Sounds less grindy to me. You don't have to get the Jewels, after all. Mind you, 3000 Jewels gets you fuck-all. Am I going to grind them? Absolutely, and I wish there was even more to grind.
Anyway, the point is, people who just want the SSRs can do it with much, much less effort. And that's good. That's even better for newer players, who struggle with Ultimate.