Mir is a dick length contest...
(cough)
Grinding is WAY too much fun and more importantly beneficial, you gain xp, items (+item adds) + gold, the more of those 3 you gain the more impactful you are, also leads to Wizards annoying everyone. Mir also has a plethora of subs and bosses to take care of at all times or not so much depending on how late game you are what items matter and how op are they.
Subtract the gains, save the game!
Level caps do not destroy games, they only destroy games when there hardly anything to fight for or lack of competition, it brings many more people involved, almost eliminates the gap between man and (no life)beast and brings more value to items and player skill as well as sub boss and boss contention (which is usually voided by over grinders). If you place a good item drop list on many subs/bosses and lvl 7 mobs/subs/bosses then there will be no end to the thrill of going for stuff, also if you make bosses competitive by making only the higher lvl and harder ones drop "that something worthwhile" then that involves the entire server instead of **** getting out of hand where only the man beasts keep gaining.
Teamwork/Drama/Item Rng/higher lvls/play more = more benes - dick contest
Teamwork/Drama/Item RnG - runs itself
Good items, meaningful adds, much less reward from lvl 1 mobs, good PvP (consider arena+rewards and meaningful castle takes), lvl 5+ mob/subs/bosses exploration, polished and improved skills / class roles and finally....
Economy , I would just have mines be about weapon improvements + other interesting item/gem makes, maybe an interesting approach is that gold only comes from quests and exploration/mob exploration with every town generating missions/requests to be completed. I also like the idea of having your favourite town to port to and collecting loyalty, which gives you access to a free port, passives (specifically for area and a special town one for all areas) and a loyalty point shop after a rather insane amount of commitment (cosmetic/very unique add item).
We got to stop pandering to the try hards who end up demorilising everyone and themselves, don't make it low rate, maximise the fun and competition.