"Where can i find what the "hot zones" are that i hear about for xp?
Also, which starting city is better, a frogluk, or a gnome."
here are the current hot spots:
The Warrens 5-25
Netherbian Lair 15-30
Echo Caverns 20-40
The Scarlet Desert 30-45
The Tower of Frozen Shadow 30-45 (not sure about that, revamp?)
The Hole 40-60
The Grey 40-50
Howling Stones 45-60
The Halls of Betrayal (Chardok B) 45-60?
i would recommend staying in the tutorial till 10 (or 11 if you cans squeeze that extra experience out). also, as a necro, i would recommend kurn's tower on kunark as a next destination. great dungeon full of undead with great exp.
as to which city is better, i don't think 1 is necessarily better than the other. the frogloks are currently living in a tent city in the rathe mountains after gukta fell to the trolls. one good thing about the outpost of gukta (tent city's name) for a true newb, is that, when u first go to thte city, you have a small quest that involves running around to the bank andseveral merchants (all the tradeskill merch's). the bank part of this quest is great for a true newb, the banker gives you 5 gold! i would also have to say that the layout is a little more centralized/compact than akanon (ie, merchants of 1 type are next to other merchants of the same type). there is only 1 necro spell merch here though, and he doesn't carry all spells. akanon, the gnome city, is a beautiful city flled with clockwork/mechanical devices. the necro merchants here sell most buyable (non-researched) necro spells. the layout of akanon can be a little confusing. merchants aren't centrally grouped; ie 1 smithing merchant is here, another is there, the 3rd might even be in the windmills outside the city (oh yeah, they have windmills in steamfont! how cool is that!) also, the area where the necro guildmasters/merchants are is an abandoned mine area. as such, it is very much a maze. very easy to get lost in. anyway, welcome to eq, good luck, have fun, and be safe. and if you start on stromm, maybe i'll see you around.