Has it always been like this or...?

[Viridiana]

Maybe back when it was a great spot to farm Philosophy tomes, I could see being a tiny bit miffed about waiting around every odd run (still silly to get mad about, but more understandable).

It was never even a particularly good spot to farm philosophy.

Duty roulette for main scenerio also gives a hefty soldiery bonus and requires that you've beat the dungeons before it even gets unlocked. There are tons of main scenerio runs that have no new players in them.

Only, not really. Don't think CM or Prae is faster than speedrunning any of the experts, which would also give you Poetics.