Inflation should have an exponentially greater impact on the high end than the low end, but for some reason P99 inflation is about equal for all levels. This is the biggest problem.
If we go back in the first week or two of the server, the first "valuable" drops were being traded for pocket change for the simple fact that there was only a few thousand plat on the server, total.
Now that the server's been out for almost three quarters of a year, those who have been at the high end for a majority of the time "literally own entire castles filled with gold and treasures" (amusing quote from an article I read recently about EQ Economics).
Those players have high buying power. They have tens of thousands of platinum, so dropping 11,000 on an FBSS for a twink is fine for them. Larger amounts of platinum are moving around the economy, hence inflation.
However, a new player who starts today is going to have the same bankroll as they did a week or two after the server released. The majority of their income is coming from within the game ie. coin and vendor loot dropped from mobs. This obviously doesn't increase as more players enter the game. So while a PGT may be worth 4x more now than it did then, your average level 15 melee who would probably want one won't come close to being able to afford one. No sane level 50 on the server is going to twink a new character with a PGT or an Advisor Robe or any of these items that have been made an example of. And this is where the problem lies, the buying power of a percentage of the playerbase is increasing the price for the entire playerbase, essentially making the poor even less incapable of equipping themselves than months ago. Essentially the large influx of new players is straight up hindering those new players to progress themselves, interestingly enough. It's a double-edged sword that is harming the newer playerbase instead of nurturing it.
The detrimental effects don't end here. The majority of new players need groups to level. 95% of groups in EQ follow the lines of the traditional D&D trinity: tank, healer, dps. If anyone has been leveling here recently, here is what you'll see.
The majority of the time you will be looking for a tank. You'll have bards and rangers tanking more often than warriors or knights. If you do find a tank, it's only because a level 50 is bored and decided to twink one out. You'll easily group with more twinked tanks than "normally geared" tanks, probably at about 4:1. If the tank leaves, your group dies. This is the largest issue with the lower end leveling scene at this moment.
Your healers are druids. Druids are the least gear dependant healer right now, so by virtue of the above, there's a large influx of druids.
Your DPS are casters. You may very rarely find a monk, as they do well without gear, but you'll almost never find an untwinked rogue. Most full groups will consist of 3-4 robed casters, as those four classes are the best in the game without good gear.
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