EverQuest, the classic MMO. Probably the first big name in MMOs and caused the creation of the nickname "EverCrack". It hit it big back in the days where online communities and ability to chat with strangers was a rare and interesting new mechanic, so the social aspect of the game really carried a lot of weight for it. But the game was still damn good when it released, and I think it still holds up as a great game now.
For personal context, I've never really played EverQuest at all until like... last year I think? Maybe the year before. I poked into the retail version of the game for a few hours, and even did some streams of a silly Shaman & Monk dual box that made it to level 30. Other than that I've just been an outside spectator. But I recently got into it again and have kinda just dove in. Trying different versions, reading lore, etc.
Will the game be for everyone? No, and no game will be. Nor should they try to be. But as I've gotten older, I've gained more appreciation for slower games, less 'zoom zoom' railroads. I've honestly started to believe that games (at least MMOs) should be slower, more clunky, a little more jank. It adds flavour, of course as long as it isn't user-hostile or breaking accessibility.
But either way, the game has been around for 27 years as of this writing. And in that time, it has changed a lot. Of course, people don't like all the changes, and such some people want to play older versions of the games. World of Warcraft has Classic, and Runescape has Oldschool Runescape. But somehow, EverQuest has... at least 4 different ways to play the game.
What version to play?
Retail
This is the main live version of the game, accessible at https://www.everquest.com/ . It still gets steady releases of content, and the 32nd expansion pack (Shattering of Ro) released in December 2025. It being the current version, it has the most up to date game engine and client features. Amazing features like "an ingame map", "quest tracker" and a light trail that leads you to an NPC using the Find feature. Which is actually really nice even compared to brand new MMOs.
There is an updated tutorial sequence (read: an actual tutorial rather than dropping you into the world) added many years after launch, so if you want to learn the basics of EverQuest gameplay this is probably the best way to start. From my limited experience, the game is a lot more of the 'zone-questing' style gameplay in retail compared to the classic versions, but maybe the newer starter zones are just especially dense with quests.
There is a pretty extensive free to play option, which gives you access to the first 29 expansions. If you buy the latest expansion it includes the other two, for 32 total. You will likely need to pay the subscription to play the latest content due to free to play limiting access to higher AA levels/spell tiers/etc.
Official Time-Locked Progression servers (TLP)
These are regularly released official servers that use the retail game engine & UI, but have content based on an early point in the game's life (such as initial release, or first few expansions) and add more expansions as time goes on. The exact start point and speed of releases depends on the exact TLP and are often voted on by the community. There are also usually modifiers such as randomized loot, exp changes, and even stuff like locking enemies so if someone is fighting an enemy no one else outside their party can interact with it. TLPs usually release mid/end of May. For example, here is the news post about the poll results for the settings for the upcoming Frostreaver TLP: https://www.everquest.com/news/eq-2026-tlp-polls-outcome (https://www.everquest.com/news/eq-2026-tlp-polls-outcome)
Access to TLPs requires a subscription.
Project 1999
Shortened to P99, this is the "big name" private server for EverQuest and can be accessed at https://www.project1999.com/ (https://www.project1999.com/) . It is officially allowed, so it is in no danger of being shut down. The focus of this private server is to be a very classic server, with little to no changes. It is permanently locked in the second expansion pack (Scars of Velious). P99 uses the EverQuest Titanium client, which was released in 2006, but as it is limited to Velious it uses the gameplay engine & models from the 1999-2000 era. The client/engine/models thing will be explained more later because I find it fascinatingly confusing.
As this is an early release of the game, it functions as it used to. There is no ingame map whatsoever, no find feature, and no quest log. Want to know where you're going? Better look up a map or make your own. NPC told you to do something? Better write that down! The third person camera is also just... worse, due to age. Usable, but I found it best to play in first person a lot because of it.
Project Quarm
This is the other major private server for EverQuest, and is available at https://quarm.guide/ (https://quarm.guide/) . Like P99, it is officially allowed. It is a progression server, which started at the base game release and is currently on the third expansion pack (Shadows of Luclin), and in October 2026 will move up to Planes of Power where it will stop progressing. Interestingly, the server & its emulator is based on the short lived Macintosh release of EverQuest, which never went past Planes of Power. This gives it some oddities in behavior, but I'm not experienced enough to know the difference.
This server uses the 2002 version of the client, making it by far the oldest client of any of these versions. However, as it runs on the third expansion, where they updated the game engine & models, it actually looks visually much newer than Project 1999 despite that being on a much newer client. Like I mentioned with P99, it's quite confusing. However, due to the clients age it lacks a lot of options and has even more limited camera controls!
The Project Quarm website mentions to install Zeal, which is a sort of addon to Quarm's client that adds a bunch of Quality of Life/options/etc. With that installed, it adds a lot, and even a bunch of camera improvements to the point where I think I prefer Quarm+Zeal's camera to the retail version. It also adds a map, but I try not to use it too much and try to navigate on my own as it originally was.
Graphics/Model changes
The game is 27 years old, and luckily the devs have updated the models and game engine as time went on. But the third expansion (Luclin) had a huge overhaul on models specifically. Below you can see a comparison of how an Ogre shadow knight looks between Project 1999, Quarm, and retail.
(https://gendenelith.com/images/EverQuest-article-Evolution-of-Ogres.jpg)
NPC dialogue and the joy of note-taking
In EverQuest, you Hail NPCs to talk to them, and their dialogue appears in the chat log. Some words will be surrounded in square brackets \[ \], which are keywords you can say (in actual local Say chat) to continue the dialogue or get a quest from them. In the retail (or TLP) versions, you can click on the highlighted keyword to automatically say what needs to be said. On classic servers like P99 & Quarm, you need to type it out. Sometimes you need to change what the keyword states a little bit, usually for "me/you" type words.
Also, as Project 1999 and Quarm do not have quest trackers, if an NPC mentions wanting you to do something, you have to remember to do it. So I suggest using a note program of some sort (like a to-do list) to keep track, as well as writing enough information to be able to find the NPC again as there are no maps.
This activity has actually sparked something I didn't know I wanted. Having to really read what the NPC is saying, continue the conversation in text, then jot down the notes in a way that's descriptive to me invests me in the world a lot more than just talking to an NPC and seeing whatever appear in the quest log. I even have some notes that end with "(is this a quest or just flavour text?)". Taking in what they said, where they are, and what they really want me to do means I'm remembering things a lot more than I usually do. It's not something I've had to do in any MMO, and it's given me nostalgia for an experience I've never had.