Grinding in games is bad

For me this practice kills video games by making them feel like a job, and not a fun experience, and that's because:

1. Makes the game repetitive:

The idea of ​​having to repeat an activity or mission multiple times is boring, and this affects the quality of the game.

2. Grind-walls blocks the content:

The grind prevents players from progressing in the game by making them repeat the same task over and over again, for some this is an advantage to prevent players from completing the game in a short time, but it is not, that only prevents players from playing the content, and that is not a good strategy, if the developers want to prevent the players from completing the game quickly then they must design the game differently.

3. Drives away new players

The large amount of grind-wall and time-gates will only incentivize new players to play other games, players are not going to waste their time in a game where you cannot progress well, unless the player is a dopamine addict.

4. Bad monetary strategy

Many developers believe that this is a good way to attract money, but it is not, in the end you are only damaging the quality of the game to make money, players will pay to avoid grind, but that will not prevent the game from being boring, not the right way to make money.

5. Avoid fun and challenging content

The developers only focus on increasing the grind, ignoring other topics such as difficulty, among others, so that they do not interfere with the repetitive loop.

6. The game is more boring late-game

The game is usually made only for farming for rewards, and if you get all the possible rewards the game will feel emptier.

7. Dopamine and addiction

This is the reason grind exists, and the problem is not dopamine, the problem is that the developers want to use it to make players addicted with a time-wasting repetitive loop.

To finish, players should stop saying that grindy games are good, I know many will say: "if you don't like it, don't play it", but that doesn't fix the problem, in the end that only makes video game developers just focus on adding a lot of grind in a game and nothing else ...

I have seen many games with interesting dynamics that are completely ruined by the amount of grind, and I see many players saying that these games are good, but the reality is that those players are just addicts to dopamine who do not see that the game is a disaster

This is just my opinion, but I think that grind simply damages the essence of video games, games should encourage players to test their skill, not to test their patience in a loop that prevents them from progressing and repeats over and over again .

That's all, have a good day.

You think all games should "test one's skill" ? As in, games should only be made for a specific crowd?

I enjoy a grind, sometimes. I also tend to play games for other reasons than a challenge. I like to build characters, towns and villages up. I like to see them grow and advance. I like the adventures some take, the camaraderie, the journey. I also like to play games to relax and unwind. Sometimes I play them for the competition.

Gaming has become so much more than just high score lists and bragging rights for some people.

I think there's a fine line between maintaining your gameplay loop--that is, the pattern of gameplay you use to make the game a game--and having too much repetition, or grind.

Essentially all games kind of have a grind to them. If I play Doom, I am running and shooting and ripping and tearing from start to finish. I start the game walking around and shooting, and I end the game walking and shooting. But they add in some strategy to it to create depth, and they make that strategy randomized so you need to intuitively play the game, which kills the repetitive nature of the core gameplay.

Things like MMORPG's tend to abuse that. It might be for financial reasons because the longer you play the longer you are subscribed, but at the same time people expect a lot of mileage out of MMO's so it is also about meeting expectations. There's ways to break up the monotony; make the quests more diverse, add some sort of story around the quests to provide motivation and a feeling of importance, and making the combat more fun.

TL:DR; Grind is bad, but repetition is critical to establishing gameplay.

Depends on the games. For subscription based MMO and I am specifically talking about FFXIV if you only play for story you can finish each expansion around 50-70 hours which is standard FF stuff. But man, there sure is a lot keeping you into the game like recent FFXV collab had me playing casino games at the Gold Saucer for the FFXV car mount. Needs to grind around 200k MGP for it.

For normal game if there is easy mode I turn on easy mode to avoid grind. Fk me I am already tired from work I am not gonna sit down and grind lvls/point for upgrades. Not enough time for this grinding shit.

Grinding in games is bad

Varies on the game and how it is handled. I do think some games ask the player to spin the same wheel once too often, though will say those games are annoying because they lack variety and do not have interesting systems to begin with. Not to mention just have pacing issues in general. One of my main issues with Devil May Cry 5 is the pacing was abysmal.

Grind and the word repetitive are buzz-words people use to dismiss a lot of games but factually all games have both. If a game has solid systems, can spice up variety, and good pacing none of it is a problem. And most who use those terms anyhow want a simple and short game mostly focused on story and cutscenes; you can keep those. I prefer games, to be games. Everything else (graphics, plot, story, cutscenes) on-top the experience is fine, not consuming the experience; gameplay>everything else.

Drives away new players

Depends on the player and I suppose for a few who just want the same game over and over this is not inherently bad, some people get put off a gaming experience and want a game to be something it was never intended to be.

As such would damage the intent and vision the creators set out to create, and remove what fans wanted, ditching an entire fandom and chasing new fans was an issue Capcom had during the 360/PS3/ Wii era and didn't go well for them.

*If anything this topic is a fine example why we have so many easy two hour long walking simulators with over the shoulder camera. Is because people want an easy breeze game and nothing that pushes back, challenges us, and exciting experiences. I'm sure to some the combat in Uncharted and Last of Us is perfect gaming, because it doesn't challenge the player with fun and rich gameplay. I'm more of a Vanquish guy myself.

I do agree with you to some extent and I'll be the first to admit that I'm a victim of it when it comes to Destiny 2... but at this point in time I'm too late to be rescued from it. Even with all the grind I have fun with its gameplay mechanics. I know sometimes I feel burned out and I only keep playing cause of the dopamine rush of getting cool new loot and god roll weapons but at those times I'll stop playing the game for a while, play something else, and then come back to it

Currently playing Final Fantasy X chocobo racing balloon mini-game and I can tell you it is frustrating and grindy. Feel like giving up at this rate. All I want is to enable Tidus's ultimate weapon to be useable :(

Like pretty much anything....

Some grinding I like, some I do not.

If the game is fun then it’s great. Otherwise it blows.

Any game that has a decent amount of grinding, I generally stay away from. I just don't have the time or patience for that sh*t.

lol same. I tried to put it away after getting my battle pass gear last season, but the hype of The Witch Queen brought me back. I also had to find out who she was impersonating.

Damn that Bungie for dangling new guns and gear over my head to keep me playing. I also wanted to try Trials of Osiris since they added match making. I like it, but they need to add a freelance mode like they did with Survival and IB.

@shadyacshuns:

I did not say that games are only to test your skill, games are made to learn new things, and to have fun, but grind or repetitiveness damages that essence of games by wasting your time, that was my point.

And just because you like it doesn't mean that the grind is good for games

The games are not made to stuck the player in an endless loop that makes them waste time until their brains explode, the games must be progressive and varied avoiding repetitiveness

Or are you going to tell me that a regressive game is much better than a game where you constantly progress avoiding repetitiveness?

Not even you believe that lie, you have to accept that grind damages the quality of the games, and actually I don't think you like grind, you just like dopamine, but if you opened your eyes you will notice that the grind just waste your time.

@mrbojangles25:

In reality, everything that is repetitive damages the game

All games become repetitive sooner or later, and to avoid this the developers must add depth to the game to make it progressive and not regressive

The problem with grind and other practices such as (for example) fighting with the same enemy over and over again damages the depth of the game because they are regressive and do not have any depth

And is true that all games set goals for you such as: getting materials, weapons, improvements, etc. but the idea is that you achieve that progressively, that is, without having to get stuck in a regressive practice

I haven't played Doom yet, but just imagine if the game had more movement options besides walking, it would be more fun right?

Many MMORPGs would be more fun if only the developers eliminated all those regressive practices and focused on making the games more progressive, but since there is a vice with dopamine, in the end the players are just wasting time in an endless loop and not even realize it.

@sakaixx:

I have not played FFXIV, but I do know that the game is a grindfest, and many players get addicted to that grind, but it is not because the grind is a good or fun thing, the players become addicted because the dopamine rush, and the reality is that grind only makes you waste your time

That is why I do not like most MMOs, almost all of them have an obsession with wasting your time with the large amount of grind, even if you are a fan of the game the grind will make you lose interest in playing which is common because repetitiveness is tedious

Games are supposed to avoid repetitiveness and be progressive, just imagine if FFXIV had no grind and you could progress through the game without having to repeat a task over and over again, that would make the game much better, but sadly the developers prefer that players spend more time repeating the same without progressing.

@RSM-HQ:

1

I think you are contradicting yourself with what you say in the first paragraph

And even if a game has good mechanics and depth, the grind will ruin the experience because grind literally means repeating the same thing over and over again, and that ruins the whole variety, it is like mixing water with oil

So that the variety of a game is not affected, the game must be progressive and not regressive, all games sooner or later become repetitive, and that is avoided by adding depth to the game, the idea is not to induce players to repeat the same and again

Also, grind is what makes games simpler and shorter, and that's because the repetitive nature of grind prevents the game from having variety and thus makes it a simple game with no depth, and if you take away the grind in to many games you will notice that they last almost nothing, and that is because most of the time you are not advancing in the game because the game makes you waste your time in repetitive practices

If the developers avoided repetitive practices and focused on making games progressive, you could see games with more variety that do not waste your time.

2

I'm sorry but that a player likes that the game has repetitive practices does not mean that this game is good

In the end, that player does not like grind, he only likes the dopamine that makes him addicted and prevents him from seeing that the game is only wasting his time

As I said before, repetitiveness ruins the experience for players and should be avoided, if you want to see games with more variety and progression you simply have to stop supporting repetitive practices in games.

To end, you are misunderstanding the topic very badly.

@vatususreturns:

Destiny 2 is a game that has some fun mechanics, but the grind just ruins everything, although there are looter shooters that are even worse with grind

If only Bungie focused more on adding depth to the game and not stucking players in a massive grind

In part the community has some blame because they play as if they were addicted to grind, which causes Bungie to only do much more grind, but it is not too late to escape the vice of dopamine, escape while you still have time

No but seriously, grind will only waste your time and that can be a problem.

@SOedipus:

I said the same with a game called Crossout

Never. Freaking. Again

Even if the game has fun mechanics the grind ruins the whole experience by wasting your time in a loop, when you are supposed to progress and have fun.

It varies for me. Sometimes I enjoy grinding in games especially JRPGs. I can find that to be quite relaxing and enjoyable. Same for repetitiveness. If I’m really enjoying the game and it’s mechanics and the game paces the repetition well then it’s something that never bothers me.

@zombot: the thing about FFXIV is, if you only wants the story its very doable to just focus on it. Personally the main differences between sub based MMO to free MMO is that they respects your time and I have cancelled the sub each time I finish the expansion. If you only wants the story you can finish the game within 50-100 hour solo then cancel the sub but if you absolutely wants to do everything then the grindfest comes like every other games. Just that in FFXIV the amount of things to do and jobs to master is just mindblowning. The side activies in FFXIV is so damn fun and absolutely varied you just kinda get lost in the grind to get absolutely everything.

Not at all, just seems I did not explain my stance well enough the first time. You only valued one option of variety, but the definition can mean so much more. I do not just mean it in a completely different scenario sense, let me give this a go with an example-

Take Monster Hunter for instance, heavily criticized for being grindy and repetitive. The A.I. on the monsters alone gives a lot of variety in each run, they can spawn all over a map and interact with the map in very different ways, different attack patterns as well means it is never the same each and every time. Other monsters running in and causing a ruckus as well. . Have different effects or limbs damaged. And that is not even taking into account player builds and weapon set-ups.

That itself is a form of variety, and the game may ask the player to hunt the same creature, if the player wants the whole set too? could be hunting one creature through the whole session. But I cannot stress enough MH is designed to make that a non issue because of all the variety it can give that one creature. Helps that the gameplay is extremely satisfying and refined too.

Some people probably don't like this and that's why the series gets critised but I personally think it is the best way to handle a game that wants the players to keep hunting the same monsters.

I'm sorry but that a player likes that the game has repetitive practices does not mean that this game is good

Don't be sorry, you are just speaking your perspective and I in turn am doing the same. Neither has to agree with each other, we are just sharing our passionate stance on the subject, and challenging what we both think ツ

Good is by definition subjective. Everyone likes something different yet as noted what I personally deem as enjoyable 'aka' good; raw and gritty gameplay_ tight movement, level design, etc. That all lifts up any gaming experience. And yes, that includes repetitive games with poor pacing, stretching things out thin.

Never stated all games with repetitive elements and grind are good games either. Many however do get coined with those labels and that is a disservice to good games with solid core gameplay. Issue I find is this thread assumes all games with grinding are all one-in-the-same and that is not true.

One cannot compare a grindy game with bad gameplay with one that has really nailed down the fun factor.

Grinding is only really bad if the game was never fun to play to begin with (Biowares Anthem comes to mind). Games with solid fundamentals still give what players want. A good game, whether they see a game to the end or not is up to the player.

Solid gameplay does make grinding less bothersome to me. Enjoying the gameplay makes it barely an issue personally. So long as the game can also offer some of that variety I mentioned above, it makes the grind none existent. Which explains a lot because I have completed every mainline Monster Hunter game ever made.

I'll take a game with good core gameplay with repeating missions over five minutes of the most uninteresting and generic gameplay/ with latency and janky movement.

Fighting games by definition are just a grind to victory and are extremely repetitive. But the core is very solid and variety/ options to match its fluidity. Street Fighter is not one of the worlds most well received gaming franchises because it is bad, in fact SFII spawned an entire genre beloved even today because of the gameplay.

If the developers avoided repetitive practices and focused on making games progressive, you could see games with more variety that do not waste your time.

Games can be both progressive and repetitive though (as noted with fighting games). Also varies on the players personal tolerance as well.

If anything would be interesting to read your stance on what games are well paced in your opinion and prime examples of what are done badly. That way I'll get a better idea of what you are really bringing the hammer down on.

Crossout was mentioned and honestly MMOs have some of the weakest gameplay in the industry, especially cheap small free-to-play games. Just checked a review and nothing about the gameplay seems positive. Even the driving 'which is the main selling point' was stated to be "floaty and unresponsive".

*Worth noting the worst aspects for me in gaming is when the controls are taken from me. When I sit down to play a game, I want to play a game, not watch a movie.

I generally love grinding, especially in difficult RPG games such as Final Fantasy 5 and Dragon Age 1 & 2 (Nightmare difficulty) or in games such as Dead Rising orDead Island. Must be some kind of disease I have :)

@RSM-HQ: I heard they spawn in the same spot in MH Rise though. 🤭

Don't know who gave you the wrong information on that one, can confirm not true, as someone who has put many hours into the game; grinding every weapon and armor set. The exception being for scripted Rampages and certain story monsters that require triggering a cutscene (same as World/Iceborne)

Monsters also hop between zones far more frantically than they did in World and Iceborne. Some stay in a zone for a few minutes, sometimes seconds. And that includes if you aggroed the monster. Turf Wars are also no longer a sure thing either and instead random if the two monsters will trigger the animation. More than not if occupying the same zone they'll just slap each other instead. Making Turf Wars more a rare sight (an aspect I personally appreciate)

One of my favorite RNG aspects is during the All-Mother hunt, it is random which Elder level monster will show up. Very fun.

I have a few issues with Rise but its random hecticness is overall an improvement over the other Gen 5 games.

Now if only the game wasn't so broken-easy and the end-game non existent we'd have a more replayable game. Sunbreak cannot come soon enough.

To me, it depends on which video game you're playing. If it's games like Anthem, Destiny or latest Ghost Recon, I get it. The Witcher 3, Dragon Age or Mass Effect games? Well, that's an different story.

@zombot: It just depends on the game. GaaS games depend on the grind. RPGs depend on the grind. If you're playing a rhythm game or a visual novel, no grind required.

Personally speaking, if I'm not gaining, building or growing in a game, it's not worth playing. Even in a story based game, you're progressing the tale as you go.

As far as being repetitive, you can't name a single game that doesn't suffer that.

can't agree more

Wait what? I recently played Mass Effect one and two, it had grind. .

I know you can do loyalty quests and side-quest stuff to get better results and no-companion deaths, but I do not think the games forced grinding in any real way.

Every big story moment in ME2 for example requires doing two or three other things before. Can be anything though, and I didn't even personally noticed before I got the next story quest.

And these games are pretty easy so no real urge to be overpowered and do everything, unless one wants to save everyone possible and be somekind of overpowered demi-god. The A.I. may as well kill itself at times so being powerful and having the best weapons doesn't really matter. That last boss as well was pretty forgiving in ME2 (hardcore difficulty)

Games like Dark Souls and Monster Hunter alludes to even a small amont of grinding for armor and weapons. Even just to simply play around with the new stuff.

However never felt that was needed in Mass Effect. No fancy armors in the shops that look to be game changers and same for weapons. They're just number buffs for games that don't really need it. Maybe on Insanity I couldn't tell but I imagine it is just more spongy.

I personally played both games without ever changing my armor/ upgrading it/ or doing so with my weapons. Only new weapons I got was from natural progression.

I also dont like grinding, but i used to like it when o was a kid. I used to get a fake feeling of progress from it.

Games do this to flesh out the length of potential play time. Souls games do this by making you die & restart a certain point back...It lengthens game time & obviously cuts game budget costs substantially.....age old techniques to make games last longer.

Had Ghouls'n'ghosts been easy to get through, it would be a 20min game...so they ramp up challenge to stretch game time out... I remember I finished Ghouls on my SNES, was so happy, then the POS said, I had to go through the same whole game again to get the finish...I turned it off in disgust & never played it again!!! lol

Grinding is something that can be horrible. It can also be a good way to pace the game out. So long as it's not something that forces people to stay in one place for hours and hours on end. If you're meeting the game's challenges head on, you should be able to progress steadily, feeling badass when those levels come up, while still keeping from keeping people semi-permanently stuck.

It really depends on how I'm personally feeling about the game. If I'm nearing the end of the game or have completed it, then sometimes grinding is a good excuse to get a few more hours out of my play time. But, in saying all of this though, I generally don't grind anymore. Nor am I much of a completionist.

@RSM-HQ: Have to agree with your point. Most games I have played typically do it where it isn't a problem if you know what you are doing. I play a lot of JRPGs so the only thing that is a problem is that it becomes exhausting. Mass Effect is one where I felt it was done in a way where it could be enjoyed by any player since the enemies are only as difficult as to what level you are.

@Archangel3371:

That's the effect of dopamine, that's why many players find grind relaxing, and that's not a problem (unless the player becomes addicted), the problem is that most games today only revolve around grind and repeatability, not all players like that, and I'm sure even you get bored of being in a repetitive loop without being able to progress, in the end the quality of the gameplay is important, but the variety and progression are too.

@sakaixx:

At least in the story the game respects your time, but the other activities should also be progressive, I know that grind can be relaxing, but I am sure that not the whole community likes grind, if grind were totally optional it would not there would be problems, but that it is something obligatory that does not respect the variety of the game is not a good thing.

In that case the combats would not be classified as repetitive, but according to what I understand, monsters of the same type in MHW always behave the same, in that case the combat would be repetitive because the monsters would not have depth

And I recognize that the game has variety, but at the same time it damages its own variety, for example when the game makes you fight the same type of monster over and over again, assuming there are like 93 more monsters, the same happens with others aspects such as spam attacks, or that the game only makes you use 1 or 3 weapons when there are like 14, and although that has to do with the balance of the game, it is something that directly affects the variety

Actually, I have no problems with players who like to repeat an activity over and over again, I even like to repeat some activities in some games, although I usually prefer variety, my problem is that repeatability in most games It is something obligatory, that is, games force you to do repetitive activities in order to move forward

In almost any game you will see that there are players who like grind and others who like variety without repetition, but game companies just want to make their games a grindfest as if all players like grind, in addition they just want to use the grind to make the players addicted, which is unethical, and I know that in many of these games you can pay with money to avoid the grind, but doing that will only attract more grind

Also, if a game has good gameplay it should not be repetitive, a good gameplay is one that has a good depth to avoid repetition, I know that the quality and variety are different in the gameplay, but in the end if the variety or quality of the game have problems so the gameplay will not be solid

For example with Anthem, the gameplay has quality, but in a short time the game becomes repetitive because it has problems with variety and in the end that affects the gameplay, the same happens if the quality of the game is not good, that is, if the movement system was rubbish (for example), that would also damage the gameplay

Meanwhile, fighting games have a variety of movements, but they are repetitive, what makes them famous are Pvp and people's obsession with competition, which influences a bit with variety because each player is unique and different compared to of an AI

In case you do not understand what I am trying to say at the beginning, my position is that the games should be progressive, I have no problems with repeatability being something optional for players who like this type of practice, but that the games enclose you in a obligatory repetitive loop in order to keep moving forward is not a good thing.

I'm going to use some Crossout missions as an example

In the game there is a mission that deals with escorting a truck that is carrying a load, and while you are advancing there are other objectives that you have to complete so that the truck continues to advance, in addition to that you must destroy the enemies

For me, this mission has a good pace because it makes you constantly advance without having to stuck, and as you progress the game is more complicated, in a few words I like it because it is always trying to change

But for me an example of a bad pace are the defense missions, in that mission you stay static in one place for about 4 minutes, and the mission has no other objectives, you just have to be there as AFK defending the objective, which for me it is not progressive at all because from the beginning to the end everything is the same

In short, a game with a good pace is a game that makes you walk in a straight line, making you encounter different obstacles and varieties of interactions, and a bad pace is a game that makes you walk in circles, basically the opposite

And although I said that the escort missions had a good pace at the end they also become repetitive, and this is because in the game you have to repeat the mission a lot of times for the reward, but the mission does not change and remains the same thing , and basically that's the problem with the game, Crossout is like walking in circles

The only thing I liked about Crossout was the combat system that is almost the same as that of War thunder, basically it tried to identify the enemy's weak points, but each player build the vehicle in a different way which made for the varied combats, I just I liked it because of the variety, but in the case of quality it was horrible because there were weapons that disabled your vehicle in less than 8 seconds, you didn't even have to kill an enemy, you just had to destroy their weapons and you won.

Sorry for the text wall xd

Nah, many find grind relaxing, and is not bad that you like grind for that, the problem is if you become addicted, but I am sure you have a strong mind.

@girlusocrazy:

Progressive refers to the fact that the game varies constantly, avoiding repetition, that is, the game makes you fight with different enemies, or makes you do different tasks, or makes you use different weapons, among other things, it is not only about what the game takes you to a new new area

Also, I'm not just talking about online games, because some single-player games also have repetitive practices, although it must be admitted that most of the time online games are the ones with the most grind.

@BigCat2K20:

The Witcher 3 and those games have some fun mechanics, but the variety and progression of the game is also important, even if the game mechanics are fun in the end the game gets boring from making you repeat the same thing over and over again.

@shadyacshuns:

RPGs and Gaas games do not depend on repetition, and a progressive game does not necessarily have to be a story based game, the problem is that the developers think that all players have a certain obsession with grind, but it is not like that, and I have no problems with the grind being optional, but games should have a good variety in addition to quality so you don't feel like you're wasting time.

@kizza_soze:

You are correct, at least Dark Souls uses a different design to make the game more durable, and it is not forcing the players to repeat an activity over and over again, but it makes the game more complicated for the players. have less chance of winning, and in the end it all depends on the skill of the player

I would like game developers to use better strategies like that to make them more durable without having to force players to do the same over and over again, in the end you are not respecting the time of the players.

@YukoAsho:

I prefer more depth in the content to keep the pace, but there is no problem when repetition is "optional" in games, for example in Dark Souls the levels are progressive, but if you don't take care you can die and have to repeat the level again, in the end it all depends on the skill of the player.

@speeny:

Actually there is no problem if grind is optional, even I repeat some missions that I like in some games, but as a decision of my own, the problem is when the game forces you to repeat the same thing indefinitely.

Sorry for answering so late!

@zombot: i'm with you. from your op, grind walls blocking content feels like a cause, the other points the effect.

there's different degrees of grind but the forced grind where you can't progress the main story or unlock the good gear until you've done an arbitrary amount of repetitive side missions is undeniably the worst kind of grind. ubisoft games immediately spring to mind as some of the worst perpetrators of grind walls.

the other side of the grinding coin are games like the souslborne games in which levelling up is integral but where the game never forces you to grind to do so. the primary purpose of those games is to kill and you're rewarded with currency to level up from killing. the game opens up multiple areas to play in. hit a brick wall through difficulty in one and you can just go off exploring another until you've accumulated high enough stats to make the previously too difficult enemy more beatable. throughout the game you'll find areas which give you a high currency yield in a short space of time. and then it's you as the player that makes the decision to repeatedly return there to quickly level up.

instead of being forced into it it's entirely your choice, and because the game doesn't advertise these areas for that purpose, you feel like you're outsmarting the game, and you're more than happy to go plunder what you see as an exploit you've discovered. these areas are not made by accident and are just one of many ingenious game design aspects all woven together that make the games so good. they're (to me) examples of grinding done well

What do you think about games like Cuphead and Furi where the repeatability comes from it's boss rush style and the player failing and learning to overcome a boss to move forward? I typically do not mean this form of strategy because it at least does give a reason why continually repeating a same level is necessary.

Also, cool name. I recognize it and am currently in the early part of the Arc in the comics!

You can grind in small dozes everyday which will ease the pain.

You can also not play grindy games or do not do grind activities in games. for example: I've played GW2 for the story only, never cared about getting the coolest looking armor and weapon skins - which looks awesome but require 1 month of a grind.