I got to the top 10 (7th I think?) on splatterladder before by playing on a random NQ server where there are few good players, and I was still rising until I had to become inactive and haven't found time to be active since. I don't know what my TB rating was at the time because someone stole it. But, I never played on FA, or WOOD, or any of the other high rated servers, and I never actually tried; I goofed off a lot on the server and never changed my name or locked my rating. I'm not sure, but I think it is not much much harder on other servers, because you will be able to do much better. On the other hand, because FA has so many players, it is easy to get a high ppm even with other high rated players on. I think you are correct that it is easier there, but not by a lot.