UO is weird in that it has been out soooooo long now that there are definitely some better experiences to be had on the free shards than the official ones. I STILL have an active official account for UO, started around 1998 and it really isn't the same experience anymore. Playing on the some of the T2A accurate shards is a load of fun though, and it can also be a lot of fun to check out some of the completely different experiences some of the other "independent" shard developers are creating.