Ok this is my take on leveling in this game - at this point in time leveling is very limited to certain areas in the game, mostly in the shadowlands.
As seen in the various topics about the key quest changes, one thing is painfully obvious: Leveling in this game is a RUT, through and through, there are simply not enough options to satisfy a playerbase. So my suggestion is a simple one, one that will put AO on it's way to make it's leveling that much more enjoyable!
Increase RK XP... all of it. From RK missions to dungeons, to outside world hunting, RK needs to give more xp. This gives us more options, and betters us to mix things up when leveling. I can't tell you how many times my suggestion to do borgs, RK missions, or IS have been shot down by people because "it doesn't give enough xp".
Now people might think "well this gives froobs love! who wants that?!", I simply have this to say: SO WHAT? Who cares if froobs are leveling faster? Shouldn't it be gear, effectiveness and extra places to explore that entices new subscribers? Froobs very rarely get to team with fully paids, and when they do it's mostly because that fully paid is feeling "sentimental" or "wants to give it a try" then to really level.
I hope you heavily consider this FC, this will heavily boost morale of your playerbase. This will let us have more fun.