You and me both, brother. There are plenty of people that want to see a more fleshed out and easier to acquire Minthara companion, so the interest is definitely there. Ideally, raiding the grove should provide some kind of alternate path forward instead of locking the player out of:
-A companion's personal quest
-One of the best vendors in Act 3
-Numerous, small quest arcs and NPC interactions
-Another companion altogether (whose presence inordinately affects the conclusion of Act 2)
Raiding the grove seems like a last-minute addition to Act 1, or something to that effect. Its very, very poorly implemented.
