I've been doing only Leves since 1.18 and it's working. By the time i'm finished with them (about 1-2hrs) i already don't feel like playing. Todays reset got my MRD from a wee-bit into Lv.25 to Lv.27. If you stick with leves every reset then you could push through the 30's in no time. The only downside is you can only focus on 1 class at a time doing this (not entirely bad thing).

There still needs to be something done with leves though. I solo'd a 5-star in Nophica Wells as R26 getting less than Horizon leves. The behests there were also less. They should have been around the same to slightly higher than Horizon, regardless of being lower level, imo.

It's manageable, but that's just it, players want to have fun in the game world not just get by. After my leves, i literally feel like i should just stop for next reset. Maybe go craft for a few and then log. The game feels like a clock you can't escape.