I think you are burying your head in the sand. Like it or not, Epic IS endgame in DDO. One can argue it shouldn't be that way, but currently that is how it is.
You simply cannot play a level 20 in DDO for very long with any type of challenge without doing Epic. Otherwise, you are running the same 10 quests over and over and over, or you are playing content beneath your level.
You cannot achieve the top tier, endgame loot without running epic.
Being unhappy with it is one thing, but being in denial is another...