the only thing a major death penalty does is makes people fight easier mobs instead of trying to kill the tougher ones. at this point the only challenge in mobs are fighting mobs we have no business in fighting because they are strong so you have to work hard to beat them. give a death penalty and those fights against the lvl 99 goblin headmen stop and people go to fighting mobs with less risk of death.

playing good is its own reward. if you don't care if you die and go tor the zombiezerg that is the player not the game. i want the challenge by fighting just as tough a mob as i can find and with a harsher death penalty i would be more reluctant to even try them. i don't mind the penalty as it is, but i don't think losing exp for fighting a tough mob is the best thing for making the game more fun or challenging.

all a death penalty does is make people want to fight easier mobs and causes friction within the community when someone messes up and fighting start.