[2023] An alternative to switching the skill system

I'll put it this way.

If it were that easy, the modding community would have done it already. We would have had mods starting with a16, 17, and 18 that fully restored the old system.
These mods don't exist.

You'll find some hybrid systems in mods like Darkness Falls and other overhauls. None are close to a full restoration of the LBD system.

And to be perfectly clear, the LBD system was always known to be a temporary placeholder. I recall as far back as Alpha 8 Joel talking about their desired skill system. Which is still coming into place.

To take each of the different iterations of the leveling system and develop a separate option path for each is more than any developer would take on. Even AAA studios. I cannot think of even one example where a developer has offered multiple different leveling options within a game like that.
And as stated previously, when you look at the amount of resources required just to accomplish decent QA on the systems, outside of even the time spent creating four or five separate variations of the same base game to accomplish it, it's an insane amount of overhead.

Part of following the development process of a game that started out as basic as 7 Days to Die is learning to embrace the changes. Yearning for past features that were only stepping stones is a futile activity.

They aren’t done changing things either. Don’t assume that anything is in its final form. The way traders work could change in the future. The way blood moons work could change in the future. The way everything is done could still undergo changes and wind up different than they are now.

Don’t get married to the way things are. Enjoy it it for what it is while we have it and then embrace the new changes.

Go craft some empty jars before it’s too late!!