In POE, when you hit 80 is when the game starts to get grindy but it tends to be ok because your character and skills are built out by that point allowing you to have fun while grinding
Diablo its a dramatic grind at around 50. When the character hasnt nearly come into its own (Sorcerer Builder/Spender player here). It doesnt make for a fun experience whatsoever.
I am done playing for now but hope to see some big changes made.
Had you told me D4 would be less casual friendly than Path of Exile, I would have laughed, but it is in many ways (none of which have anything to do with complexity). PoE simply has more reasonable ways to tackle problems with regard to character deficits, and it does, in fact, feel like less of a grind.
D4… Baby POE…10+ years. Go look at original Cyclone then come back
PoE is a very sweaty game indeed but it doesn’t really get that sweaty until the 80’s and 90s. I ragequit crucible over dying in a trap during my last ascendancy labyrinth but somehow D4 has made me kinda miss the game. Its quite wild.