How complex does endgame progression in WoW have to be?

I was thinking about the things you currently do to progress your character once you hit level 60 in Shadowlands, and it’s kind of a lot. You have to get Anima to progress your Covenant’s sanctum, which allows you to gain Renown and go through the story quests, while also gaining new Soulbinds so that you can use more Conduits, and also there’s Stygia to collect in the Maw, while also running Torghast for Soul Ash to make and improve your Legendary items, and that’s a lot to juggle from day to day. Compare it to the old days of run a lot of raids to get gear or even Wrath of the Lich King when you collected badges to spend on vendor gear by running a lot of dungeons while also running a lot of raids — say, 10 man heroic and 25 man normal Trial of the Crusader, to prep for 25 man heroic TOC.

I mean, I didn’t even mention PVP or Mythic+ or raiding in the Shadowlands post-endgame stuff, all of which exist and are also things we have to pursue to one degree or another while also doing all that other stuff. It’s a lot, is what I’m saying. Is it maybe too much? Is the game kind of awash in systems to the point where I didn’t even mention the mission table, and then remembered it and thought oh, man, I have to do that too?

Would Shadowlands have been a little bit better if it was a touch less grindy? Maybe if we didn’t have this level of endgame systems it wouldn’t feel so daunting, especially if you’re trying to play alts at the same time? Surely we could have done without the Stygia grind, right? Please? Maybe it’s just me and everyone else is happy with all the stuff that feels a bit like chores in Shadowlands, but I figured I’d ask y’all what you think.