Great summary, I had a similar experience to yours, including the epic Freeport run, dungeon mob trains, waiting for the right named mob to spawn in Guk for that epic + strength belt for my pally. What a magical time. I remember being so new to the online experience, and the social aspect of it, that my first interaction with anybody in the game was my pally in the newbie zone in Freeport attempting a conversation with a mage's elemental without realizing that was a NPC. Lots of rats and bats were slain that day.

I always wondered why I could never ride the dragon again with anything that came since. Was it because I was much younger when I played EQ for the first time, so nothing to do with the game, but all to do with me? Was it the kind alternatives on the market for gaming experiences? But I think you're right, it likely was about the comparative undersaturation with social experiences on the Internet of 1999. The best I had going on for me sociall online were a couple of friends I had added on IRC from my months of playing Myth The Fallen Lords online. What an era.