Umm, maybe I didn't phrase my frustrations well enough for some to understand my point.
FIRST- What I really wanted to post here was that they should lower XP given out in dungeons. But of course if I wrote my original post that way 1000 people would post on how they would not want it. So I suggested a person can have their own option to gimp their own XP, which WOULD NOT affect anyone who didn't want it. Guess I cant win there either.
SECOND- Here are the three suggested ways for me to play.
1- Don't Level- I just hard capped and Im level 9, so technically I have enough to be level 11. I'm 3/4ths the way through level 5 dungeons. I no longer gain any XP and do not qualify for mysterious remnants. There are 3 explorer areas that are now rendered useless 3BC, Searing Heights, Sarrow Dusk (NO XP, Favor, useless treasure). I wont gain any experience playing the next 38 dungeons.
I just leveled 2 levels (from 7th to 9th) after completing the level 4 dungeons on elite. It only took 12 level 5 dungeons and Tangleroot explorer to advance to my current hard cap of 9.
So basically Im playing only 30% of the game receiving a reward of XP. Playing 60% of this game with no experience in my opinion is boring. XP for me is a gauge of how well I am completing the tasks. Even though I arrive at the same number sooner or later having the later option gives me the extra urge to do explorer areas, complete side quests, locate all traps and secret door, smash all breakables, finnish without dieing.
2- Go ahead and level, just receive less XP for playing lower level content- This is what I ended up trying. 2 things however, everything is way too easy to complete. I have no fun killing things on 2 swipes, barely taking any damage. There is no sense of danger or risk. I actually find myself nodding out while I play. Mysterious Remnants- I wont ever get any more until this level thing catches up. (if it ever does). But you still have FAVOR as a reward Playing a dungeon 4 levels below for favor only is boring, as mentioned you sqaush everything in your path, why bother with side quests, no favor in explorer areas.
3- Once your on your 3rd life you'll be where you want to be- 3rd life for a player like me is 2 years away. It would make me feel like I am being pushed through the game twice before I can actually play a "Dungeon and Dragons" based game and get XP for completing content.
To me the notion of playing a D+D game and receiving no XP 60% of the time is ridiculous. Im not a power leveler. I like to enjoy my levels and use the gear I find at that level. I never say to myself, "all this treasure is just junk" knowing there is better stuff at higher levels.
I think a lot of long time players are jaded to what it must be like for a new player starting now. I know when I first start playing you HAD to run dungeons multiple times just to level. I think the cap was 7 or 10 or something. What Im talking about here, wasn't a issue back then. Back then there was about a 1/3rd of the content there is now per level. Also no XP dice, no XP events, no XP potions, no XP monster manual. (even though Ive played since the game came out, I really only played about 4-5 years consistently over that period.)
Now a new player finds themselves at level 11 playing level 5 content. They either look at their list of completed dungeons and see how much they skipped over or they are bored with flying through level 4-12 dungeons with no excitement or risk or danger. ( I actually envision a new player ignoring my proposed option possibly using it later)
They should give us a slider to adjust it lower, if we want. I won't interfere with anyone's playing style and would very easy to script into the options panel.