Fire Beetle max hit
 

Level 2 Fire Beetles have the following max hit in these zones:

North Qeynos: 9
Qeynos Catacombs: 4
Qeynos Hills: 4
West Freeport: 4
East Freeport: 4
East Commonlands: 4

I verified this in each zone by taking hits while sitting to ensure I wasn't (un)lucky.

I apologize for mentioning what amounts to a mob doing the damage as if it were only one level higher, but holy shit this makes leveling in qeynos a lot harder.

This is assuming they aren't intended to hit harder.

That's because Rogean hates Qeynos and all who inhabit it. ;) He's upset with everyone always beating up on poor old Fippy. When he secretly increased the beetle damage he quietly said "This one's for you Fippy.."

Mobs do have a level range. It's possible that all the beetles you encountered in Qeynos were a level higher (or even two) than the ones in the other places.

It could be by random luck that this happened or its actually hard coded to be that way.

It's compensation for Gnoll Fangs.

I have never seen a fire beetle that was not level two, and these beetles in question were blue to a level 3. So, no.

No, its definitely the case that all level two mobs in North Qeynos's newbie zone are hitting for max 9.

I recognized this pretty quickly when I got floored leveling up a toon there )