I may be reaching but I wonder if CP was trying to approach this situation in a different way in TSiaSoS with the Staff of Blue.

A plot twist which could have been interesting if it had gone in any other direction than "oh well, let's just leave then". I would have had them take the broken pieces with them and had a race against time scenario as they desperately tried to fix it before the war is lost.

Perhaps the real problem is his reliance on Powerups and not the circumstances around obtaining them,

I think you're right. There's nothing inherently Bad about having a character obtain special powers, but how you handle it is what makes the difference. If they didn't earn it, then they have to do so retroactively by selflessly using them for the greater good, a la most superheroes. And before anyone says Kiragon does that - no she fucking doesn't, because she doesn't risk anything in the process. She's never in any actual danger, and she doesn't sacrifice anything.