Hung wrote: So similar effort doesn't give similar result in that area.
Everyone has the same odds of getting lucky. Like with a mob that pops 1/20, one person gets it on the first try 1/1 and the next guy gets it in 40 tries 1/40. There's no promise of equal effort giving equal results, only promise of equal chance of getting lucky. This system applies to equipment, spellbooks, rerolls, potion pops, etc... and gives the mud it's addictive characteristic. It is intentionally a system of gambling. Buying stats at 9x40 is a way to make experience points not become irrelevent.
There isn't a lack of advancement between 4x40 and 9x40 because during this time you'll constantly be improving the equipment you can wear, gaining new skills/spells, advancing in rank, and gaining drachma. It may appear like stagnation to then uninitiated because the levels come more slowly, but one has to remember the game is designed in such a way that one can play it for many years. If you reach 4x40 and feel bored, I suggest making alts in other prime classes and leveling in areas where you didn't play before. Don't get fixated on 9x40 or on having perfect stats.
Also be aware that the season has changed, and the average number of people online is decreasing and the frequency of xp groups is decreasing, which makes leveling slower. It generally continues it's decline to it's lowest point Jun/Jul and then picks up again in September, hitting it's peak in the winter months. Inevitably some people will misread the decline and declare that the end of the mud is here and all the immortals fault and that drastic action must be taken. That's my observation of things anyway. I could be wrong.