OMG a Character wipe is the most horrible thing a game can do. I went through a wipe on a server I had been playing for a year or so.
Not only are the newbie areas full all the time trying to level. It is an opportunity to build a class system (surfs and lords).
In the wipe i experienced, group leaders and special friends of the game, where given several levels head start, many unique items and significantly more money than the normal people. All under the disguise, that the game will need groups and leaders so all can prosper. Due to a friendship with a "friend of the game" i got to see one of there sessions to give leaders items. Those items where elite items not obtainable before the wipe.
Needless to say, I left the game soon after that.