The games I play in are good.

75% of the player population are loose / passive, 10% being tight / passive, <10% tight / aggro, 4% LAG to the point of it being a mystery if they looked at their cards (real chance they didn't) and the remaining 1% being actually solid. That number might be as high as 3% if it's late / a bigger game breaks etc. Coldcalling/open limping is very standard (ranges ~T9o+, 22+, 24s+, 23s+, 65o+), slow play is habitual, fold equity is <5% until the river as long if they have any pair / any draw

I'm working on my play more and more, mostly with deuces cracked videos from BBB, DeathDonkey, Pygmy etc and do I actually need to balance at all vs level 0/1 players?

Made hands are pretty easy, often bet/folding turns with TPGK and rarely getting owned, calling down relative to pot size / counterfeiting 2pairs etc. Playing draws becomes more interesting because I rarely have fold equity and block similar draws, so if i'm getting called on the turn I am required to improve. Also opponent's hand reading ability is pretty close to zero, even if i'm playing like I have a drawing hand, draw comes in, c/r river, they're paying off regardless because they have TPGK etc.

Rake is a pretty high factor at effectively 7$/hand (6+tip) (i'm playing 8/16 almost exclusively, occasional overs to 12/24), i'm already always chopping the blinds but should this lead to less BTN/CO opens as well? Hands like Kxs folded to me OTB I have trouble not raising.

I suppose this post is really due to a session I played the other day in which I really let the LAG loose and pretty much played FR like a 6M game. Of course nobody adjusted and I didn't really have fold equity, opening like K8s from the HJ feels good until you get like 2 cold calls + the blinds come along lol.

Do I need to be on the other end of the spectrum due to the rake?
I suppose this could even just be a primer for "How to handily beat a 4/8 game"

You're playing in a high rake game. Opening in late pos you want to be a notch or two tighter than what you see in most of those vids. It'll be rare to either steal blinds (they're loose) or get pots way above max rake (they're passive).

You may not be thinking quite right about aggression. They can't be as loose as you hint *and* block your draws every time. It's easy to be fooled, so don't despair. Get in there with the suited connected or suited Ace hands. Try to make some notes about these situations and do some work away from the table. Ask for our help.

I find made hands relatively "hard". It's comparatively easy to raise a bet and three calls with open ended on a rainbow flop. Whether I make my straight or not I know I made money there. Value betting thinly and paying off raises (mostly) and getting called by better (not mostly) is harder.

Imo the key to your games is relentless pursuit of value. If you have bigger games available and aspire to play them, you can consider a few higher level concepts now, like when it's ok to delay taking your value.

Find a poker buddy in your game, preferably someone playing better/higher who are familiar with the player pool. Hash out spots with them and bring the checkups and conflicts here. Hope this helps.

In a game like you describe, there are many situations where you should play aggressively on the flop because the other players are giving you an overlay for your bets and raises, even though you do not have the actual best hand. In a five-way pot, you can profitably push your flush draws and open-ended straight draws hard, and big combo draws are monsters.

See also, Morton's Theorem.