I came across this server just a few weeks ago and have been hooked on it ever since. If you are bored waiting on Pantheon to release or are interested in a classic EQ-like gameplay experience but are tired of playing the same content and want to explore something NEW. To save some time, and to better explain what the server is all about, I'm just gonna copy/paste from their webpage.
"We live in an age of cookie cutter games and virtual theme parks. The modern expectation for an MMO isn't a world to live in - it's a game to play in and some buttons to mash; easy and rapid bursts of dopamine. Actions aren't held accountable because everyone is self sufficient, there's never a need to socialize, never a reason to help another out. Gone are the days of forging relationships, friendships, partnerships - they have been replaced by offline auction houses and cross server dungeon queues. Immersion is a thing of the past, as you are constantly being reminded that you're playing a game: buy this, click here, follow the glowing trail to the next quest hub. Players rely on mercenaries, bots, and boxes: artificial group members, treated like robots and used solely to propel through the content as fast as possible, rushing through the journey to arrive at the destination sooner. Quest dialogue is skipped, barely skimmed through, and condensed into a single list of objectives: kill and collect like a drone; seek and destroy.
Sanctuary is none of those things.
We don't believe in instant gratification. For us, it's about the journey, not the destination. Our players aren't just warm bodies to fill group slots, they are people, each with their own personalities and distinctive play styles. We cater to the heart and the soul, not brute strength. To progress through the content of Sanctuary, a player will need to use strategy, cleverness, creativity. Trying to smash your way through our content will result in death and its harsh penalties. Using your mind will result in satisfying rewards with real purpose and meaning, not just a bigger number on your sword.
Things will be slow. You will start out with nothing - naked, cold, and alone. What you wear will be sewn yourself, from materials you gather yourself. There are no quest hubs... there are no tasks with clearly defined objectives for you to idly complete while you watch a movie. Your weapon, if you choose to use one, will be handcrafted from the resources of the earth. Your character will be whoever and whatever you define it to be through your chosen style of play and through your actions and decisions. You may start as an Adventurer and decide that combat isn't really for you, and you would rather spend your time crafting unique goods and selling them to the other players, happily living out your days as a Merchant. That same Adventurer may choose to be on the front lines of battle, training to be a fierce Warrior. Both of these are completely different play styles, and both are totally viable options for the same base class.
Our game is designed for a player to play one character, focusing on its growth and development, and teaming up with friends and allies when the going gets rough. We do not design our content for "boxing" multiple characters, dragging them along behind you like robot butlers, and this play style is unsupported. Players of Sanctuary will get a much more rich and fulfilling experience by choosing one main character to play and sticking with it, as there is a lot of "horizontal progression" that doesn't necessarily get reflected in numbers and stats, and trying to spread this type of progression across multiple characters at once can be underwhelming.
Player economy is vital to Sanctuary. Many tradeskill recipes are kept exclusive to certain classes, subclasses, and progression points in our world. Each player is not intended to master every tradeskill, in fact, that would be impossible. Success with tradeskills comes from choosing one or two to master, and the opportunity for fame and fortune is ripe with our complex and elaborate tradeskill system. Start simply, combining a stick and coal to make a torch, and with some time and effort, you'll be a master woodworker, crafting ornate bows from the rarest woods available.
Our world is full of exploration potential, and when encountering what seems to be a brick wall, find a way to chip away at it until you can progress. If your ideas don't work, ask a friend, as two heads are always better than one. When brute force isn't doing the job, look around for resources that may help you come up with another solution. There is never just one way to solve a problem, and solitude and isolation from the community will get you nowhere. Use what has been given to you and strategize a way to find more resources to work with.
As you're playing Sanctuary, always keep in mind that here, the journey is more important than the destination. Enjoy your journey, build your community, and have fun!"
Sounds like a cool idea, but theres less than 10 people playing for whatever reason. I'd probably try it if there were more, I like the hardcore survival aspect, and the crafting.
My favorite custom EQ server has always been Shards of Dalaya. It too suffers from low population these days, but it was pretty decent years ago. I think I was playing it way back when Vanguard came out. Hopped in recently, but its almost impossible to ever find a group there. They also use a really borked old client that I always had trouble with. Mouse movement, mouselook, everything feels really wonky. They've had a new client in the works for years now, but it doesn't seem like theres been much progress. If they ever get it up and running, they should get on eqemu server select and launch a second server.
Yeah the population is pretty low usually, it gets up around 20 most of the time. It doesn't bother me much though because when I first began on Project99 Red there were some weeks where there would be a max of 15 people on and they didnt even have global chat then. The community on Sanctuary is small at the moment but everyone is very polite and social in my experience, I don't think I have had a full session without grouping for atleast 20 or 30 minutes since I started.
Hopefully people will begin to try the server out soon, Sanctuary is a really good server with very active/helpful devs and I think it has the potential to be the most popular custom content server on EQEmu.