so the tl,dr is: i think lowering the experience requirements to reach level 30 will not only get players more interested in spending more time playing, but also maybe encourage players that dont want 2 play because they feel overwhelmed by high level nerds to give it another shot. but lets be real lets stop using the word "players". everyone that actively plays the mod will probably read this anyway (which is like 30 people).
i main a 1h/swashbuckler and the majority of my time goes into playing that character. when i get bored i may go play on an alt that im trying to build for lvl 30/31 but it's just unenjoyable to level with a low server population because it demands more individual performance with fewer players on a team, which means playing on my level 25 polearm or lvl 26 2h i will be mostly 1v1-ing and 2v1-ing higher level people. i get bored because i'm not really feeling like going back on my main (i just got off my main to get some fresh air right?) so i just close my game. yes, i could make a skip the fun, but it feels much less rewarding getting kills and carrying an x5 on a stf because you're not building to anything.
like i said, server pop is low, which makes being a low level more difficult than before, but strat is also pretty slow. if this were the prime days of strat with several 3mil xp field battles a day, it wouldn't be a problem, but poor merc situations and infrequent battles means strat isn't a good means of getting to lvl 31 either.
maybe if it were easier to level up to reach a solid build for melee, or cav, or even archer, people would have more fun playing alts and trying different classes. maybe this will solve the ranged problem, maybe it will make it worse
i just want to build some more high level alts like i used to so im not stuck respeccing my main when i get bored, or playing on shitty STFs.
i would suggest lowering the xp requirements to reach level 30 to a few million TOPS or increasing the experience earned by sub-lvl31 characters (although im sure implementing the latter suggestion would be hard)