As far as not getting group credit - just get through Jade Forest and it gets better. I don't know why that zone is the way it is; it wasn't until the last two areas that group credit started working. In four winds it is working on nearly all of the quests.

It's feels totally arbitrary, Jade Forest is not only anti-multiboxing but anti-group in general. No group credit for anything and totally inconsistent mob/item spawning. Some phases/areas clearly weren't spawning enough of anything to support the number of players there.

Then I get to four winds and at the fish/honeycomb collection area things start spawning like crazy when I bring 5 extra toons there.

I blew a good 10 hours in Jade Forest, wasting time trying to find a better quest, grind, or whatever, when it's faster to just tough it out and do the quests in order. In 4 winds I'm already 25% to 87 in no time at all and it's been a breeze.