I seem to remember a massive jump between EB's and AV's too!Been playing with a mastermind and pets on my own server - doesn't replicate the experience of playing with other players but lets me enjoy a lot of what I liked about the gameplay (I always liked to play as an emp defender) without feeling quite so alone heh.
Shame that kind of setup can't really deal with AVs until you are at much higher levels - at lower levels as elite bosses they are far too easy, as AVs far too hard.