FFXI now available as digital download and free trial

They have increased the amount of XP off EP (easy prey) mobs. But leveling solo outside of roughly lvl 12-15 is pretty nasty.

However, the new leveling system was introduced in the Sep. update. It allows players of any level to participate with lower level players. The mode allows a player to maintain current gear without having to buy new lower level equipment. If for instance a lvl 75 player parties with a level 20 player, and the mode is switched on, the lvl 75 players stats and gear stats will be reduced the that of a level 20 player. This way he can party with the level 20 player and still receive max XP with no reduction from the level difference as occurred previous to the update. This mode works for any level player. And all players levels in the party will be reduced to that of the lowest level player.

This way you don't have to search for players of your level. You can find needed jobs of any level, have them reduced to the level of the lowest party member, and XP in the appropriate area for that member and still get full XP. Good stuff!