Overall experience gain and content needs work, but I'm keeping this topic to one focused problem.
It shouldn't stack and it should be 1/30 the rate. Bright fire should provide 1/15 the rate of rested XP that a tent provides.
When raining heavily; Bright fire rested XP should be 1/30 rate unless there's a tent one is under. Overall this allows players to take a break and get a small jump back into action after 5 - 15 minutes with a somewhat immersive mechanic that helps less sweaty players not completely fall behind semi-professional levelers (good luck lol).
Rested XP from tent and fire should be limited to a combined total of 1/3 a total XP bar. Logged in Rested XP is unnecessary but at least it's somewhat immersive.
When logged out, rested XP should not be provided from tents and fires (not sure what it is now). The max rested XP from cities and tents/fires combined should be 1 full experience bar (not calculated up for the next level).
The reason rested experience exists is to help players level at a similar rate. This creates more social friction and interaction.
Rested XP is not meant to make a significant impact on the game and never should, as XP rates have a significant purpose.
Just as important, the experience rate is already as it is so players will be able to complete the quests of an area without out-leveling it half-way through.
There's good reason to make questing in an area underlevel you for the next zone in fact. . . instead of being "The One", you are "part of the world".
The point of low XP rates is an investment in an area and its development; an appreciation for writing, aesthetic, [and emergent engagement/gaming which is mostly tied to LEVEL and EXPLORATION in this game hence why it's important to get XP Right and have it be the same for everyone! and hence why LFG is BAD; it breaks immersion and turns the game into a toy rather than an involved experience. There are better ways of making a game than quick-fixes patched in by Blizzard. Meeting Stones also recieve some of my animosity due to how placeholder they are, but I'll keep my suggestions for those in another thread.]
Extra:
I don't see the point of creating a "vanilla+" server just to turn it into a circus that throws out the RPG from MMORPG every other wave of new players. Just go WotLK private or Retail.
If experience rate is the same for everyone, you'll be leveling with others. If a significant portion of players sit in X-Roads for 2x XP just to skip around to do half or a third of the quests in a zone, then it's just a worse kind of single player game. What's the point?
Slow the game down instead of speeding it up. Add more to the game so there's more reason to slowly level. Add immersion. Add story. Carefully and thoughtfully improve.
Not sure how the rested XP cities provide works exactly, maybe it has a limit such as providing rested XP for 24 - 48 hours since last login, but
I got 2.5 mini bars of rested XP out of 20 from logging out in Undercity for 10 or so hours. 2.5/20 bars. I even laid down in a coffin at the Inn. It's about what it should be.
I'm not sure what's social or immersive about x2 XP for meMers, and 1x XP for everyone that wants to play a slow-paced, immersive MMORPG. If anything, the ADHD 'meMers' should be 'forced' to play the game as it's intended.
A tent gives 2.5 mini-bars in 90 seconds or so. It should be 2.5 mini-bars in 45 minutes, or 15 minutes if you have a bright fire as well.
And limit it to 5 players per tent. First 5 to get the aura get the rested XP. 20 players per Bright Fire. And limit the range of the tent and fire to be very limited.
Challenge to anyone reading: Think of what a good 80 hour level 1 - 20 custom experience would be.
EDIT: I slightly edited the challenge to say "custom** experience".