear plate but iksar cannot wear plate. In velious this changes but in Kunark you have to make do with other shit so to be viable is a little more difficult.

The server needs tanks but for sanity sake, especially if you are new to the game in general, it would be wise to play some sort of caster since they are much less gear dependent in general.

A shaman actually can fit the mage/tank role to an extent, at high levels they solo by slow tanking mobs (ie they cast slow on mobs so they hit slower then just face tank shit). They also are needed in groups, no exp penalty for the class and can solo well at higher levels.. you can also roll iksar shaman although you cannot equip jaundiced bone bracer as iksar which is a big perk item for shaman (click effect damage spell so you can kill things without using mana).

All of this is true, but no one can argue with the fun experience of playing a tank/gear dependent class as your first run. It definitely requires more creativity and patience.

I could definitely use a shaman buddy :)

This might be a little ambitious for a player just starting out in EQ but if you can get a chaperone or two that are high level it could be extremely worth your while you bum around Karnor's, preferably during peak times, evenings US time when the zone is full so that there are less mobs up and try to loot rots of Jarsath armor:

http://wiki.project1999.org/Jarsath_Scale_Armor

This stuff rots so much because it's not tradable and a lot of those pieces are ultimate for a newbie Iksar SK and getting a good set of armor is going to be the most important thing for you.

I dunno if you'd rather take your time and work your way up to getting gear and stuff but IMO playing a tank as a first class you can use any leg up you can get.

One other word of caution for you, since you seem to be someone who is concerned with aesthetics you should know that Iksars 2 handed slashing swinging animation is probably the worst animation in the game. They don't even hold the sword with 2 hands and it's a very limp, lazy looking swing. I dunno how anybody can stomach playing a character with an animation so horrible. :D

Like Messianic said..it just seems more fun to me. Being a newb friendly caster doesn't sound fun to me, especially since I have a lot of bad taste in my mouth from being casters in various MMOs. SK is something that I haven't really played and Iksar has a very deep lore intwind with it.

Thanks again for every post guys! Love this community.

EDIT: Actually looking way more into the Shaman it fits my playstyle almost perfectly. It's exactly how I run my favorite class in The Elder Scrolls series!