It's almost impossible to level a new character now. What gives, SE?

[Blarp]

It's a measurement of dedication.

Lots of things in life are not "challenging", but they still take dedication, which gives you a feeling of accomplishment once you're done.

The mindset that every accomplishment in an MMO must be measured by the challenge is silly.

Right, but I'm playing a video game. I'm not doing day-to-day things in real life.

An overwhelming majority of the "accomplishments" in this MMO revolve around time spent.