What exactly do the area level numbers mean?

[Oh The Folly]

After getting out of the starting area I went to a place that said I believe it was level 1 to 7 (I think it was Kor'pul).

I was level 7, so I went in there thinking 1 to 7 means it's meant to be played when your character level is minimum 1 (would be harder of course) and maximum 7 (would be easiest recommended level, and going in there at above that level would be easier than intended).

It seemed okay at first, but then I came across a boss that kept freeze attacking over such a large area that my archer could not even shoot without being within range of getting frozen. And it was level 12, while I was 8 or 9. I absolutely could not deal with this.

That leaves me confused. What exactly is the significance of the numbers a level says? It clearly doesn't mean "you should be at this level to do this" like I thought it did. But I don't have any other idea what those numbers are supposed to mean.

[Endy73]

In my opinion it is better to pay atention the the enemy cathegory type: critter, normal, elite, unique and boss, than to a zone level. Later in the game you will be able to beat 100 lv normal enemies with a 50 level character without any trouble. There is a recommended zone progression to follow to not get big troubles; https://te4.org/wiki/Recommended_Zone_Order_Progression
It isn't hardstoned, but a neat and comfort way to progress trough the main campain.

[Bumc]

1 to 7 would mean the mobs there scale from 1 to 7 (and stop scaling afterwards).
When you're in the correct range, rares and bosses are still higher level than you though, but its like 4 levels and not 14.

As for kor'pul, its actually one of the "easier" dungeons if you have the sight range to actually see your enemies. Use your starting wild infusion to pop the block and then either kill it before it casts a second one or reposition and heal back up, enemies heal slower than you generally.

[rwlyraa]

You got killed by a boss of Kor'pul. Pay attention to your starting infusions, one of them clears freeze status. Level ranges are not a hard rule and you should only pay attention to the min level (so to not enter things like Ancient Elven Ruins or Dreadfell at 5.

[balmora pete]

It seems that, when you enter an area, the enemies in there are adjusted to be similar to your level. You can in fact enter Kor'Pul at level 1, then immediately head back out, and their level will stay at 1-3 or so.

[zoutzakje]

TL;DR
It's not recommend player lvl.


The lvl of enemies in Tome scales with you. There are a couple of things that decide how far enemies scale. The difficulty you play on, your own lvl, and the dungeon you're playing. In a 1-7 zone for example, it means that enemies stop scaling once you reach lvl 7. This doesn't tell you how high enemies are scaled, just that it stops once you reach lvl 7. This doesn't mean that everything in there suddenly has to be easy, since lvl alone is a poor indicator of how dangerous enemies are. With experience you will notice that it will become progressively easier to deal with dungeons that are no longer scaling, but elites/rares/uniques/bosses can definitely still be a threat. This is why I always recommend to clear all regular dungeons of a lower 'Tier' before moving on to the next. Get that extra exp and loot. Later you can always decide to skip zones that bother you or just save time, if you're more familiar with everything.
Some of the scarier enemy types also have a high minimum lvl. A Nightmare Horror for example should always be at least lvl 30 (I think), regardless of where you find it.

There are a couple of ways to deal with being Frozen. First, a Shatter Afflictions or physical Wild will cleanse it. Debuffs are super dangerous and cleansing them at opportune moments is very important. Second, get Stun immunity asap. Stun immunity covers stun, daze, and frozen. Thirdly, you can increase your physical save stat. This is the least reliable, but can be effective if you know what you're doing.
Weapon classes can damage the ice cube from the inside, allowing you to break free faster. Not sure if it's just melee or all weapon dmg, that breaks the ice cubes faster.
If all else fails, remember that you can click yourself or press 5 on numpad to wait turns.
Also keep in mind that direct healing doesn't work when you're frozen. Regeneration still works however.

Hope this helps. Maybe somebody else has more info about the lvl displayed on dungeons. Took me a long time to get an idea of what it is.