Old Maplestory...

To Be Honest, I don't think it's the game itself, but the community as mentioned before. I mean sure leveling has gotten easier with recent changes, but it really shouldn't have taking as much value from the game itself. Back in '06 when I started playing, not a lot of people played MS- which made the community a whole lot better. They were friendly, helpful, and much more adventurous. You made REAL friends, who'd do pomegranate with you, die with you, etc...

I don't know about y'all, but I actually enjoyed the difficulty of leveling. It gave me a sense of accomplishment and felt much more awarding. Sure I've craved to use 4th level job skills, but if you don't work for it... what fun would that be?

Leveling hasn't just gotten "easier".

Do you remember the Perfect Pitch event from two years ago? Reading the description and the responses makes it clear that leveling a new char to 70 in a month was considered a challenge then. Not impossible, but requiring some dedication. About as much dedication as it takes now to get to 70... in a day.

That's 30x faster leveling! And at levels 1-70, meaning without potential, hacked LHC maps, hacked gear, or any hacks at all for that matter. It's not just "easier", it's bloody pserver rates!
Of course nobody has time to meet people and befriend them.