Good Grind Vs. Bad Grind

Any RPG fan should know about grind, but what is grind? Well, to put into simple terms, it's where the player repeats an action over and over in order to gain an overall advantage. An example of this would be killing wolves outside the first town of the game, to level up enough times, so that the boss that follows becomes easier. A game is never advertised as "x many hours of grind!" because in general, people don't like it. Is grinding a bad thing though? Can it be good? What ways could it be implemented in order to engage the player rather than repel them?

I think it's important to note that even though many players claim to dislike grinding, it's interesting how RPGs (by their very nature) still leave it there as an option. Just what exactly are the positives to grinding?:

1. A crutch
Truth be told, some players grind not because the game inherently requires it, but because certain people require it. Just because the first boss can in theory be defeated at level 3, some players may need to be level 5, or maybe even level 7. This is (in a way) great because the skilled players can rest assured that their skill has paid off (in not needing to grind at all). On the other hand, the unskilled player is just adapting to their own requirements, and succeeding in doing so.

2. Useful time waster
Sounds like an oxymoron, but what I mean by this is that players want to feel that their time is spent usefully when playing games. It may be that the player is in that certain mood, where they want to just relax. Grinding against easier enemies can really serve this purpose, because all the "lazy time" is chosen on that specific game, because it will eventually contribute to help with the "active time". There is always that feeling of moving forward.

3. Moulding the game to the player's mood
This is a branch off the previous point, but it basically means that the player will constantly (or at least often) have the choice to be playing the game actively or passively. If a player is forced to be active at a certain time, they may not play that game if they're not in an active mood. Being given the choice, they can switch their play style (to grind or not to grind) depending on their current mood.

4. Breaking the linearity
A need to level up does not particularly result in linearity. Grinding can be very engaging if there are alternatives. If for example the first mission in a game is to cross over a bridge, but the bridge is full of hard enemies that there needs to be some grinding done. Well, if the content is varied enough, the grinding can be very open and lead the player to many options. It could be (for example) that the player needs to be about level 7 to stand a chance against the enemies on the bridge. Well, if the area before the bridge has items scattered around for the player to find, encouraging the player to explore (whilst they are grinding the levels). If the player is earning money as they grind, maybe they could go to a shop and decide what items, weapons etc. are worth buying. Maybe they see a strong sword for 1000 gold, so they set out to get 1000 gold. But maybe in order to help them get the 1000 gold, they need to buy 5 potions for 50 gold each that will help them reach treasure chests that hold even more money. These are just some examples of how being required to grind can really open up the game and make it more interesting. If the bridge could be completed at level 1, the player may not have any motivation to do any of these "things on the side"

5. Effective grinding is a skill
Sometimes, being able to grind effectively is itself a skill. Mixing the right abilities with the correct enemies using the correct characters etc., to maximise the level up speed can be very satisfying. The moment that you realise that by tweaking some strategies, you can rack up the EXP at a faster rate. That can be just as satisfying (or even more satisfying) as beating a hard boss or solving a taxing puzzle. In essence, maximising your EXP growth rate is a puzzle to be solved. It can be even more satisfying with the knowledge that you didn't "need" to do it, but it was through your own discovery that you found something to help you through the game. 

6. Not too linear, not too strict
If the level requirements are so strict, and there is no openness at all in the grind process, this is where grind becomes boring. Imagine a part of the game where the player "must" be level 10, there is a boss that causes instant death to anything less than level 10, so reaching level 10 is an absolute "must". Couple that with a completely linear grinding system, and that is where the boredom comes in. This 6th point is actually "don't ignore points 1-5". In this scenario, you are just doing something over and over again because the game says "you must do it" with no regards to how the player feels or what the player is capable of.

7. To keep playing once everything else is done
This is not so common, but even if the player has completed everything in the game, every secret boss, every hidden treasure etc., maybe they just want to keep levelling for the sake of levelling. Even though its uses have "expired", there are players who enjoy watching their character(s) become as powerful as can be. Disgaea games are prime examples of this.