It works great, and I'm sure that's the feedback ANet gets from newer players.

Hating the system seems to increase with the age and experience of the player -- exactly who the system is not designed for.

I encourage new players to do map completion for all major racial cities and their adjoined starter zones, and Lion's Arch. Maybe with some 15% exp boost food. And I do the same with new alts.

At the end of the experience:

• You're level 31-35ish with about 60 skill points (all from challenges which are relevant to the new system)
  
• You've learned and exercised your core abilities in safer environments, and have now moved past all the training wheels
  
• Your map completion is already around 30%, and you have all the experience needed for moving through maps and around the world to continue
  
• You've been exposed to all the races and their places and flavors
  
• You're ready to hit 15-25 zones and beyond fully empowered and scaled down, but ready to be challenged by the content at full difficulty
• You've moved through almost half the leveling experience without a huge concern for equipment expenditures.
  

To me, this is all fantastic for someone new to the game.

If you've made it to 80 and you're finished or nearly finished with map completion, you're no longer new. If you've got 2 toons to 80, you might as well be a 'vet' from a PvE perspective.

For a vet making a new character, here's what they seem to want from Anet:

• Instant max level
  
• All skill points equivalent to the most challenges they've completed on any previous toon
  
• All map completion equivalent to the most completed on any previous toon
  
• Some number of BL keys. On a good day, they might even admit that a daily or weekly new toon key limit is appropriate
  

..and any step away from any of these is cause for hate and outrage. The NPE, compared to pre-NPE, is several steps away.