Great review! I bought into the PoE beta when Kiwi's were available as pets and I did not regret it at all. As a huge fan of D2 this game was perfect for me. Like you, I put in over a thousand hours, and amazingly I didn't get bored... frustrated, yes. But not bored! GGG are an incredible team, and I am sure they will continue to bring brilliant content. I should really boot Path back up and give the new stuff a go (I haven't played since they revamped the campaign and added the new chapters).
Great read, you've made me want to go back!
RE: Path Of Exile Game Review, The game that took the crown from Diablo.