Potential new player

no, the knowledge you gain from getting that prev character geared,
crafting, farming method, campaign pathing/shortcuts,

is carried forward.

Sure things changed league after league, but 80% of it is the same.

The way I see it is there is new stuff added and buffed and nerfed every season, in this game and Diablo 4. So naturally I would either want to try the new stuff or the recently buffed stuff. That’s why I don’t feel I’ve wasted my time

No it's exciting to start a new character and bring it through everything with the new content.

Personally I dont, because the game changes significantly in each league/season. This includes balance changes to already existing skill gems, passive tree, ascendancies, league mechanics and whatnot. Also GGG regularly introduces new skill gems, supports, new mechanics and ways to play the game. This means a very different and new experience compared to the previous league and its characters' progression. Also you can just switch it up and play a different class/ascendancy or build each league to experience the game from a completely different perspective (going from sorc to warrior or monk is a BIG change for example).

So imo both PoE games have enough content and new things introduced each league to let you have a different and new experience in order to not miss your old character too much.

I get what you mean, but knowing that everyone else is also starting from 1 as well makes it easier, for me at least.

The other thing is that each season comes with a LOT of class and item changes, as well as whatever the new season mechanic is and all of that put together often makes it a little intimidating to go back to a previous character. Because of that, I've maybe logged into a previous season's character like twice ever, most of them just go to the standard (i.e. not seasonal) character list and get forgotten.

No. I had fun the whole time I was playing the character. So the time was never wasted.

The whole time I'm playing a build I'm learning where it shines and what doesn't quite meet the challenges of actual gameplay even if it looked good on paper. Learning new skill interactions, acquiring new power. The ramp up. The ramp up is so much more intriguing to me than the coast.

Besides, this is a game where the whole time I'm playing a build, I'm being indirectly exposed to other builds and ideas while interacting with the community. Not just in game, but on reddit, twitch, YouTube when I can be bothered to click on a video. So by the time I'm in the late 80s early 90s, I'm itching to run it back on another build. 2, 3, 4 builds I feel like I got what I wanted out of the current state of the game, and I put it down. New season? Hit it again. Playing my old characters on a new season would feel like I've already had more than half my fun, for what? To cling to some video game items? Nah, I'm not here for that, I'm here for the rush of finding the shiny loot to begin with. Once I've got it, it's whatever.

My standard league characters are my trophy room and i love beefing them up with items that get nerfed after the league or are unaviable anymore. i play 2-3 months in leagues and after it gets old i like to go back to my old characters and have some more fun with them. I also play Hardcore solo self found on standard where my stash is the main character and i get the long term progression fun

Some people like to stick with one character and keep playing it forever on standard league (where all characters migrate each season)

But for most people, starting from scratch in fresh economy is the peak. First few days and may be weeks, when everyone is in the same boat, discovering new things, this is what we came for each time.

Goal is not to hoard wealth. Goal is to enjoy the game, and insane gear that you drop/craft/buy is just a instrument, not the goal. Tame well spent is not wasted.

Not really no. Lots of stuff contribute to why playing on the newest league (season) is appealing but its mainly 2.

1. Its a fresh and active economy so everyone is starting from 0.
2. The newest league mechanic and its rewards.

You can still play your old characters in the standard league once a new league rolls around if you don't want to start again but the economy will likely be a little inflated with not many active participants, still very much playable but you're missing out on half the fun.

Edit: Balance is also a very big reason to start on the new league I forgot about that

Edit 2: you also get a lot of experience, you learn to make your previous builds but better.

I don’t feel like I wasted my time as the new content is usually really good. That said, you can always play old characters on standard league (like D4’s eternal realm) if you want to take a league off.