I'm sad

Because some might not find 2x rewarding enough to justify getting there. As for me, I have went from server to server in recent years, making a bandit every single time, and frankly i'm exhausted at this point.

But this whole fixation on high levels and "end-game" is the real issue - i don't care about getting 4th job or even level 100. The fact that people value experiences at those levels and ask others if they have achieved those levels only justifies the idea that lower levels are no longer held in high regard, and older content becomes more and more "obsolete". In other words, pointing out the irony of me complaining about easiness when I am not high level is irrelevant: the whole point of my argument is that lower-level content should be more relevant, especially in a server that tries to evoke nostalgia - Victoria island, for example, was strewn to the wayside in v62 compared to in v40, but the issue is that Victoria island is quintessential Maplestory, and the fact that it is left out and replaced compared to older versions is what is irksome to me. I'm sure everyone came here with high hopes that the server would cater perfectly to their dreams and wishes, it is literally impossible to cater to everyone. Therefore, people are met with varying degrees of satisfaction (there's no denying the amount of quality on this server especially) when they come here. As for me, I felt that I wasn't fully satisfied - a little disappointed in fact. So why bother getting to level 100 or fourth job if I can easily tell what is and what isn't worth it to me without ever having to reach that level? If 1x is what I honestly prefer, then it shouldn't matter if I can or can't make it to 4th job. In my OP I referenced the much steeper difficulty curve in 1x v40, and 4th job didn't even exist in v40.

With pre-v55 versions its hard to find all the source material and whatnot, but it does exist. With some skilled search-fu I was able to dig up clean repacks for v38, v40, v29, and even v08 and v40b. But yeah, the question still remains about actually doing it - saying that nobody would play on such servers is a bit misleading as i'm sure some would. The problem is in finding those people, and judging whether the time and painstaking labor investment that goes into making a server is worth it or not.

Hard but not hard enough is exactly what describes how I feel. In fact, I feel like 2x is plenty hard, but it's just not the same. People have already mentioned how 2x is less rewarding but for me it's not just that. Every time I play on here, I get this 'tick' in the back of my head telling me that i'm not truly playing the game, as if it were fake.

I think one point I missed in my initial post is the immersion factor of the game. The difficulty is one side of the argument, but it wasn't just about the reward of leveling and progressing your character. The difficulty and struggle really forced you to slow down. It wasn't about logging in and leveling every day - it was about the overall experience. Waking up every day and putting time and effort into the game really develops an emotional attachment between the game and the player. It wasn't just about hardcore grinding - it was about being in a place. It wasn't even a game for some people - it was another reality, one that you were familiar with enough to feel like you lived in. This idea reminds me most of the beta days - back when if you weren't funded getting pots was impossible, back when Endure was a useful and sought-after skill. When you had to heal back then, you did it the old fashioned way. Yes, you would stand in a safe spot and afk until your health was full, or sit in a bench in a town (this was before personal chairs). Things like those really made the game feel a whole lot more real, and not only more grindy, but also a bit punishing. It is memories of those times - sitting on a bench in Hene, and having some other person come along and sit right next to me, walking to other towns because the taxi was too expensive, exploring hidden maps before they put those yellow portals around hidden areas (this list could be endless) - that made the Maplestory so enticing and gripping and beautiful. The concept of a game in maplestory was utterly irrelevant - progression was rewarding because it was integrated into the world, and any progression was not only rewarding from a gameplay perspective, but emotionally engaging and satisfying. As strictly a game, Maplestory was a poorly coded, mostly generic, Korean MMO grindfest with albeit quirky and cutesy 2d graphics. That is why in my personal opinion placing emphasis on raw progression through higher exp rates, streamlined/optimized training maps, fast travel, heavy gear progression, and hand-holding in general detracts from the overall experience, and is self-defeating. If someone were to ask me "hey, did you ever play a game called Starcraft?", I'd say that I did. But if someone asked "you ever played Maplestory before?", I'd smile and slowly reply, yeah... I was there... I was there.