Asheras wrote on Sep 24
th, 2019 at 2:17pm:
First, nobody spends 100 hours going 1-30. Be serious. You can do 1-30 in about 24/25 hours. With what players have available.
Second, You think they actually need to earn XP to level when testing? Do you think they have to gear grind too? And use a heart of wood to respec?
Come on. They can be any level with any set of feats/skills/enhancements and any gear they need at any time.
Also, as we have discussed, nobody cares how a build performs at level 7 in Gwylan's Stand or level 14 in GH or Orchard. They aren't balancing for smooth curves from 1-30. (sure they spend some time on it, but it's not the core focus) They care about how easy it is to get into a build initially (how long does it take to get your stat to hit/damage, for instance) and gating key features past level 12/18/20, but that is mainly to control multi-classing and less about smooth leveling curves. The balancing is all focused on end game.
If you want to properly play-test something as impactful as a new tree, then absolutely you run multiple levels actually playing the build. You play it in a wide variety of content, facing a wide variety of encounters all the way up.
Or you can just be really half-assed about it, check a few things at a few levels, and stamp it out the door approved like SSG does.
If you give a shit about your game, you'll give a shit about how builds play at all levels in all content, including level 7 in Gwylan's. This isn't a hobby, it's a business. The game is your product. Take it seriously.