I've never played EQ II but I heard they're adding a free-to-play option. I'm a little intrigued, but D&D Online and LOTR Online are both free to play now and newer than EQ II.
(From an explanation of EQ II's Free option)
"Bronze-tier characters have only two bag slots, can carry only 5 gold per level, may receive but not send in-game mail, no shared bank slots, only 20 active Journal quest slots, restricted access to the broker system, restricted access to in-game chat, may not create guilds. In addition, Bronze-tier players cannot access real-time customer support and will experience frequent in-game account upgrade pop-up ads. At any time, a Bronze-tier player can upgrade to Silver-tier for a one-time fee of 1000 Station Cash ($10).
At the Silver tier, players gain another character slot and access to Expert-tier spells. Silver-tier characters gain an additional bag slot, can carry 20 gold per level, gain 2 shared bank slots, 40 active Journal quest slots, unlimited access to in-game chat, and the right to create guilds. To move up to the Gold tier, players must beginning paying the $14.99 per month subscription fee. At the Gold tier, players can access all playable classes, all equipment grades, all spell tiers, and get 7 character slots. "