The current relic grind is to get yourself a currently excellent weapon for current content.

That's what it's for. It's not for future content. It's for now. It build on existing stuff, but there's no reason for it to build forever. You're not doing it for forever, you're doing it for now. Once it's over, you'll still have a trophy for your efforts. No one will take your relic away from you, nor the accomplishments you made while using it.

Not forcing others to do what you did does not retroactively make your time wasted. It just means they can catch up and join in with what you're enjoying.

You are enjoying yourself, right?