Didn't read through this thread but I just wanted to point something out:

Group Play:
Greater experience rewards (as it should be; how dare you say you deserve as much exp as a group of people playing together, we took the time to get a group when you don't want to, you shouldn't get as much as dedicated people so stop whining about this please!

You fight monsters that are well over your level because there are 4-8 of you.

Solo Play:
You are by yourself what makes you honestly think you can solo a monster that is 10 levels higher than you? (yes you could easily do this when the ONLY stats that mattered were MND and VIT, and level 20 (pre1.19) I had about 80VIT and ~1000HP, and the initial stats on all the other attributes because they didn't matter. Guess what? Now they do. So fight stuff your level not 10 levels higher, you are getting the same amount of exp (might be slightly less but its not like you went from getting 600exp per mob to 50exp per mob)

LEVES LEVES LEVES! Damn with the new setup with the right level monsters you can easily get 5000-10000exp (in the 20-30 range) in ONE LEVE, and it takes you only 10-15 min, wtf are you complaining about not being able to get exp...not only that you get NEW LEVES EVERY 12 HOURS NOW, my god what more do you want.

SIDE QUESTS, they are one of the best ways to power through to level 20 (if you are a new player or have a new character), guess how many times I grinded in a party or solo'd from 1-21...if you guessed NEVER then you'd be right. I just did the side quests and the story quests and that alone got me from 1-21 without ever having to grind on monsters for a level, it's really that simple, plus you get all the lore and setup for the better GC quests.

TL;DR: My god stop complaining already, there are so many %$@#ing ways to get exp in this game, especially at lower/solo levels.