I guess you mean "difficult" as in "tedious". The "go here and and farm points to unlock the next progression point" I believe is the worst kind of design choice for these kind of games. I wonder who ACTUALLY likes those because I see a ton of games implement that kind of progression.
Some sandbox avns can be good. The ones that are "talk to this person over and over to gain +1 affinity" shits for 10 days in a row can fuck right off though.