Only complaint I have about DF is not enough hotbar squares...
Game lets you have everything but it doesnt let you have enough squares to 'have everything'
The FPS aspect its the same as playing a quake/unreal... only the more you use something (your personal play style) it levels up & becomes more effective..
Melee in DF is 10x better than melee in any other FPS game.. still could use some tweaking for those faggots that ONLY USE MELEE (I know it gets boring for anyone that plays slash/hack/slash only) but that happens in any game... srsly show me a maxed out 'tank/melee/warrior/etc.' in any game that isnt 'boring' or lacking in the flavor department.
The grind is only there if you want it to be..
You can mash monsters as a monster masher if you want to.. but you could also make a living in this game AFK whacking nodes & watching trade chats..
You can go out into the world & find pvp just the same as you can stay 'home' & fuck with your friends.
Its a fucking sandbox & you really can play the way you want to play..