I lowered my exp to 0.1x for a more hardcore experience and what I got instead was better paced progression and MORE content.
Originally I wanted to set the exp to 0.1x and then from level 15 onwards, raise it by 0.1 every 5 levels to partially counteract the slowdown you get as you level more and try to make a more stable progression curve and maintain the challenge from the early game a bit long
So at level 15 I raised it to 0.2 and at level 20 I lowered it back to 0.1 because I much preferred the slower pace.
I never realized just how much content was available at the lower levels that was just glossed over because I was "power leveling" without realizing it.
I'm learning dungeon routes, I'm breeding "low tier" pals because I simply do not have access to higher tier ones (I'm not allowing myself to breed any pals I haven't caught with the exception of orserk cause they're my GOAT) and I'm engaging with weapons I never thought to touch in typical progression because I flew right by them. I even have time to make tons of ammo for a gun BEFORE it becomes obsolete.
I'm also fully exploring the map simply because I didn't speedrun to a ragnahawk/beacon by playing too quickly.
It's insane how much content I unlocked by limiting the content I could engage with lol. It almost feels like the world was actually designed with this slower pace in mind and then sped up last minute.
I'm currently level 28 and I WISH that at level 15 I didn't set it to 0.2x for a bit just so I could live in the lower levels a smidge longer. In fact, I kind of wish there was a 0.05x option because sometimes 0.1x feels too fast lol.
Some things I learned
Disable raids: Turns out, even if YOU scale at 0.1x, the raids do not lol. I'd keep them on at the start and pray for wandering merchants to catch though to solve your eventual paladium problem. I've had frequent raids 10-20 levels above my average.
Breeding is absurdly broken and even more so at low exp. After making my orserk (and splatterina) I saw the potential problem and implemented the rule where I can only breed pals I've captured. This of course led to me fighting anubis FAR below level just to catch one and I failed quite a few times
Gold is king, run dungeons, sell lotus' and buy your way into things you couldn't typically access. notably, ammo and early spheres. Early pals cannot keep up with some production demands so flex your wealth on them.
You now have time to do that thing before it becomes irrelevant and that unlocks SO much more content to engage with
I have a new appreciation for most ground mounts.
Because of lotus' and supply drops, your stats actually still progress at a decent pace
You're about to get so good at fishing
it seems even at 0.1x exp, capture bonuses are still applying fully, so if you want to "power level" you can mass catch pals, so for anyone on the fence about it, there's always the option. IMO I wish I could lower this as well as I probably would have settled at 0.3-0.5x exp instead.
Increase the number of pals allowed at the base in your world settings. It makes early game bases semi-automatic so you're not stuck spending the first 20 hours just chopping trees and mining stone.
I now realize I wrote a wall of text so
TL;DR: Slower pacing with low EXP is surprisenly a LOT more fun than you think. If you feel the base games pacing is too fast give 0.1x exp a shot.