Grim Dawn had a sense of exploration, story, and overall world coherence that's core to its identity, that LE lacks.

Don't get me wrong, LE is amazing, and I have a lot of hours in both games. LE feels more arcade like, and it's world more shallow. Theirs almost no benefit in exploring the maps, and the maps themselves add little to the game play.

I think long-term LE stands to improve mostly in added seasonal mechanics and depth in its itemization and skill progression. But it's world, will not feel as good as GD without a major change in philosophy of design. The early game is too easy, the map layouts are too boring, and the world interaction is limited and clunky at best when attempted.

It's game play, though, feels great. With some tuning, like action queuing, better item pick up, skill impact, etc., it will feel like the best out their imo. I'd personally wait for the first seasonal content though before jumping in. That, to me, will show me the direction devs are heading and whether the game aligns with what's fun to you.