It's supposed to go according to advancement on the Tech Tree. But, again, since Jaims is new, it would follow that the first 80 people are in fact the furthest along climbing the tree regardless of age. Only after the world has been established should there be the very realistic concern of why CE/LMA?
The discrepancies we have show me that there is something else going on we do not see, or there is (wait for it) a bug somewhere. Because my position is, that if in fact the merges were based purely on tech tree advancement, then yes, you would have 1-80, 81-160, etc. Stop and think about it. Wouldn't XXX and XXX+1 and XXX+2 . . . xxx+80 all be getting ready to open Great Sword Warriors if the merges were truly tech oriented? What is missing is a either an age cap on neighborhoods, or a plunder resolution of some sort, and I believe plunder is the main issue. A player probably will not really care being attacked by an upper-ager, as the PvP points go into a different tower. It's the can't-defend-plunder issue that is at the heart of the problem.
. . . . mk