You don't need 3rd party tools to get through the acts. I don't. I can just pick a gem/archetype and build around it and be fine

Everything should be viable, even if it may not be meta-level good.

I also never use trade plugins or anything like that, you don't really need them. You learn what is valuable or not over time by playing the game. For lootfilter just using the semi-strict neversink is fine, and path of building is if you want to optimize your build in the end-game. You really don't need all those 3rd party tools people use.

Like, yes, if you want to make your own build that's viable for the end-game it's more complicated, but that's exactly what is fun for me in making my own builds. If any build could do all content, well, then there wouldn't be any challenge, would it? Needing to optimize, balance tradeoffs, and solve problems your build is having is exactly what I want out of it.

But most builds are very much viable. As in, they can get you through the acts and a bit of the end-game. It's once you start delving further into maps is when your build truly starts being tested. And it has to be that way, otherwise why bother with trying to optimize your build and trying to make a really good one? If you do not have incentive to get as strong as possible, then there's no reason to engage with the complexity, and it all kinda falls apart.