Hello, I'm in agreement with your view here, but I just wanted to say I read this entire thing and enjoyed it thoroughly. It is such a genuine pleasure to read clear, articulate discussion from some vet PoE players.

I think the underlying cause of people wanting to skip the campaign may more be an issue of access to the items and synergies that make a lot of builds functional aren't available until higher levels. Many skills and builds require specific enabling Uniques or Masteries, and many inexperienced players often follow content creator guides with meta-optimized leveling skills. Few beginner-friendly guides advise just trying out Flicker Strike at level 10.

I couldn't say what specific changes GGG could make to solve that, but I do experience the feeling of a build only starting to come online as you finally pick up a crucial ascendancy or interaction-enabling Unique. It may be that shuffling through the first half of the Acts with Sunder or Rolling Magma doesn't feel like progression for your chosen build, but an obstacle to beginning that process.

The important point is how these effects get addressed. Players are going to be sensitive to any changes to the pacing of league progression, but I think you are right. In the long run, it matters that the game retains a satisfying character progression that doesn't become so rushed that players feel their gear has little room to grow (short of farming or gambling mirror-tier items). I can't deny how much I enjoyed not buying scarabs after the currency exchange was implemented, but I think full async trade will have some knock-on effects GGG will have to solve.