Originally posted by Weaver:

Originally posted by Neyreyan_Youtube:

yes, expect 100 hours of grinding to complete the content...and about 30 hours of adventure. Sometimes it feels like an mmo where you mine the same rocks for a long time to get the required items for the next tier.

The amount of grinding is largely up to the player. For any given gear, the base cost is less than the cost of fully upgrading.
For instance a full set of iron armor cost 60 iron to craft, but another 90 iron to fully upgrade.
The base level is completely serviceable for its respective biome and fighting the boss, but the extra is there for players who want a little extra protection. Like all things in Valheim, prep makes for an easier time, but much of the grind can be thrown out the window for skilled/veteran players.

This exactly. I'm 3 days into my new playthrough and already in Iron armour. If you can manage the biomes (and bosses) in your current gear then there is no point to max upgrade every item. You could probably start on the swamps with just bronze buckler and troll/deer armour if you wanted too ... or maybe just a finewood bow. There are those that skip the swamp and head straight for the mountains for amazing arrows and/or silver.