In my opinion, everything in the "game" can be seen as a strategical (micro)management approach with a range between resource and time efficiency. We do that to get the things we need for the only 2 real game modes, that are PvP and Gauntlet. Due to known problems
(for PvP: , AI boost, overpowered chars & talis plus glitches and bugs that make battles almost non-strategic so that the flip decides;
for Gauntlet: very high costs, cheating AI (boost + talis they should not be able to wear), bugged rewards and rankings plus bugs that hurt even more than in pvp as you lose the battle, your statistic and the characters even if only a "new data is available" pops up)
also these 2 game modes are in danger!
The real challenge is how to get the large amount of grinding that is needed for the resources/event challenges integrated into your working and private life. In fact this is a bit of a weird game approach, but this is the way this game evolved and to a certain degree the playerbase is not entirely blameless. Do you remember the times before auto-play? It was already stressful, yes. But I think the demanded runs, number of applied effects etc. were lower. What happened? People asked for an auto-play function. One could not expect that the auto-play would be introduced without "adjusting" the needed runs etc., or?
We should pay attention for what we ask for and hope for some good decisions from the devs for future game modes and adjustments to existing ones. Up the irons and fingers crossed for improvements!