is there any way to really play in a worthwhile way without paying for leech?

im just trying to experience some nostalgia and go about the game from where i left off as a kid.

since getting above 60 all ive seen in any area thats worth trying to grind is someone afk and some cleric just spamming aoe. i mean sure you can find empty areas, if you want to triple your play time for a level for no real gain for time spent, but who wants to be doing that.

its not like im even following guides to find farming spots, im just seeing what enemies exist and going to check them out to see the maps i never got to.

does it just get worse as it goes on? if i choose to have a worse time to get past this negative, am i just going to run into some holy spam every time i find what seems to be a ok area?

i feel like people have missed my point a bit. its more that if you want to progress it feels like you are competing for limited maps against ppl using it to boost, like i very rarely see a map been used that isnt some priest aoe leaching, maybe 1/20 is current level. if it only gets worse as the game goes on and less maps become efficient, especially for shorter play time and wanting to advance at a ok pace, then it would be good to know before committing more time.