Campaign versus Endgame

After reading the forums for a while I found that alot of players argue about the campaign and the endgame, and the game-philosophy behind it, and I want to discuss it.

Campaign enjoyers and their opinions.
Great scenery, nice methodical combat, lore & music, best part of the game.

Campaign dislikers and their opinions.
To large zones & slow, worst part of the game.

And almost the reverse goes for the endgame discussion, it is for some to fast and the gameplay of the campaign is throwed out. Some argue that the campaign is poe 2 and the endgame is poe 1.

And now for my personal opinions
I think the core of the problem boils down to three things, replayability, complexity and character value.

GGGs market model is leagues that comes out even time intervalls, 3-4 months, marketing hype that leads MTX sales to finance the company. That requires some added complexity, new content that allows for replayability, and for that reason the endgame is in the focus, because it is much easier to add some more crafting, new uniques, new skills, ascendancies, new enemies and rebalance skills then to remake the campaign each season.
And all the previous mentioned added content doesnt change the campaign that much because of the duration between campagin and lategame.

As a example, uniques added for level 10 compared to level 75, the latter will have more of a impact and can be used for "endless" gameplay and the first will last for 2-3 hours, due to progress in levels, skill points and other equipment.
The same goes for crafting & new content.

Some of the best campaigns I have played come from baldurs gate, destiny and dark souls. The problem is replayability, the normal consumer plays these games once, and maybe revisit them a few times in the future.

How about adding the GGG model to these games? Well, if it would be possible I belive the companies in charge would have already added "leagues" to baldurs gate III, destiny II and made billions of dollars. But it does not work.

But why do it work for PoE 1? Complexity, character value and the endgame formula.

The complexity from added mechanics in the passive tree, unique items, skill and support gems makes PoE 1 the king of sandbox RPGs, some plays more Path of Building then Path of Exile.
The character value that comes from making and buying items, that can be resold, and the unique touch each players put on his build.
And the endgame formula that demands grinding, time invested. And there comes the the schism in the playerbase about the speed of combat and the lategameplay that reminds in PoE 2 that reminds players of PoE 1.

And I dont know if have to be that fast or if rewards could be increased instead, but from personal reasons I enjoy speed. Running labyrinth to farm certain jewels and gems hundred of times in PoE 1 wouldnt have been possible without a speed build for me. There is a problem with meaningful combat and endless grind that I feel is impossible to combine. How meaningful is a sequence of key-inputs after doing them ten-thousands times? Even if you add a input, or change the sequence, it still loses meaning after a time. And there is where items, complex builds and personal farming goals takes over.

TLDR; Campaign is not so important for the longevity of Path of Exile 2, almost irrelevant, but the endgame is of utmost importance. And the game have a identity crisis.

Good points!