Ragefire v. p99, my review:

[Talgurin]

PROS:

- It's up to date with balance issues. It's not "classic" but you COULD argue it's significantly better than classic. No hybrid imbalance. More fun little items and things not found on P99. Fippy Darkpaw dropped "Fippy's Paw" for my mage - a decent range caster item for a noob.

- You're supporting Daybreak with some cash to keep EverQuest from disappearing.

- There is the opportunity to some day move beyond Velious if you were also a fan of Luclin, PoP, and so forth.

That's about it.

CONS:

- I'm ever grateful for P99's anti-boxing rule. It makes for a real MMO experience. On Ragefire I am already seeing SIX boxes and it's very likely there are some TWELVE boxers. For this reason I cannot imagine what high levels will be like. No real grouping, but competing with massive bot setups for basic spawns.

- As a result there's a lot of pressure to also be a boxer. I was about to roll a shaman to go with my mage before I decided $30 a month wasn't worth it and now I'm going back to p99.

- Hardcore players from Live make guilds like TMO seem like casual picnics. Just a few days after release word on the street is that Nagafen and Vox have both been killed. The members of Twisted Legacy play TWELVE HOURS a day (according to their website). There's enough people from the EQ world on retirement / disability who never leave their trailers to make this happen. I'm not sure if this is really something to be proud of... It's like becoming the World's Fattest Person (metaphorically, not literally, but maybe literally, too).

- Cheapened death penalties. It's more like WoW. Just respawn with your gear. It's been said before but it can be said again... No danger and no challenge creates boredom and demotes teamwork.

In Summary

- p99 has continued to fulfill a true classic experience by banning boxers. Nothing beats a full group of players in a dungeon and working together, and embarking on your char's individual quest to the top.. Not power leveling your way to 60 with 6 mages in a few days.