@AT1ST Any quest or mission with a end goal is a grind, it's just some don't feel as much like it than others. The way to hide that well is to make the journey just as interesting (or more) than the final destination. Making a good sandbox is hard to do, it turns off many players because they need more than the playground, they need some guidance. Coming from Elite Dangerous experience, which had potential to be a rather deep sandbox, but it turns out most people like to be on some sort of rails, even if they hate the idea generally. And combat is the easiest of rails to make.