Query time: What makes a ‘good’ grind in an MMO?

I’m about to say one thing controversial—I do not truly assume grinds in MMOs are all that dangerous. There’s a little bit of a wider resistance to the concept of getting to grind for something in a contemporary on-line sport, a resistance to the very idea, even. We’ve all definitely bought much less time than within the days of attunement questlines.

But that does not imply an MMO may be completely grindless, proper? Depending on the way you outline the time period, in any case. They’re, sometimes talking, RPGs—RPGs have ranges, slow-burn targets to attain, and so forth. For the sake of ease, let’s simply outline a grind as a repetitive exercise you must do many instances in a task to attain a purpose.

Even then, has that type of factor been completely stamped out? Not precisely. We aren’t fairly at EverQuest ranges of quests being uncommon breaks from the everlasting mobbing, however these archetypal grinds have morphed into new types. Battle-pass like reward tracks, seasons, world quests, or, within the case of Final Fantasy 14, relic weapons.

I recently had to sprint to catch up on my relic weapon step, which required me to gather a bunch of crystal paste from dungeons. If you’re unfamiliar with FF14—basically, I had to get 600 of a thing to get a cool weapon, if you’ve played an MMO you recognise the kind of activity I’m describing. You’ve been there.

Given I wanted to hop into the patches’ new content and start working towards my next step right away, I looked up the easiest way to get it, and it turned out to be grinding low-level dungeons. I settled in with some snacks, put on a playlist, and you know what? I had a lovely time.

It was completely mindless, sure. Absolutely none of my technical skills were challenged at any point. But as I bobbed my head to some tunes and pressed my 1-2-3 rotations, I felt a familiar zen wash over me, a kind of mindless fog that left me feeling rejuvenated. More to the point, I wondered if I actually minded grinding at all. Maybe I just had to get into the right grindset—sorry, mindset.

That’s not to say I have a newfound tolerance, or anything. I don’t think I could go back to the days where the only way to level involved copious amounts of mob-whacking in the same open fields. But I have to wonder if some grinding in an MMO can be good for it. Like getting enough fibre in your diet.

But what do you think? Do you like zoning out and making some (in the greater scheme of things) meaningless numbers go up for a few hours? Or does the very concept of busywork in your MMO fill you with apoplectic gamer rage? You can answer via the poll below, but I’d also be keen to hear your opinions in the comments, as well.