Would it be possible to:
1. Lower the amount of unfinished buildings a player can have down to 1? Currently the system is set up to where a player can have up to 2 unbuilt structures and they can't place down any more property until at least one of them is built. This was a mechanic introduced to prevent land blockades (along with the change to tax cost increases per building owned), but with the increased labor, having unbuilt land is hardly an inconvenience to the owner in terms of taxes, and it means blockading a plot. I've seen in various places 2 plots of unbuilt land owned by the same person just blocking a place for players to drop down land, making it more difficult for new players to get on their feet.
2. Lower the labor costs and proficiency costs of crafting to the similar amount that is in 3.5 but not change regrade chances? They did the change in an attempt to streamline crafting so players could "catch up" in gear, but in a version of AA where labor gains are increased, only one of these changes is really necessary to help bridge the gap in gear score, and lowering labor costs and proficiency requirements is actually the one that benefits newer players more than older players.