When did Graff Gem Mines get harder?

Unfortunately, it's one of those situations that goes like this:
In order to get what I want, I have to be so powerful, I don't need what I want.
An example:
I want a crafted cloth chest slot piece of armor, socketed with rubies for fire attunement.
In order to get that (the large rubies in Verdantis), I need to consume content that is so challenging, that I need to be so powerful (above level 40) that by the time I get the rubies, I don't need the attunement anymore, or it makes such a small difference, there's almost no point. For reference, Verdantis hills and the Mine both are 5-skull zones. 408HP+ monsters.

Shardfall monsters ("dragons" aside) are adventure level 50. For solo content, to the best of my knowledge, shardfalls are the pinnacle. If there are zones that have higher than 5-skull soloable content, I don't know about it.
I mean, I guess if it's a goal that players only get attunement gear when they don't really need it anymore, then we're on the right path? It's a bit confusing.

 

Well, the changes to attunement has made attunement gear definitely more desirable imo. It is harder to get that 80 attunement now, but an easy boost from some gems does improve things a lot... well, a few damage points here and there I know I'll want full attuned gear when I'm powerful, won't you?

I can imagine too, that once the player economy picks up (we are 6 days old now right?), there will be gems being provided by the higher levels for sale, and that will make them much more attainable for the crafters and others who aren't getting where they need to be.

 

In fact, it is exactly good that things are getting harder to find and travel to. It will kickstart the economy, and I know I'll be traveling to the mines to get gems to sell to others

 

So, not solo friendly.

 

I'm solo, 99% of the time, so yes, solo friendly. If you mean Solo Level 20 or less, nope.

 

Highvale has rubies in the cave that spawns there. It's a small amount but they're there.

 

True Rasmenar, it also has some silver if you know ehere to look

 

It's single player Online, it is not the single player adventure. And things are mucvh easier by yourself if you diversify your skills so that you can adapt.

 

This release is really no different than any other playing solo, other than the fact that they made some areas tougher. I just found myself having to stay out of the tougher areas until I built up my character enough. I can solo pretty much all of the mines after a week of building up my character. I'm also surprised that they left Graff Gem mines the way it was for so long. It seemed a bit unusual that it was the only area that you could kill all of the NPCs and they would stay dead.