Came to post this. Early 2000s EQ is still my favorite MMO to date. Norrath is a huge, detailed, dangerous world to explore. Wandering off the beaten path can often result in running into rare named monsters and rare drops. The lack of fast travel meant that actually getting from point a to point b could be a serious trial. It could take an hour easily to run from one city to another, and unless you were high enough level or properly prepared, you could get your shit kicked in FAST.
Monsters never stop chasing you once they aggro, either, so you couldn't just run away for a few seconds and then okay fine you were safe again.
Yeah. EQ definitely has "hostile, living world" down.
As a player, I appreciated the teleport books from the Planes of Power expansion, of course, I mean, who wouldn't. It's an insanely convenient feature; but it really does neuter the sense of journey and discovery.