Grinding
Also said as Farming, Level grinding
Repeating easy tasks, not for their own sake, but to build up the experience or items that let you progress. The player has mastered the task and is just waiting for a number.
A little gives a sense of steady growth and lets a stuck player trade time for power. A lot means players are paying with their hours for something that is no longer a challenge, which they will start to resent.
Say it
“Reaching the third boss should take at most two extra fights on the way. If playtesters stop to grind, the XP curve is too steep between levels 8 and 10.”
Where you’ve seen it
Pokémon players know it from the long grass: battling wild Pokémon, again and again, until the team is strong enough for the next Gym Leader. Disgaea embraces it, with level caps in the thousands.
Not to be confused with practice
In practice, repetition makes you better. In a grind, it makes your character better, and you stay the same.