Thanks a lot for trying Spellforger out :) So yeah, player level is something I need to maybe communicate differently... it is simply not that important. Rune levels (masteries), attunement levels, later incantations and other things will give you much more power than player level. At the end of current content the level cap is 30, but you will be fighting stuff at 45+ easily. So I maybe need to either drop the concept of player levels at all or maybe describe it a bit better.
As for balance issues and placeholders - you're totally right :) (although actually loot is useful, you should be close to unlocking artifact enchanting, this is where you actually need it)