definitely a giant-sized race (ogre, mino, giant), and warrior or ranger...
just stay FAR away from zerks, dwarves, duergar, halfling, half-elf, etc
learning how to play a melee
Zerk will be a good option if you have self control. Ironics that berzerkers are a class that requires rigid self control of the player. Rage can help with keeping hit/dam up if you need saves. You will be the bitch of all other melee's and some hybrids (except other zerks).
There isn't an easy way - all you can do is roll, play, log and improve. Just be prepared to die a bit more.
L-A
I honestly feel that berserkers are lacking... And PoD needs to be toned up, or buffed somehow.
..But I also think that Vamps should get a tone up aswell. 
I don't know why I am saying this...but give avatars more type defining skillz!!!
Why in the world would VAMPIRES need toning up?
They're a gimped class.
Dey
you're a gimped player.
I just read your signature, Deykary, and it made me laugh out loud.
That's only a small snippet too. The whole 'story' gave me a good chuckle.
Dey
Pff. You people are crazy. Zerks for the win. I've played two different warriors to fifty, and all I did was get owned hardcore by everyone. At least zerks can DO something to mages. Especially mino zerks drool.
Pff. You people are crazy. Zerks for the win. I've played two different warriors to fifty' date=' and all I did was get owned hardcore by everyone. At least zerks can DO something to mages. Especially mino zerks drool.[/quote']
Really? Hm... last ogre warrior I had at 50 did fine, even against communers/mages.
I think it's just because in my opinion warriors are the absolute in requiring EQ knowledge, even more than zerks. And that's something I've always had a weakness with. Part of it may also have been that they were a storm giant and a halfling, respectively.
Ah... yeah, neutral ogre is a pretty buff warrior... though most of the time I never had a hit/dam above 45. It's really more about having the right weapon combos for the right targets than having an insanely high hit/dam. Shamans were tricky, but if you could manage to fight them in the city where you could cure plague/poison, it wasn't that bad.
I think Warrior would be a better choice for learning than Berserker in the sense that Warriors are a little more survivable. Berserkers have a little bit more of an offensive boost at the expense of defense, and that can easily get you killed in the wrong circumstances. Of course, you learn something from everything, I always say that you should play something you like the sound of, because if you have fun playing something you will stick at it and you'll learn a lot more.
Just my two pence.
Dey
warriors have more of an offense (and defensive) punch than zerks..zerks have the variable luck status affect bonus.
Well as far as rage goes, I have found it a big hinderance against melees - not often does the rage bonus make enough difference to outweigh the very noticable losing of a main defense when fighting other melees.
Of course, that all depends on when you rage, but even trying to use it as surprise damage against another melee when they're almost dead, I have not had that much success. I once even found that against someone like a Warrior with defensive weaponry, I would not land a couple of rounds worth of attacks whilst raged and I would get minced up like beef.
Of course, that's not saying much, considering my PK track record.
It's great against casters/communers/rogues though, especially when you land a cheeky haymaker just prior to them using a skill.
Dey
i would say ranger. Any race will do. Advantages, well basically in a situation where a decently played ranger vs. decently played warrior, ranger has good chance of winning. Lore wise, you get a nice selection. Running skills, camo and quiet movement are nice. Not only that but you get a decent spell + charmies and insect swarm. Personally I don't classify rangers as a rogue class. You have to play them out melee or you're not going to get anywhere.
Well that or monk. But monk even a not rlly trained monk gives you a good idea of prep and lagging skills/ that plus how to fight all classes, and what you're looking for to combat them.(i.e. more defenses, more dmg output...etc.)
That record looks about right. Remember that I was an Initiate for 10 hours, and that's plenty of time to get your rear handed to you horribly.
Also, most of my big PKs weren't challenges. I don't fight fair if I can avoid it.
:-d
Words to live by.