I think difficulty is an important thing to keep parties interested, however, I don't think anyone wants to sludge though a backlog of what they know is old content. Especially if they're trying to catch up to friends. There's a reason older stuff is nerfed, it's the same reason you're complaining. Because the grind is awful at the end in some cases, but they want to keep that grindy feeling at the END. If you have to grind to get to the grind as a new player, that'll take the wind out of your sails right quick.