I'm very thorough and spent a good 270 hours on my first run of the game. I didn't finish. I was max level for over 100 hours. That is absurd. I had over 100K XP after hitting the level cap and finally reached the point where zero character progression was just stealing the fun away.
I get that higher level spells are hard. I get that most people don't even hit level 12, but the people that do should not be punished because of the people who do not. If the content is there, we should get credit for it. 30, 40, 50K+ XP with no leveling is simply un-enjoyable. If you can't do higher level spells then allow multi-classing to 20 with no spell slots over level 6 like the popular mod has. Or just add spells and feats that are already in the game with no spells over level 6 being allowed. Something. It might not be perfect, but it is practical. If people choose to over-level content then they should be able to if said content is there. You said you wanted to make it as much like D&D as possible. Well imagine players going on a campaign and earning 35K XP. Then telling them "OK, add 35 thousand XP to your sheets. Great job. You're still level 12 though. Sorry, but progression after that is tricky and I don't feel like dealing with it so for the next 75 hours you aren't going to progress. Kinda like how you didn't progress over the last 25. Cool? Great." Every player at that table would quit. Well, perhaps not everyone, but there would be a ton of compromise offers and a lot of complaining. And then the campaign would fall apart, if it didn't on that first night they got their rewards and were told they meant nothing.
And no, installing the mod is not a solution because it disables all of the achievements. It's also a pain in the ass for a lot of us who aren't used to using mods in modern games. Putting things in the wrong folder, making a folder and putting it in the wrong place, then having to find it again to delete it bc now the game doesn't work etc etc.. Leaving the dev console in and just letting people take the cap off themselves would have been the optimal solution, along with an adjusted spell/feat/skill/hp table that capped spells at level 6 if higher level ones could not be implemented properly in a reasonable amount of time. I agree, levels 1-12 are the most fun, but again, the content is there to go well beyond that. If people choose to do it they really, really should get credit for it.
I'm more, personally, concerned with what exactly you're doing to warrant not only 270 hours of gameplay but to also be level 12 for 100 hours.
In my co-op game with a friend; we have basically done just about every side quest that popped up on our way into Act 3. We're just now arriving at the Circus, but our playtime is ONLY maybe 85-90ish hours and that is purely because of my friend taking X minutes to decide to shoot something in combat; or for us to spend 30+ minutes gathering up and selling our loot, or for him to arrange his wheels the way he needs them to be. And we're just coming up on hitting level 10 soon. From everything I've seen about Act 3 - it's supposed to be shorter than the other acts in terms of content and some players saying it's kind of rushed.
The only things we have "missed" that I am aware of in the first two acts is a couple of quests from Last Light -- because we goofed and talked to Isobel right of the bat and triggered the fight and ultimately are terrible people and caused the Inn to no longer exist.... but, the only way I could see being level 12 like that is I guess if you're slaughtering every NPC you come across like a true murderhobo. Lol
