I don't think 1 is needed. If you read one of the guides here, the game rates the monsters, so it's basically just kill the same level monster you can kill until it's level drops out or you feel like you can kill something stronger...
Yeah I know problem is the monsters I kill tend to show " no bars on teh top of their heads " anymore,thus giving me no exp at all..
So the game leveling system is really like that i guess..
hum for leveling fast first play all quest you get in each lvl and not play party before lvl 15-20 no have zone really just hit monster 2 lvl more than you and yo uget more exp and your stat up more fast too^^