Just throwing it out there to be debated.
I believe as a way to combat the mindless grinding, would be to add EXP cards as drops from mobs, giving added incentive to grind, while also decreasing the time it takes to grind.
Of course the level of the EXP cards would be restricted to certain mobs in certain areas, the same as Quest EXP cards, they would also be untradeable, giving an extra source of EXP for the long run, while giving a small source of income late game at level cap by only being able to sell them to NPC merchants.