Wow, i'm the only one that voted as grinding my ass off

I agree, grinding and max-ing everything does make the game hair-pullingly boring, but I always make sure i play through the game once first, to get the storyline and basic ideas of the game, to master the battle system, get an idea for secrets and side-quests etc. Then once i finish my first playthrough i start again, making sure i get EVERYTHING i can possibly get, and max out, fight and grind my little booty off xP