>>534168792
I agree, the main unfun thing about the POE1 campaign isn't the length or the quality of encounters, it's the fact that it's too easy so you barely engage with the game's systems, and your engagement is usually limited only to the most boring, tedious part (sockets and coloring and pretty much nothing else).
That said I don't think they struck a good balance in the gauntlet. 99% of the campaign is still brainlessly easy, and the remaining 1 percent is a mix of somewhat difficult boss encounters that buildcheck and skillcheck you, and shit that isn't really difficult but can just surprise you (le anchor lolololol). It ends up being more engaging than a normal campaign run but only just, and only for like 1 playthrough.
I'm a little mad at myself that I bullied myself into bothering with finishing it, I really don't like Phrecia ascendancies, and I don't like overfarming being the most obvious solution to 90% of encounters.
I hope they do a gauntlet where mobs don't respawn. That would be a challenge.