Board 8 > How do you feel about GRINDING in games?

(+) Yeah! (+)

How much of a gamer are you?
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grinding no thanks
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Between having a full-time job, a backlog of over 100 games, not having the same enthusiasm for games as I once did due to having other responsibilities, and general impatience with video games as a result...yeah, I hate grinding, to the point where I will drop games because of it. This is why I don't play JRPGs anymore.
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I think there needs to be a distinction here between games where grinding is the fun part of the game and games where grinding is what you have to do to get to the fun part of the game.
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Yeah grinding is terrible. Really turns me off of games, and is like 90% of the reason I don't play many RPGs.

It feels like a chore, and that's not at all what I want from a game.
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It's really fun in Sonic games.
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It's great, I love to grind
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That hopeless, empty feeling alongside with the realization of the amount of life wasted that comes with grinding for usually frivolous things that nearly nobody will care about if you accomplish the task in video games is super depressing.

I can tolerate it more in multiplayer games, but even there after teaming with randoms you start to feel it as well if you go on long enough.
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LeonhartFour posted...

grinding no thanks

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I do a ton of it for trophies but it's still always terrible
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Kenri posted...

I think there needs to be a distinction here between games where grinding is the fun part of the game and games where grinding is what you have to do to get to the fun part of the game.

Very this. Most games, grinding falls into the "dislike, may or may not deal with" category, but some games have systems where running through fights and/or seeing the resultant progression is my favorite part.
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Grinding is unnecessary in most RPGs, so I'm not sure why people are saying that's why they don't play them anymore!
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Grinding is generally bad if it's for mechanical progression, ie 'I need to get levels to progress the game'. That shit's awful. Grinding is generally pretty damn fun if you're grinding for player progression - 'I gotta win three straight to get to a new division!'. It's worth separating the two because I feel like the latter kind of grinding is generally great and the former sucks donkey balls.
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KanzarisKelshen posted...

Grinding is generally bad if it's for mechanical progression, ie 'I need to get levels to progress the game'. That shit's awful. Grinding is generally pretty damn fun if you're grinding for player progression - 'I gotta win three straight to get to a new division!'. It's worth separating the two because I feel like the latter kind of grinding is generally great and the former sucks donkey balls.

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Street skateboarding >>>>>> Vert skateboarding
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I definitely get into moods sometimes where mindless grinding can be fun or at least a nice distraction. used to love playing dragon quest games for this reason.
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I like it. It gives me an excuse to listen to podcasts
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I usually start out enjoying it but often it eventually gets to the point where I burn out and then I have difficulty finishing the game. It's like I did so much earlier on to "do everything" that I feel like I have to keep doing everything, and it just kills my motivation. I'm starting to get better at letting go so I can actually finish things, but it's still a struggle.
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Depends honestly, games like Monster Hunter where you're grinding for parts I love it as you feel yourself improving skillwise against the monsters... Grinding because I need x item or x level to proceed the plot or a sidequest, no that sucks.
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Depends on how invested I am in the game to want to do it, so it's definitely case by case.

Like in the Dark Souls games. Do you have to grind to finish the game? Not really, but it is there if you want to make things a bit easier for yourself, or your just interested in having crazy stats as well.
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It's rarely required just to beat a game. In most cases, I do it because I don't know how to progress in the game any other way. I remember spending days grinding for Yunalesca, whereas now I can beat her just by picking up the right items and weapons along the way.
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Pretty outdated. Only time I really like it is in Pokemon, since I like completing the Pokedex. It's never really forced on you.
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IMO in a well-balanced game, as long as you fight your battles/random encounters appropriately and only run in emergency situations, (or when a battle's EXP isn't going to be worth the fight) there should be very little grinding involved.
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4th option

I don't know. I don't normally play games rated Adults Only.

All rpgs should have at least a little bit of grinding. It's boring if you can easily progress through the game without any difficulty or roadblocks.
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azuarc posted...

I don't know. I don't normally play games rated Adults Only.

Wait, so you have?

Anyway, depends on whether the normal battle is conducive to excessive amounts of grinding or not

If there's like an auto battle feature then sure

If it's slow as **** then hell no

I do like the grind though, so long as there's a clear goal that doesn't depend on ****ing luck
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Some things are fun to grind. I'm playing Rune Factory 4 again, and grinding my forge and crafting skills so I can get better gear can be great fun.

scaryice posted...

All rpgs should have at least a little bit of grinding. It's boring if you can easily progress through the game without any difficulty or roadblocks.

The solution should be "git gud" more often than to grind.
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I was hoping I'd be the first one to the sex joke.

TBH it depends on the game. I come from a rather extensive MMO background so I'm used to grinding. I mean some people like games like harvest moon, or farming simulator, or stuff like that... I'd almost say that's a different kind of grinding.
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This board doesn't Disgaea much apparently. :-(
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Grinding is the worst if it's a barrier to something "important"- story, new levels/worlds, etc

I like having the option to grind with some stupid/optional reward, though

Sometimes I do want to turn my brain off a little and just shoot aliens or collect dongles or amass currency.

I just don't quite enjoy breaking up the flow of whatever you're doing. The patrols in destiny (for example) can be pretty fun. However, they were awful when you were required to do about an hour of them between every story mission
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I don't like it when it's mandatory to progress through the normal story of a game. But I don't mind doing it for optional boss fights or special equipment. Having the choice is key though.
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Grinding is fine, as long as it isn't slow and tedious. Instead of making it slow and tedious (Low exp, Low Gold) I think Persona has a good balance. Grinding isn't too slow, and it's not too tedious either. And even at lower levels it's possible to win most battles.
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Grinding is one of the worst things to come out of gaming and should be abolished in its entirely.

That said, most games people think require grinding don't actually require grinding (see: most RPGs), and if you think they do you're just a scrublord. Git gud.

I like grinding if it's my choice

if its forced to make the game longer for no reason, then fuck you, game


but if I'm playing the game, and notice some easy enemies give more than normal money or EXP at that point in the game, I'll gladly spend some time killing some bastards
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