Actually, the reason I've been trying to just level as quick as possible is not because of drop rate or such (getting stuff crafted at 200% is really not a problem currently). It's because there's almost no one to group with to enjoy the lower levels, and I've got a feeling it'll be easier once I'm higher.
I don't give a rats ass about a dev database, nor do I think new players care about it. Arsenal is all I ever needed. If that won't help you, you can always ask in game chat.
This looks more like an old player argument.