it’s a pointless waste of time having to start a brand new character just because you want to experiment with everything the game has to offer.

But how else can they get you to spend more time in-game and increase the chance that you might just wander on over to the MTX shop and give them money? /s

I've been enjoying the game, but I'm already starting to feel like some of these time consuming processes have been put in just for this reason. Why would you buy horse armor if you're not riding around all that much?

Blizzard has never locked mechanics behind paywalls, outside of expansions which are to be expected. This isn’t a freeToPlay game from rando company, and until it is proven otherwise there shouldn’t be a reason to expect that behavior to manifest.

Also envy and pride both do much more to drive those purchases rather than time spent doing a single mechanic. You see some cool armor, and want to show it off, you want to get that sword before it disappears to show that you have something no one else can get.

Also, saying something people rarely use doesn’t drive people to want to pay money for upgrades is about the most obvious take. Of course people only care or want to improve areas that they use the most. Would you use in game currency for a niche area or for something you use frequently? ARPGs are about the grind and by the nature of a grind it means devoting time to it. Would you rather you logged in and could select those drip from a menu and then move on with your day?