My big issue with UnReal World -- the game is /great/ fun -- was always that skills improve so slowly. Most characters rarely make even the slightest of progress in increasing what their skills are.
This has the combined effect of making it pointless to play anything but those Kaumlowhateverthehecktheyare and one or two other races, because they start with vastly better skills and the difference is insurmountable.
It makes it feel like each character is just a throwaway, and leads me to not really care all that much when they die.
I don't know, it sort of feels too More Roguelike Than A Roguelike to have characters be so throwaway that you don't even care that much when they die unless they're The One Character.
Skill increases would make the game easier.. but it'd also give a greater sense of investment in the individual characters and a higher sense of loss when they die.
As it is the only decent way to increase skills is to spam the Beginner Quest over and over, which feels rather gamey and takes me out of the experience (plus, you're just chunk-increasing skills rather than increasing them by doing them, and doing the quest repeatedly gives you free items over and over. It makes it TOO easy to increase your skills to max and you can trade the extra items for stuff. Moar balance plx!)