Maybe they should just abandon the level system and stick to what other games are trying to do, monster hunter for example. That game is based on how good you are and not really on how good your gear is. Level is non-existing.

One of the problems of that system is that it is unforgiving to mistakes, add some lag into the mix and get a nice frustration mix.

I agree with the OP that PL is partially killing the game. Try getting a low level (<20) party, most of the time you just get a reply a la "just get someone to PL you..."