PoE does a great job on making your character feel more powerfull the longer you progress , and that's how ARPG are generally , regardless unless you're playing certain builds bosses can still one (two) shot you and you still have to pay attention .

I used to play a lot of Dark souls and while it's not necessarely "clean speed" based etc etc , but even if it's known for its diffuclty it also gets easier the more your character progresses .

You can't not reward people fo getting things and upgrading etc etc , also some items/builds will always be stuff strong than others , poe is mostly a solo game unless it's a race if anyone wants a challenge then just avoid those builds and not run a poet's pen volatile dead with lightpoacher while screaming "power creep".