And do keep in mind that the starter island is nothing like the mainland in actual gameplay experience.
On the mainland there are no questlines that give exp. They exist on the starter island merely as a tutorial into the game mechanics and especially the stanza system.
While there are some quest lines on the mainland, they serve a completely different purpose and there's no forced progression through them, you'll never level any skill by doing them except insofar as you might get exp while killing something in the process of completing the quests.
And be happy, there are no rats on Atys. I've not played EQ1 or Rift, but compared to what I have played (over a dozen titles over the years) the world here is a lot more alive and (to the inexperienced at least) unpredictable.
Predators actively hunt, nothing sits still waiting for you to come close and start hitting it. Aggro ranges varry wildly, many creatures show pack/herd behaviour (both predators and prey will come to the defence of others of their species when attacked for example), etc. etc.
On the mainland there are no questlines that give exp. They exist on the starter island merely as a tutorial into the game mechanics and especially the stanza system.
While there are some quest lines on the mainland, they serve a completely different purpose and there's no forced progression through them, you'll never level any skill by doing them except insofar as you might get exp while killing something in the process of completing the quests.
And be happy, there are no rats on Atys. I've not played EQ1 or Rift, but compared to what I have played (over a dozen titles over the years) the world here is a lot more alive and (to the inexperienced at least) unpredictable.
Predators actively hunt, nothing sits still waiting for you to come close and start hitting it. Aggro ranges varry wildly, many creatures show pack/herd behaviour (both predators and prey will come to the defence of others of their species when attacked for example), etc. etc.