I think that the challenge is part of the appeal for some people. Sure you start out as a helpless peasant, but that only makes it more satisfying when you finally start to get better equipment and more levels. I remember when I was a peasant I'd just flail wildly and be lucky to block one attack. I looked for other peasants to fight and ran like hell from everyone else, especially the guys in plate armor and winged great helms. They were terrifying to me, but at the same time I knew that if they could do it I could too. That's a big part of what motivated me to practice and learn and get better so that I could be one of those super awesome badass knights some day.
There's a lot of trial and error for new players while they figure out what kinds of skills and equipment that they prefer to use. The amount of variety can be daunting, which is why so many new players waste gold and experience on things they find out they don't even like. At the same time once you begin to get a handle on how to make a proper build and gear set and become that much more effective, it's very rewarding. You find that you're no longer helpless; you can take on some of those dangerous enemies and actually win!
cRPG is difficult, but I think that it's better that way. Too many games avoid challenging their players because they don't want to scare away the casual babies and they end up being worse for it. The community is overall very helpful, usually giving good advice when people ask and even giving away gold and items to help them get started. The peasant clan was a great idea, and I think that if the developers could add something like NPC trainers on the duel servers or a FAQ on the website to give out basic information new players would be very well off.
