Soloing vs. grouping, once and for all

[Messianic]

don't you think the people playing 18 hours a day in 1999 would have figured out that grouping was crappy exp? It's not like you truly need years of experience to learn how to level fast in EQ.

if the exp bar moved faster when solo'ing, everyone would have been solo'ing.

Not exactly, because not everyone experienced every single class in classic, and therefore didn't experience how efficient mages or necros were, or tried to solo and failed utterly and decided they wouldn't.

And yes, experience does dictate how fast you level in EQ, and more knowledge about the best spots plays a huge role. More broad experience in the game = Better knowledge about where and how to grind.

Gear is also more easily accessible here than it was on live, with a few notable exceptions (FBSS, Mith2hander).

I made 6-7k before hitting level 30 because I knew what I was doing - I gained multiple levels a day occasionally in my 20s (and no levels for a few weeks given my play schedule).