Path of Exile is really excellent. The passive tree is massive and it can be overwhelming at first but once you start playing you will figure it out. Your first character in PoE is almost guaranteed to suck though, just use it as a learning experience and to gather wealth, and have fun. Then once you have some currency and understand the game mechanics, you can plan for a 2nd character.
The depth of PoE makes the depth in D3 look like a puddle of water by comparison. D3 holds your hand far too much... once you get past the smoothness and impressive graphics you're left with a shallow game in which all characters are virtually identical. In PoE, there are virtually limitless character builds. It's the true successor to D2.
Let me know if you give it another go, wouldnt mind tossing you some stuff in game to start out.