The problem with the current relic is that it can still be somewhat of an atrocious grind if you were a new player s tarting from step 1, especially pre-nerf. Things like Novus and Nexus, and zodiac always felt like the "final' step with its requirements, while atma was just atrocious for really no good reason. It's not as bad now with the nerfs, but the 75 material can still be a PITA depending on your econmy (and tryin to skip out on using non-optimal setups kinda defeats half the point of a relic in the first place).

If you were caught up as they were released, then it's not so bad; A lot of people wouldn't mind a step taking 2 months if it was the last one and highest it can go, but not so much when it's only the 2nd step (atma) or 4th set for a weapon that is outdone by a primal one (novus)