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The Daily Grind: Getting ground under

One of what seems to be the universal complaints about many MMOs is the inherent grind involved in them. From the earliest days, we grind levels, reputation, trade-skills and/or professions. In end-game, you grind more factions, raid bosses for certain loot or quest completion, and potentially even more experience to gain additional talents or to unlock alternate abilities.

This grind has been there since the earliest days. But the question is this: Is grinding really an absolute requirement in MMOs, or have we simply come to expect a certain inherent level of grind as an inevitability? Is there some new mechanic that hasn't been introduced yet that you think might be viable? Or perhaps there is some variant on quest styles beyond the "collect x number of y items" or "go kill x bad guy" that hasn't been properly explored?