EC certainly has some bugs and flaws, but so does CC. EC has higher system requirements, and can be laggy on some older machines or PCs without a proper gaming video card. EC is a serious pain in the rear to get set up, because the defaults are truly horrendous. However, I like EC because I play other MMOs and they all have a grid pack and hotbar setup for icons. I know people like the ''old school'' feel of the classic client, but I am coming from later games and to me CC feels awkward, clunky, and very difficult to use in comparison.
I mean no disrespect to the classic client of UO, and I do not insult people who use it. However, these are the biggest reasons that I prefer EC:
The grid containers allow me to sort everything exactly the way I want, without different sized items overlapping. I can put seldom used things like runebooks and snowballs at the bottom of my main pack and never look at them because their icons are on a hotbar. An artifact pack drop, or something traded to me, is not going to drop underneath anything and force me to start moving things around to find it and have to reorganize later. Ever. Containers in my house or bank don't have to have a bunch of smaller containers just so that I can find things. (However, EC does have a classic backpack option for those who like that. There is even an easy macro to switch container views back and forth.)
I like being able to drag runebooks, ethy mount, deco tool, bandages, and various other tools and resources to a hotbar so that I never have to rummage around in my pack looking for them. I like that abilities and stats can be put on a simple hotbar in a nice neat row for me to always be able to keep track of without having to sacrifice my healthbar. EC's macro system has a lot more options.
The fully resizable playscreen, most windows, and the ability to zoom in and out is pretty much a necessity to me. The EC map shows my coords, it shows the location of party members, and is very very nice for t-maps and especially SOS. There is no large world map in CC like the other MMOs I play, and the game screen feels very small even at its largest setting. CC feels like the game is right up in my face with a very limited range of visibility, which severely limits my situational awareness. This image is zoomed out to max (with some random NPC bars so you can see how I place health bars). The play screen can be expanded to cover the entire monitor so you can see even more, but this is enough for me and I don't like my windows to overlap on the play field. I can zoom in when I want to, like when I am in a player house chit chatting and I want to see all the little details.
These are just some very basic pros for EC without taking into account a lot of other things and also other additions like Pinco's.
As for the graphics, I think that is just what you get used to. Both clients have pros and cons in terms of art and I can enjoy them both on their own terms. However, overall, I prefer the art and animations of EC. But even if I preferred CC art... it just would not be enough for me to sacrifice everything else that EC has to offer once you get it set up properly.
I know a lot of people are always saying things like "They need to update CC! They need to do this, or that, to make it better!" But I think people forget that it is a 20 year old interface. The code was written by different people with different thought process and almost no notes left behind. Changing it is not only difficult, but very risky. MMO coding has come a long way since UO paved the way, and it was WAY easier to just start fresh with an entirely new client - which is exactly what happened.
To me it is like some one driving a 79 Chevy Impala and complaining because it doesn't have fuel injection. There are some things I think can and should be upgraded for CC, just like swapping out an 8 track player for something a bit more contemporary, but I think there are limits. Classic cars have their advantages, including appearance to some folks, but if you want modern conveniences then you are just going to have to get a modern car.
