comparison to when i played in early 2010's vs now is a bit hard since back then i was a child clicking buttons, but i personally feel like progression is quite fast, at least up to 50. put it this way, i'd suggest playing up to lvl 50 and then taking a break until they fix the absolutely disgusting bandits maujak has.
i am certain when they kept upping the levels from 20 to 55 they've readjusted the xp and items needed for each level, and the visuals for guns and dinos were affected as was mentioned in the other reply. (my poor big boy carno went from looking like a baddie lvl 25 to looking like a baby lvl 10)
to get upgrade items fast, keep your ranger level as low as possible, and hunt npc's minimum 2 levels higher than your ranger level if possible. defeating opponents levels higher than your ranger (gear level does not count) can net you up to 4x items.
i got into a groove where i leveled my ranger, then leveled all my gear to that level, and then worked on leveling the ranger again.
oh and some events seem to give these 24 hour booster gels. the xp one specifically pairs super well with the 1 hour xp booster gel, as when you have both active you get 60% increased xp from missions. i suggest collecting those when available and holding onto them and using when you dedicate a session for only level up. very useful at higher levels when the xp needed reaches 1 mil. im currently holding onto one more 24 hour xp booster that will be waiting when i finally reach 54 and start working on getting to 55.
