It is impossible to complete basic solo quests in e.g. Dum Boha. I'm a decently geared hunter and the signature mobs take me down in seconds with a couple hits. Before U23 I had no problems.

There's no path to better gear for me: I can now afford the 4-slot herbalism gear, but nowhere near the 45 essences to fill them, and they're no better than my current T7 Minas Tirith gear without a full set of essences.

Unless this is fixed, this looks like the end of my time in this game. This is very frustrating and upsetting.

If the Wastes is this bad, I don't have much hope for Mordor...