It's only grindy if you dont play hardcore. Hardcore is once you die, thats it, you're done. Thats the way any MMO should be imo. I've played some community customs where the hardcore was 1 death and you're done in PVE and then 2 modes for PVP. One where you can die and not have to start over and then a deathmatch (or grudge match) where 2 players agree that their dude will be deleted if they lose but the winner takes all. IE: they get ALL the other players gear, currency, banks, etc and it becomes soulbound so that you cant just give it back to the other player on their new dude and you cant just go around killing people just to make money in an AH. Sounds harsh, but it stops people from begging if the game doesnt even allow for it in the first place. My wife HATES hardcore servers, but I wont play anything but hardcore. Have never tried the retail version of hardcore, only custom servers which are all free.