About Path of Exile, i like the game very much, and especially they way they implemented their grind
Diablo 3 : Just grind and grind like a mofo, get items that might be worth something to other players, save till u got x million, buy OP weapon from auctionhouse
Path of Exile : Run instances on farm, if possible MF-farm, drop the exact legendaries you need as base material. Then farm the orbs that alter the sockets and properties of your legendary. Use these orbs to get the exact effects on the item you want to get. Then arrange the sockets the way you want them. Then make sure the gems you want (passive skills/active skills/support skills) are interacting in the right way, with other orbs.
And voila, there is your desired build.
Alternatively, farm orbs and trade for other orbs. or sell the items you dropped but werent the one you needed for other orbs.
Kinda like that approach. When you finish a legendary, you have the feeling its your legendary cause you put all the work into it.
The only thing i dont like, is that with a 1400 point passive skill tree, there is barely skill reset. Wich kinda sucks if you want to change a small aspect.
I get it, they want you to reroll different classes. And its a good thing. But i'm not gonna reroll cause i've decided my summoner should be physical minions and survivability instead of magical minions and craptons of burst.