Returning player looking for advice

[Tayen]

Afternoon everyone!

I (very) briefly tried out Project 1999 a few years back and ran a character through a few levels in a newbie area, and had a blast - unfortunately life got in the way of me adventuring into Norrath any further at the time. Now I've returned to start fresh with a new character, with the hopes of experiencing more than just the newbie log in Neriak.

However, I was hoping I could get some advice before I start playing tonight:

1. I'm debating between playing a Druid or a Shaman - I've read many of the guides on the wiki, and from what I can gather, Druids are extremely useful in the early game, but Shaman start to outshine Druids in the late game, and Druids are less likely to be selected for groups, as their utility starts to dwindle. Is this still true with the release of Velious, or is this only in the case of raiding and min-maxing groups?
2. On the same topic as the previous point, what are the differences between the roles of a Shaman and Druid in a group? I'm assuming a Shaman is more focused on buffs and debuffs, whereas a Druid focuses more on snares and nuking?
3. Are there any specific zones that are more active than others for low level players? I have lots of great memories of chatting with people at the Derv Camps in North Ro back in the day, so I'm hoping to find a similar experience so I can start to meet people in the community at an early level.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!