It's not that hard getting up the levels. If you play quests in PUG's you often play hard and elite and many of the quests are level 6-9 so you don't get XP penalties. Many quests give 5k or better XP per part.
I make sure I only use Peter Policus (level 7 cleric) and Peter Stauffenberg (level 8 paladin) for Friday guild play or helping one of you get another level. Karl Peter Aspensten (level 10 paladin) and Rolf Peter Manstein (level 11 paladin) will only play in PUG's or with your characters that get past level 8 (only azraelck's characters so far).
By doing this I have a cleric and paladin for everyday use and a cleric and paladin for guild use. This way I won't advance too far ahead of you. The best about this solution is that my everyday characters will get nice items I can share with all of you (including my guild characters).
That means we have a better chance to survive. Sometimes I have items you can't use yet, but getting them is good anyway because you can store them in the bank and know you don't have to search for them.
There are specific weapon types you need to look for.
Ghost touch: Works against wraiths, spectres and shadows
Holy or pure good: Ghostly skeletons etc.
Silver: Vampires, werewolves etc.
Metalline: many different types in one weapon. So these are great.
So it's a good idea to look for weapons with special abilities to be able to hit special monsters. Yesterday my paladin was in a fight against a vampire and a mummy. Those are rather nasty. E. g. you need protection vs evil when fighting vampires or you will be fascinated and attack your friends instead. The mummy had to be lured into sunlight to be damaged. In the darkness he was invulnerable.