A very interesting conversation showed up on Cohost about trying to find the appeal of grinding in games, and I thought I'd give my interpretation as to their appeal. In my opinion grinding games - stuff like **Monster Hunter**, **Ghostlore**, **The First Descendant**, MMOs, and so on, are enjoyable not because you're doing the same thing over and over again, but because you get to optimize a build or performance. In **FFXIV** I wanted to be as good at the game as I possibly could doing the various trials and raids and things like that. optimizing my rotation to maximize output, like a boomer trying to get a perfect run in golf. Performance. In **Monster Hunter** it's about putting together the best set of items I can to do cool shit. setting up a build that lets me do quick-sheathes instantly, armor that lets me have earplugs so I don't get interrupted during a hunt and do more damage. It's me looking at the puzzle pieces in front of me in the sandbox and thinking "*how can I put these together in a way that's interesting to me and lets me be cool?*" Then when I'm targeting the materials that I need for that build, I'm again seeing how well I can perform in a fight without getting carted or taking damage. Performance. I don't see it any differently than someone working on their car as a hobby - just less expensive, since you don't have to buy new parts. Sure you could just go to the lot and buy a new one - in this instance the metaphor would be looking up a build online and just copying it. Like a _coward_ - but what's the fun in that? I remember when I was playing [[2020-12-29-it-finally-happened-im-into-destiny-now|Destiny 2]] and learned how to set up a combo that let me throw infinite fire knives by putting a bunch of items together and capping it off with the monte carlo exotic that I picked up. all by myself! I felt like a genius. *That's* the fun of grinding - the tinkering and problem-solving. The best grind games give you that sense of satisfaction. The problem is that most grind games are very bad at that, or are gacha trash lmao. there's a reason D2 and MH are considered top of the pile. making that sort of thing fun is difficult. And enjoying it can be too without a shift in mind-set. You might ask, "why do all that?" But my question in return becomes: "*why do anything?*" Because it's fun! Because it's relaxing! Because it's satisfying! Because life is short and I'll take every ounce of dopamine I can from this bitch of an earth.