There's been a lot of changes to combat in the last few updates, plus now AA points are in (these start at level 20 and give you a tree system to spend your points in akin to Diablo). Berserkers are now not far behind Guardians in tanking and they put out good DPS (they have great AE damage). You won't ever struggle with a Berserker mate, but what you are prolly thinking is a Berserker now is really what a Bruiser is from level 30 on. Bruisers (evil side Monks) are really overpowered, but are not a commonly played class because their graphics and animations suck (Mike Tyson doesnt belong in a fantasy MMORPG). Monks, as discussed, are tough too.
Good short discusssion on Berserker tanking
here, which is an overview, check the rest of the Berserker forums for more insight. Basically it comes down to you can aim for DPS gear and abilities or tanking, similar to the way Pallies can be configured differently in WoW.
Monks get two hastes (a self and a group) which stack solo to give you nearly 100% haste. Haste is tricky to come by outside of raids and rare groups. Bruisers get a damage proc instead, which is very tasty. Bruisers do more upfroint and fast damage, while Monks shine in longer fights where power is used up.
Its also worth looking at what are the rarer played classes as it makes a huge difference in how readily available good spell/combat art upgrades are. (
very rough guide here).
These are just pointers. You should spend some time on
the official class forums and at
Ogaming (just select the class list of abilities you want to see in the drop down on the left) and make your own mind up. Ogaming has a terrific quest db also.
The only consideration I make when choosing race is for crafting as each race gets to choose a bonus skill (Racial Tradition) every ten levels; two of these are a +5 bonus to a crafting skill. See the
EQ2 Wiki for a list of these and as an aside for lots of other useful info.
