EverQuest II: Desert of Flames review

That said, one of the features we liked best about the original EverQuest II, the ability to level up without grinding through meaningless battles just to gain experience points, is gone. Although you can advance your character to some extent by completing quests, there's simply too much space between levels 50 and 60 to get there without banding together with a group of fellow adventurers and killing monsters solely for the sake of experience (and loot). A good team can earn a level in 10 to 15 hours, not including the time it takes to form the hunting party and to find a good campsite. For those who can only play a couple of hours a night, getting to level 60 can be a daunting task.