Fates and Fate grinding have to be the lamest thing I've ever seen in an MMORPG going back to EQ.
It's just a mindless zerg that requires zero effort.
If you gave players xp ever 3-5 mins just for logging in, it would only be one step away from the lameness that is fate grinding, since fate grinding is xp on a timer where you run over to the latest fate, tag it enough for credit, and repeat every few minutes.
Fate grinding makes solo ez-mode look challenging and compelling.