Well, good thing level 34 is the last useful level.
Level 36 allows for retarded builds like 30/15 archer (with powerstrike), or something like 33/15 melee. I call bs on that statement.
Well you could give new players max level and every loom in the game and the still wouldnt be able to catch up skill wise.
Most of them, no of course. But how much chances do you give to one guy, skilled enough to catch up, with a level 32 char (at best 33 if he spends months playing) and the base loomed items (mail tunic, war spear etc) ? Yea, that's not happening, he's going to have a rough time, even with all the skill and determination of the world; not only because he's fighting basement-dwelling creatures, but also because there's a sizeable amount of people who are at
least level 34 on their main (I did some strat rosters a few weeks back, I can tell you it was like between 33% and 50% of all the dudes I accepted). 2 levels of difference may not sound like a lot, but it actually matters in the end, to create these min-maxed tryhard builds everyone is running around with.
Besides, sure gold is easy to get and shit, but what does it change besides repairs being completely irrelevant after some hours on DTV ? Loompoints are expensive as hell, especially for a new player, yet still obtainable with some brainless grinding on DTV (and strat if you're NA). My point is that level 33 and 34 should be easier to get, especially so late in the game's life, with so few new players. Skill is already a huge barrier to overcome, adding another layer of bullshit isn't going to cut it. As an example, merc mod is trash, yet they have a thriving player base, even with the shitty mechanics and unbalanced classes they got over there. Why ? because there's so little grind it's basically a matter of hours before you start becoming really effective on the battlefield, compared with 15 generations to get a good set of loomed items, plus the 45% bonus exp, so you can finally START grinding toward a high level build, which at the average rate of 1M per day, will take you fucking ages.
All in all, it doesn't bother me that much tbh, I'm mostly done with all the grind, but seeing new players leave out of frustration sucks.