There is no accomplishment or teamwork early in the game anymore.
Oh... come... on! Yes back then there was difficulty getting those items. But the game has subsequently been saturated with gear. It is now impossible for new players to have that experience. This is not bad. The new players now know what has been done, and see the stars that must be reached for. I personally reject the idea that only in the way back when were new players able to appreciate how good they had it, or earned their stripes and loved it.. most of those players are not here anymore!.
New players now have zero history, but do have a current (possibly brief) interest in the game.
I agree that it is hard to establish accomplishment or teamwork early in the game, but within a good guild it can still be done. The individual does what he or she always did, and wants to gain levels and rock the next lot of horny gear. There are now more choices as to what that horny gear is. I still push folk towards plague, then cockatrice/deep. They still get excited. To write off everyone new is to kill this game from the root. You do not want that, surely? What we need are more guilds that can build players from 1 to 1000. Most guilds won't touch the sub 100's, or 200's, the biggest sub 300, or sub 420. They expect other guilds to do their dirty work for them. Sorry boys and girls, you cannot complain about no teamwork at the bottom levels if you do not participate in the bottom levels, and help them grow. Instead everyone complains about multi guilds and GvG farmers - some of those 'multis' are just new players who have not had any help!
This is a simple game - gain levels - be happy. Wrinkles happen later. Help the new players be happy. My reminiscence? Being in a crap guild for 20 of my first 44 levels, struggling, thinking the Blood Demon set was awesome, until it was not, being able to only buy the worst version of Girath with what gold I could get, and then deciding maybe this game was not for me and being about to give up. I saw an advertisement in the FS box and talked to the guy who placed it, and found my first real guild, (the only guild I had before founding my own) and the game became amazing. At level 44, one worthless guild that I carried gone. A whole new experience of helpful people within a guild began. Most of them are still here.