RED OR BLUE (New Player)

[Vexenu]

Evia summed it up very well. I would just add very simply:

Are you a casual player? Go Blue.

Are a hardcore/competitive player? Go Red.

The most annoying thing about Red for me as a fairly casual player is the economy. It's extremely difficult to find the items you need, and selling items is equally problematic (especially low-mid range gear). There just isn't much of an active market, certainly nothing approaching the vigor and liquidity of EC on Blue. I'm sure this can be alleviated to an extent by joining up with a tight-knit guild, but it makes starting out on Red very difficult for non-soloing (plat farming) classes. In contrast, gear is much easier to come by on Blue, even for grouping classes. It's very easy to just run around and enjoy leveling and acquiring gear (which is the main essence of "playing EverQuest") on Blue. If you're the kind of player who thinks the game doesn't really begin until 60, however, Red will serve you better, being less populated and offering more content at the high end.

But really, given the XP bonus on Red you might as well try both. I would just advise you roll a Necro, Mage, Druid, Enchanter or Shaman as your first toon on Red. Very rough starting out there (at least without friends) as a class that can't farm any plat.