Leaving EQ2 for DAoCFollow

1). I don't know that there is a best, but the most popular are the VN boards. Just take everything you read there with a grain of salt or 3, there's as much whining as there is actual discussion. Looking at the various boards listed on the herald (www.thecamelotherald.com) for the team lead program is also a good source of information.

2). The end game is heavily tilted in favor of casters right now, though it's getting better. Keep that in mind if that's not your style of play. The unique combinations of abilities in each realm is a mixed blessing. Additionally, the game is 3-4 years old now- you will have a lot of catching up to do if you plan to get competative.

3) I would say they do, if they are running the toa or catacombs client, as they are the onlly two that suport custom ui's. See the other recent threads on where to get these.

4)There is one pure pve server- Gahaeris. There is one free for all PvP- mordred. The others are all opt in pvp- the home zones (the "mainlands", shoruded isles, trials of atlantis, and catacombs) are all safe- you will not run into realm enemies in them, ever. The remaining areas- frontiers (high level rvr) battle grounds (1-45 rvr, broken up into 4 level blocks), and darkness falls (a dungeon whose ability to be entered is determined by tower ownership, enter in the home zones) are all rvr enabled, and you can (and will) find enemy players in them to hunt and be hunted by. If you don't feel like pvp, you stay in the home zones and you will only have to worry about bad pulls.

The free trial should have the village upgrades(starting towns, the rest are being worked on), but will not have the character upgrades afaik, so the graphics will look a bit dated, especially leaving eq2. The catacombs expansion is worth it for the graphics, though you have to purchase TOA to use it.

The ui's add functionality to your userinterface that isn't there in the mythic developed ones. It can be anything from changing a status bar into a precentage to a total redo, including healers helpers, expanded maps, information on armor vs damage type, realm rank information, etc. Best thing to do is look for one that suits your needs (or design your own if you understand xml).

A ui cannot improve the engine- it's just the interface. Though a poorly built one can definitly slow things down. I've used some that work wonderfully, and others where if there were more than 4 enemies coming into a zone the game would go lag crazy and parts of the interface would actually blank themselves out.