I don't think EQ is really "hard" compared to something like chess or even Counterstrike. The strategy is fairly basic and the game moves fairly slowly so you don't need lightning reflexes.
The primary challenge of EQ is the extremely slow leveling/farming: in a full group you will have to kill probably 1000 monsters per Kunark level (that looks kinda bad now having written it). Most of the good gear is a rare drop off of a rare spawn, which is OK because you are leveling so slowly anyway
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The secondary challenge of EQ is that it is incredibly unforgiving. You let 1 frog in sebilis run? Your group will wipe to 20 friends. Walking around in oasis whacking crocs? Enjoy getting the shit beat out of you by Cazel.
Also don't play magician. There are 5 skill classes in EQ: Bard, Enchanter, Shaman, Monk, and Necromancer. All the other classes have pretty straightforward gameplay.