Hey guys I just started a character (an orc) and noticed that no one is around except some npcs and some stupid dwarfs that respawn over and over and attack some merchant and keep getting killed.. I am just wondering if anyone plays anymore?
Yes, there are still plenty of people around in L2. Newbies don't come in swarms however like in some other games, but people tend to stick around. You'll find more and more people as you level up and move on into the more important towns, specifically you'll find a great deal of people in Giran and to a lesser extent Dion and Gludio.
As for those dwarves...you'll learn the true nature of those eventually (and weep).
They're probably bots, but legitimate players do that as well sometimes.
In L2 once you get to be a certain level higher than a mob it will no longer drop items at a decent rate. Killing yourself lowers exp and can even lower your level, some players do this in order to stay around the level range of a mob that drops expensive items or items commonly used in crafting.
I stated as an orc about 3 months ago and worried about the same thing - don't. As already pointed out once you get to a certain level there are people everywhere. Having said that there are still quite a few places that people are few and far between but I think that's just because it's not one of the more popular areas like the Cata's, EV etc. I'm rarely alone when I'm on - especially in Giran as you will eventually find out!!