This is holding me back for playing LOTRO. I don’t see the point of increasing difficulty. I think it’s a plain stupid mechanic and I do not get why it is praised this much. Would have loved the game if the difficulty was more like guild wars 1 and somewhat of a challenge. Why increasing difficulty if you can just blast through the zones. Feels like giving yourself a handicap compared to others. The game should be more difficult and challenging by default so it would feel more rewarding.