Vanilla WoW had Alliance warlocks running through the barrens at level 20 to get their Succubus pet, and Horde shaman right at level 20 were making the trip along the road to Tarran Mill in Hillsbrad as part of the water totem quest. Both ventures on a PvP server meant you were going to die repeatedly before reaching your goal in the early days of the game. It felt like it was intentional in giving the player a hard time.
I agree with your OP in that Everquest gives very little slack to the players, especially in terms of NPC spellcasters. Here on P1999 it feels like the NPC's are given a far more complete set of spell gems to use and they will wreck your day at the drop of a hat. It's a good feeling.
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