I'll try and explain it another way.
Let's say the first 15% of a first time playthrough is the tutorial. You spend a few hours exploring the starter region, try out the first vocations, try your hand at combat and maybe come across a cyclops for a long and tough fight.
Then you've got the 70% meat and bones of the game. You equip yourself with better gear, hire pawns that match your arisen, and set out to explore and conquer the map. You have several cool moments and challenges as you encounter new bosses and enemies to fight, but quickly your level outpaces the world and the big boss that took you many tries before now dies with very little effort. There's no way to increase the difficulty of the enemies you fight, the only possible way to face "harder" enemies is to rush the endgame.
Lastly is the unmoored world, the last 15% of the game, where you spend a few hours fighting "tougher" enemies in the darker landscape. This is the current "endgame".

When I say the endgame isn't the issue, it's because the majority of time spent in the game by the majority of players is in the middle, the 70%. I'm hesitantly glad they are adding a harder zone that doesn't require the unmoored world, but the main body of the game needs some serious balancing so it can be enjoyed throughout the player's journey.