When I played it (the very first available iteration) I felt like long rest = defeat (and if I find myself in a situation when I have to long rest I should just load a save and try better). Even one long rest, yes.
I think many players will feel similar if the game doesn't clearly (and early!) state through some wise character that you can explore the map however you want.
Or just I dunno make the entire party captured and just chill in a cellar for a couple of days so then you would have your initial "long rests" and understanding that you're not turning into a mindflayer.
In patches they expanded Nettie’s and Halsin’s dialogue to make it more clear Tav wasn’t going to change right away.
For myself in video games I am used to urgent main quests that aren’t urgent to do first, so I never thought Tav would turn into a mindflayer if not cured within a couple hours.
