That's not entirely correct, and Luclin MOBs were reknown for having wicked amounts of HP in the higher level zones compared to Velious or Kunark MOBs of similar level. That being said, they are a lot easier to kill these days than they were back then, and low level characters definitely have access to gear that we wouldn't have even dreamed of back then.
In any case, I don't think the issue is whether this game is easier than it used to be (it used to be way harder than it should have been, but that's a different discussion altogether). I think the real issue is whether or not it's worth it for a new player to actually invest the time needed to catch up to a majority of the player population. 100 levels and thousands of AAs, you know. Maybe they should cut the amount of XP needed to get through levels < 70 so people don't feel so "stuck" down there.
We are probably to the point where they need to make it so people start out at like 50 or 60 with 100 AAs on all servers.
There are many different ways of playing EQ, and probably the two most popular are: 1) solo/molo the lowere end (which is probably up to around level 70/71), and enjoying the great breadth of content there; and 2) high end grouping/raiding in the most recent two expansions, which often means boxing, and you need a guild to assist. Both styles are viable and worth respecting - and note that increasing levelling speed 50-65 at least would damage one. It is true that levelling slows down as you go from 50-70, but this is for several reasons. One of which is that AAs open up to you. Although it seems paradoxical, the more AAs you have, the faster you level. This becomes especially important while you are in the 70-85 range: few groups available, and you are stuck between my two play styles listed above. If you like the low end content, learn to relax and don't worry about levelling speed - the second time around it will seem much faster, anyway. And if you are really in a hurry to get to the end game, then look at the things that will speed up your levelling speed: form groups, have a strong friends list, and join an active family guild - plus research the best exp paths, gear and AAs.
As I'm levelling a cleric up (59 as of a few days ago), I don't find the grind 50+ to be so bad. Maybe it's because I lived through hell levels years ago. Maybe it's because I can xp pretty much non-stop using a merc. I stopped at 51 and got runspeed 3 and metabolism 3. At 55, I stopped and got SCF3, SCM4, CA3, CS3, ND3, HA3, HG3, Clarity 3, mnemonic 1, and SCR3. Then I banked 30 and levelled to 59. So far at 59, I've picked up SCR4, TU3, Invis to Undead. I plan on getting Bestow DA, Celestial Regen, Divine Res, MGB, Purify Soul and then moving along to 60. Maybe it's because of the way I've chosen to do it, but it doesn't seem to be taking all that long.
I spent a lot of time at 60, maxxing my AA (Literally), and I did it in Nadox (meh), Grieg's End (Much better), the Hole (Awesome), and Bot/CoD (meh). I did Nadox, Grieg's, and the Hole truly Solo(no merc). BoT and CoD requiring grouping, which is possible on Tunare server at that level, not sure how your server is.
