Hello Golaniel and welcome to the server! I will try to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge!
Q: My true love is tanking...was a Warrior in EQ1, and again in EQ2. I honestly can't see myself being anything else. However, is being a *Human* warrior going to hinder me over being a Barbarian/Ogre/Troll warrior due to the reduced stats (especially strength)? If so, is it worth reconsidering Barb in favor of Human (I won't go Ogre/Troll)?
A: It will be harder for you from the start being a human due to the big stat difference but by the time you get to the higher levels and start getting better gear and hitting your ability score caps it wont make too much of a difference in normal 6man groups. I cant speak for Main Tanking in raids as I have not participated in any end game raiding. I can say that i do main a cleric and my guilds main tank is a lvl 60 half-elf warrior and he doesnt seem to have any trouble taking hits in Kael Arena.
Q:What are the grouping prospects for a Human Warrior? If I remember right, blues will be killing me solo after lvl 10-15, so I'm really curious how hard it will be for me to find groups in all of the level tiers. I'm a casual player, so I'll likely not be able to stick with the same group of folks for long periods of time (they will out-level me) so I will either need to find PuGs or guild groups.
A: The server is still very active starting from your low level noob starting areas (especially Gfay and Freeport/EC areas) all the way up to the higher level areas. The popular dungeons like Crushbone, Unrest, Mistmoore, Highkeep, upper/lower Guk, City of Mist, Karnors Castle, and Old sebilis almost always have people in them no matter what time of day it is and as always Tanks are always in high demand!
Q: Does the pre-endgame content get played a lot? I'm talking low level dungeons like Befallen and stuff. One of the saddest things about EQ2 is that it has so, so, so much beautiful content that absolutely no one plays b/c expansion gear has made those places absolutely worthless to go to unless you want to beat the area for the sake of beating it. I like loot just like the next guy, but I really, really would like to experience a lot of the lower level content in the game even if it is "just because". I'm hoping to not have the EQ2 experience where you basically need to PL til the end game in order to be able to do anything with anybody.
A: I listed most of the more popular dungeons in the answer above and you shouldn't have too much trouble finding groups in those places but if you ever want to go to the places less travel dont be afraid to start doing /who all <class> <level> and asking people if they would like to join you on an adventure!
Q: How's the tradeskilling saturation? Are any of the tradeskills profitable, or are they either too saturated and/or the items are not worth using b/c the gear table is too saturated? Back in the day I mastered every single tradeskill (except Alchemy, not available to me as a Human Warrior) but my true love is smithing, and I'd be thrilled to be able to spam EC for Banded and Fine Plate sales
A: I am not much of a tradeskiller myself but there does seem to be a decent market for that stuff.
Q: Do any of the low lvl tradeskill mats from loot drops sell (i.e. is it profitable to farm as low level)? Example items I can think of would be HQ bear/cat pelts, Greater Lightstones, Spider Silks, etc.
A: All of the examples you listed are definitely excellent ways for a new person to the server to make some early cash while they are working their way through those lower levels. Also, dont forget to save your bone chips to sell as well.
Q: EQ to me is fun for the people. Do people use voice chat at all? If so, is it baked into the game, or are people using things like Vent servers? I can type as well as the next guy, but honestly I have a whole lot more fun being able to really talk with people.
A: There is no built in Voice chat in game but most guilds have some form of voice chat whether it be Vent, Mumble, Team Speak, or my favorite Discord.
Q: Is there a recommended UI mod for tanking? Back in the day I pretty much just used the standard UI, but if there's a good tanking mod I definitely want to install it.
A: Not that i know of for tanking specifically. I use Duxa UI which seems to be a pretty popular alternate UI on this server. Check out this link if you are interested.
https://www.project1999.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=28335
Q: Are there in-game maps (don't think those existed until well after Velious)? If not, are there 3rd party map integrations, or are those disallowed (I'm totally fine either way)
A: There are no in game maps but the p99 wiki has good maps that will help you get around.
http://wiki.project1999.com/
Q: How's the population on Friday and Saturday nights? That's generally my only time to play.
A: Very good. 1200+ id say
Q: Does armor still come in 3 sizes, fitting only certain races? I actually really like that.
A: Yes
Q: Is Kithicor still certain death at night for anyone below lvl 35 (unless of course you run around the edges of the zone boundaries, everyone knows that)?
A: Beware Kithicor after the sun sets. It is not a friendly place!
Q: Does the lvl 25 Griffon (damn him!!) still ravage East Commonlands in his reign of terror over n00bs?
A: Most definitely!
Hope to see you in the lands of Norrath soon!
Roory Cowtipper, 54 Cleric of <Nocterma>