I realize in advance these same questions are likely posted all over the place but perhaps you won't mind answering them one more time :)

I was intrigued by the fact there is a new expansion coming out and it appears the game still lives and breathes with a good community.  Is this true?
 

How harsh is it for a new person to get integrated into the game?  I would be starting completely from scratch.

Is the high end content focused more on pvp or pve? 

Are their certain classes that are way overplayed?  (I am thinking of hunters and death knights in WoW)

For a person interested in really getting into the game, what would you recommend to start out with?  A free account or a subscription?

Thanks much in advance for your replies!

I needs certain mindset with all of it's complexity. Lower level community can be bit low nowdays haven't realy started new toon lately, so don't know.

Hi-end content is likely both, nothing special pvp if you don't want to, but owerall there is lot of end game content and you don't need max level toon to participate most times.

Can't say that some classes are ower presented apart from some points of pvp. All classes have their high points and low points between levels.

I would start as froob, level it and do things to about 100lvl+ or bit more when you starting to feel that leveling is too slow.

Also few points;

Read the official forums there is lot of good info. Don't worry about rerolling your first toon it's very common that you won't get it right first time. Also AO can be very tedious grind some times...

Even with it's "poor"? graphichs, AO does offer likely unmatched depth of world and charter development. I like it for it's almost endless charter development.

220/26 "DD"-Engineer...

It's not harsh but it's not simple either, there's a lot to learn in AO and unlike some other games, it's not all handed to you on a silver platter, you have to figure out some of it on your own.  Funcom documentation is, well... bad, most of the time but there are plenty of resources online if you look for them.  It doesn't take long to get used to some of the oddball eccentricities of the game.

Endgame content is what you make of it, especially since they keep introducing new content for high-level characters.  A lot of the PvP isn't solo, there are lots of massive raids and group battles to get involved in if that floats your boat.

It depends on what you mean by overplayed.  There are some classes that are harder to play at lower levels and some classes that require paid expansions to play, those are going to be a bit more rare until you level up a bit but honestly, I don't know of any class that's ever hard to find if you care to look.

You might as well start off with a free account, see how you like it, you can always convert to a paid account down the road if you like it like I did.  Many, perhaps most people even, maintain both a paid and a free account.  It is entirely possible to play all the way to lvl 200 on a froob account and there are plenty of froob-friendly clans around to help you out.

No point paying for something you decide you don't like.

Froob account don't get access to the special points you get after level 10 do they ? (I don't recall what they are called but they can be placed to boost buffs and stats and such)

Originally posted by xcopymmo

Froob account don't get access to the special points you get after level 10 do they ? (I don't recall what they are called but they can be placed to boost buffs and stats and such)

Perk and research yes. SL-subcription gives one group of perks, AI other(need additiona alien levels) and LE third.