Good RPG are never grindy.
grinding has an inevitable possibility of always happening
as long as you have resources that constantly renew themselves
not resources as in specifically ores, wood, ect
but as in foes to battle, weapons to gather
i mean enemies in a general sense provide items and experience in a traditional rpg
players will grind endlessly to better themselves against anyone else, and by making everything renewable, you just aid in their development
its not really about eliminating grinding, but pampering it to the point of it not feeling like grinding despite it actually having that characteristic
generally this may be taken care of by adding any number of content to the game
i mean just trading out various methods to gather resources makes the process more fun overall
axes, pixaxes?
how about dynamite, rocket launchers, chainsaws, tANKS
also adding more interactivity
i mean firing a projectile repeatedly @ a brick has a lack of creativity without a doubt, it gets repetitive
add random events such as
finding a birds nest in a tree that could have rewards like jewels
the tree actually turns out to be an ent, and you just set it off in a rampage
the tree opens up to reveal a hidden passage leading underground into its root system
the tree tips over and you happen to be right in the way
catching the tree on fire, which chars it and gives a new resource, but at the risk of causing a forest fire
cutting the tree down actually makes it larger, and requires a number of players to aid in chopping it down
the tree houses a beehive, and you accidentally let off the swarm
a magical tree teleports players that chop them, leading to players attempting different methods to whop it down
the tree turns out to be hollow and may be used as a hiding spot (great pvp opportunity)
cutting down the tree opens up a new area, since the base may be used as a bridge
the trees leaves act as hands and snatch away your hatchet, click spam to get it back
an evil tree uses its roots to field off a certain area / roots players down until it is chopped down
the tree occasionally whispers out a player's name, nothing more than making them paranoid
the tree sprouts legs and begins to wander a bit before deciding on a new spot
these sort of distractions alleviate the grinding aspect, but it still exists for players that wish to do so
also these are in addition to various other variables
such as weather, player activity, and bot activity
examples of each one:
lightning strikes a tree, leading it to catch fire
or a downpour of rain results in a rapid growth of a tree (quicker respawn rates)
player builds a tree house or secret based on said tree
a dragon sets fire to a forest after its precious gold has been stolen
just ideas, really
